After a successful soft launch in fall 2022, a grab-and-go community food market will see its grand opening later this week in downtown Dayton.
District Market will feature a variety of foods from local entrepreneurs on a temporary leasing rotation intended to help entrepreneurs step grow and step toward their own storefronts.
The grand opening of the 1,200-square-foot marketplace at 200 Wayne Ave. is set for 2 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20.
In time for opening, District Market has five established merchants: Fruitilicious Fruit Displays, Sisters with Chef Mo, Soul Sistahs, Moo., and CheezCake Lab. Customers can expect anything from soul food and egg rolls to cookies, ice cream, cheesecake, fruit cups and much more.
Additionally, retail merchants like Double Chocolate Press are featured along the Market wall selling “sundries” that range from notebooks to kitchen accessories to art to health and wellness products.
“This is an opportunity for customers to support our future full-service restaurants,” said District Market Owner Tae Winston. “They will get to know these business owners at the beginning of their journey and experience new offerings in downtown Dayton. The businesses will have the opportunity to learn, network and grow.”
In November, District Market had a soft launch where the merchants had an opportunity to refine their menus and build relationships with customers. District Market will also be adding standing tables to the space to expand on the grab-and-go concept.
“We quickly realized people enjoy our good vibes here and they like to chat with us and others as they try our food or shop at our shelves. People can network here and still be on their way when they need to get back to work,” said Monique Briscoe-Love, owner of Sisters and District Market manager.
Table instillations are done in partnership with neighboring Oregon District business, 2nd Life Restoration, located at 411 East 5th Street.
“We enjoy working with businesses that support the community and are excited to collaborate with Tae and her team,” said Joe Collins, owner of 2nd Life Restoration which had their grand opening in December.
District Market is an expanded effort of a similar concept Winston created on West Third Street for retail small businesses. The Entrepreneurs Shoppe, also running on a temporary leasing rotation, houses an array of 30 small businesses with retail products like clothing, soaps, skin care and more.
“A lot of the businesses only stay about six or seven months in the entrepreneur shop,” Winston said. “Then they've opened stores or got their own suite. I pretty much like being that startup person to help people start up their business.”
The District Market will be open from noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. The grand opening on Friday, Jan. 20 will feature samples from their wall merchants and special offerings to celebrate the occasion.
“District Market is just about the community,” Winston said. “When you support someone here you’re supporting a dream.”
