On Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings now through October, a luxury farmers market will take place on the open green space at The Shops at Stonefield, located at the corner of Hydraulic Road and Route 29.
The Green Market Stonefield will focus on quality over quantity from hand-selected vendors “to create something different,” says Caroline Birgmann, a Stonefield PR rep. The markets will include Virginia-based North Cove Mushrooms, Earlysville’s Buck Mountain Farms and Sylvanqua Farms, and Rocksalt, My Chocolate Shoppe, DuCard Vineyards, Early Mountain Vineyards and Castle Hill Cider, among others. There will also be artisan and craft vendors, plus food tastings from Stonefield restaurant partners like Burton’s Grill and Burger Bach.
The markets will also feature live music and occasional fashion shows from Stonefield apparel retailers.
Vendors will set up their wares under a 40-by-100-foot tent so markets can take place rain or shine, from 4 to 7pm Thursdays and 8:30am to 12:30pm Saturdays—the same time as the popular City Market. Some of the vendors—such as Caromont Farm and Mountain Culture Kombucha—will participate in both markets, but many vendors will be different.
Sweet pairing
Get thee to Splendora’s Gelato on the Downtown Mall for a gelato sandwich made with cookies from Found. Market Co. dough. Splendora’s owner and wizard of all bizarre-but-delicious flavors, PK Ross, says she’ll offer a rotating selection of cookie/gelato combinations. Last week’s combos: snickerdoodle cookie with gianduia gelato, and ginger cookie with cardamom gelato (this reporter’s personal favorite).
With the grain
According to a press release issued by Governor Terry McAuliffe’s office on April 19, Ragged Branch Distillery, which opened in 2010 in Charlottesville with the intention of producing its Virginia Straight Bourbon Whiskey from 100 percent Virginia-produced grain, has received a $17,000 grant from the Governor’s Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development Fund, administered by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, to assist with the Ragged Branch project, and Albemarle County is matching that grant with local funds. The release also says the distillery will create four jobs in the county over the next three years.
Barracks Road boon
Later this summer, Boston-based farm-to-fork casual eatery b.good will open in the Barracks Road Shopping Center North Wing, in the space between Pink Palm and Penelope. Also new to Barracks Road is Oliva, open now next to Talbots and Barnes & Noble, which offers a large selection of gourmet olive oil and balsamic vinegar, in addition to other culinary gift items.