Welcome, neighbors!
The newest addition to the ever-growing list of Bernal Heights culinary resources can be found at 331 Cortland, both the name and the address of a conglomeration of food-centric stalls in a single storefront. After longer-than-expected delays for construction and permitting — apparently, nobody in city hall knew quite how to handle a multi-unit setup under one roof — the six marketplace vendors held a soft opening today for their Bernal neighbors.
We stopped in around 3pm and found a good-sized crowd full of happy folks getting their afternoon snack on. Bernal Cutlery features Japanese whetstone knife sharpening, plus a beautiful assortment of knives both culinary and otherwise. El Porteño, a familiar vendor at many local farmers markets, carries their full line of sweet and savory Argentinian empanadas. Paulie’s Pickling sells pickles, of course, as well as a rotating selection of sandwiches and deli salads.
On the other side of the shop, Wholesome Bakery features vegan and low-glycemic treats and breads. ICHI Lucky Cat Deli, the new home of ICHI’s itinerant sushi-makers, offers nigiri, maki, and sashimi, as well as some specialty snacks (katsu-sando sliders, oh my!). In the front window, Della Terra Organics sells a pretty assortment of fresh produce from local farms. Each of the vendors will set their own hours, but the marketplace as a whole plans to be open 7am to 7pm every day.
It’s a plethora of options, and a welcome addition to the area. The new marketplace joins the small but quite comprehensive Good Life Grocery, the much-lauded Avedano’s Meats down the block, and newcomer Sandbox Bakery at the other end of the Cortland shopping district. You can stroll a few blocks and pick up pretty much everything you need for a picnic in Holly Park, or a home-made dinner. Surprising as it seems, once-sleepy Bernal could actually become food-lover’s shopping destination.
The Marketplace at 331 Cortland
331 Cortland Avenue (x Bennington)
San Francisco, CA 94110
@331Cortland on Twitter
ICHI Lucky Cat Deli
http://ichisushi.com
415-822-4024
@ICHIsushi on Twitter
El Porteño Empanadas
http://www.elportenosf.com
415-357-3621
@ElPorteno on Twitter
Paulie’s Pickling
http://www.pauliespickling.com
415-285-0800
@PauliesPickling on Twitter
Wholesome Bakery
http://www.wholesomebakery.com
415-343-5414
@wholesomebakery on Twitter
Bernal Cutlery
http://www.bernalcutlery.com
415-902-6531
@BernalCutlery on Twitter
Della Terra Organics
http://www.dtoproduce.com
Comment by LaurieA-B
Sounds wonderful (I just mentioned the cutlery shop to Matthew). What’s funny is that it sounds very much like the old Broadway Market in Seattle, early 1900s, that I’ve read about: dairy, butcher, fruit shop. I was just looking at some photos of 15th Ave E in the 1930s and every shop, almost, was a deli, butcher, or soda fountain.
It’s not as close to us as 15th Ave or Broadway Market, but a cheese shop and butcher just opened in the Melrose building down the hill. Nice additions to our neighborhood.
Posted on 04.25.10 at 6:56AM
Comment by Eileen
Excellent coverage of this new opening. I live nearby on Duncan and can’t wait to stop in! Thanks for the heads up.
Posted on 04.26.10 at 5:00PM