It sounds like the perfect summer evening. A Wednesday gathering with a craft cocktail or mocktail and a freshly fried falafel pocket, Korean corn dog, or a full meal.
Another outdoor food experience takes its place in the Ocean State, and this one comes with a new addition to our culinary vocabulary: foodieconomy.
This is the backstory of the Schoolyard Market, being billed as Warren’s weekly neighborhood block party in the middle of a hyperlocal food market. The market had its opening on June 14 on the front lawn of Hope & Main, Rhode Island’s premiere culinary incubator, and will be held through Sept. 27.
The weekly market takes on some of the look of the food truck festivals that have become so much a part of summer in the past two years. Every Wednesday from 4-7 p.m., there will be a rotating lineup of passionate food and beverage vendors putting their best dish forward. Each week the market will host 20 different vendors, live music and cooking demonstrations, as well as activities for kids, and a fun lineup of themes from Christmas in July and Ice Cream Sundae Week to Yappy Hour for four-legged marketgoers. Lawn chairs, wagons and extra shopping totes are strongly encouraged. Admission is free, and both Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits and Electronic Benefits Transfer dollars are accepted.
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IN DEMAND: Benny Barber, executive chef of Hope & Main’s Downtown Makers Marketplace in Providence, had a hit with his grilled cheese sandwich and signature roasted garlic onion jam at the opening of the Schoolyard Market in Warren on June 14.
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“The Schoolyard Market is truly a place to scope out what’s new in local food and beverage,” said Alison Mountford, Hope & Main’s director of marketing. “Since the majority of vendors are members of our culinary incubator, they’re making their products on-site and selling them to our community. Some are brand-new, making their first sale to the public, and others are here growing and expanding their passionate customer base. Either way, it’s a win for local food lovers.”
Chef Benny Barber of BSquared LLC was front and center at the Schoolyard Market opening. The chef served up grilled cheese sandwiches made with his signature roasted garlic onion jam. A breakout success from the Downtown Makers Marketplace in Providence, it is a versatile creation made from four ingredients: garlic, onion, balsamic vinegar and a touch of sugar. In addition to elevating the simple grilled cheese, it has been used as a dressing, a grilling sauce, a dip and a secret ingredient in pasta sauce. Barber traces the history of his signature creation to his time on a food truck where simple becomes culinary.
Hope & Main’s mission is to empower an inclusive community of entrepreneurs to jump-start and cultivate thriving food businesses that are the foundation of a more sustainable and resilient local food economy. Since opening in 2014, its members have launched more than 450 food and beverage businesses.
The startup food businesses, some of which have become iconic in the state, have been showcasing their specialties in a retail and food service setting every day at the Downtown Makers Marketplace at 100 Westminster St. in Providence. The facility is open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day and is designed to showcase the hundreds of small food businesses launched through Hope & Main. This venue creates opportunities for consumers to meet hyperlocal entrepreneurs and taste their products, thus supporting the local foodieconomy.
“Food is a relationship that goes so much deeper than reading a label in a supermarket,” said Lisa Raiola, founder and president of Hope & Main. “We want to share the fascinating story of the origin and production of the food we eat every day.”
“Dining Out With Bruce Newbury,” syndicated weekly on radio, can be heard in Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont and Indiana. Contact Bruce at bruce@brucenewbury.com.
