Next to join Federal Hill’s newly made-over market is Rooster + Hen, a local organic grocery that’s moving from Catonsville to Cross Street.
The store will fill an 1,800-square-foot space near the entrance at Light Street, selling produce, flowers, frozen foods, house-made pre-prepared items, snacks and assorted pantry goods.
Owners Joseph McRedmond and Allison Smith, who opened Rooster + Hen three years ago on Frederick Road at the edge of Oella, will continue offering their boxed meal-delivery service Lucky Pantry and will have an in-store pickup option at Cross Street Market.
They’ll also keep hosting events, including pop-ups and cooking classes using a full kitchen in the new space. Continuation of concerts, which take place at the current store, is “yet to be determined,” McRedmond and Smith said in an email this morning. They will keep on hosting arts workshops and floral events and will try out collaborations with neighboring vendors.
“This move is definitely a growth for us,” said the pair, who lived in the city until several years ago. “Our customer base will increase tremendously, by virtue of being in a much more densely populated area.”
And they’re expecting to see some familiar faces–“so many of our current costumers come out to us from the city, so they’re glad to have us closer-in”–as well as new ones in South Baltimore.
Asked what drew them to the area, they said it’s “in essence, the same circumstances that led to us opening in Catonsville. We saw the need for a 7-days-a-week local produce business, and loved the collaborative, community food culture of both areas.”
Developer Arsh Mirmiran, whose firm Caves Valley Partners spearheaded the $8 million overhaul of the 173-year-old market (with $2 million coming from the Baltimore Public Markets Corporation, which still owns the building), in a statement called Rooster + Hen “the feather in the cap we have been seeking.”
It’s also another fresh food option, joining longtime tenant-butcher Fenwick’s Choice Meats and a forthcoming seafood market from Atlas Restaurant Group, he noted. To add, there’s an ongoing Saturday farmer’s market series outside, co-organized with Federal Hill Main Street, that runs through October.
Rooster + Hen will open in the early fall; its current location closes next month.
Cross Street Market reopened in May after being closed for about a half-year due to construction. Other new tenants include Annoula’s Kitchen, Burger Bar, Royal Farms, Gangster Vegan, Ono Poke, Phubs, Pizza di Joey, Rice Crook, Sobeachy, Taco Love Grill and Ceremony Coffee.
Returning ones included Fenwick’s, mainstay diner Steve’s Lunch and ice cream and candy vendor The Sweet Shoppe. The market’s closure and renovation saw the loss of longtime vendors, including Nick’s Inner Harbor Seafood–being replaced by a crab house from Atlas–Bruce Lee’s Wings, Big Jim’s Deli and others.
CanaDev, which is handling leasing for Caves Valley Partners, said it still has three stalls to fill in the market.
