The St. Patrick Market—former home to Ben and Jerry's and The Sandwich Box—will soon be relaunched as The Grove, food emporium specializing in healthy take-out fare.
You know that building across from the MuchMusic—the empty one that was once occupied by Ben and Jerry’s, The Sandwich Box and Amato (among others) and now has a shawarma stand inside? Well, the mostly vacant building at 238 Queen St. W. (a.k.a the St. Patrick Market) will soon be filled with local take-out merchants potentially selling everything from fried chicken to tacos and (since this is Queen West) vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options.
The Grove is what Joel Solish—food blogger and chief operator—is calling this “food emporium and smart market,” which will house 15 to 20 vendors year round. “Picture your traditional food court,” says Solish, “but all the vendors will sell food that’s free of artificial sweetners, antibiotics and GMOs.”
Solish—who will be at The Grove every day as the public face of the operation—was approached around two months ago by communications-company owner Lisa Borden, who originally met him while he was working at the Vicki’s Veggies stall at the Brick Works Farmers’ Market. The third collaborator is George Friedman, who owns the building.
“It makes perfect sense because the building dates back to the 1840s and was one of the three original farmers markets in Toronto,” says Solish. “Now we’re bringing the building back to its original use.”
For now, the focus is getting the vendors in to create a take-out hub by this winter. Other possible future plans include installing a green roof, a weekly farmers’ market behind the building.
