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FeedDriven Market
The Hills Market woos Downtown foodies with new location
Photos by Tessa Berg
After months of construction, gourmet emporium The Hills Market will make its urban debut in the middle of March, marking the first expansion from its Worthington headquarters.
Located near the Columbus College of Art & Design, the new location posed challenges and opportunities, says wine and cheese director Amanda Anderson. Delivery trucks must arrive one at a time and before 7 a.m. due to tight loading space and morning traffic. But the store’s emphasis on Ohio treats, she adds, perfectly fits the city’s buy-local personality.
“People are just really excited about food Downtown,” Anderson says. “We’re going to be able to bring in some interesting stuff.”
Here’s a sneak peek behind the new store’s urban feel, to-go goodies and local eats. - Carrie Schedler
LOOK: Built in a former sports-car garage, the store retains an industrial chic with exposed beams, concrete floors with filled-in mechanic bays and leaded-glass windows. Photos of Ohio farms will be posted throughout, and bathroom walls will be decoupaged with covers of Gourmet magazine.
TASTE: Gourmet grab-and-go foods will be a store centerpiece. The Hills’ classic meatloaf, mashed potatoes and ham salad will be available in lunch-friendly portions, alongside sushi, pastries from Sassafras Bakery and salads from Little Eater, a summer mainstay on the original store’s veranda. They'll keep a rotating stock of seasonal foods and beers, Anderson says.
SHOP: Anderson is expanding the cheese collection from the smaller, cheddar-centric stock in Worthington and using it to showcase off-beat finds like Latteria di Grotta, an Italian cave-aged cheese wrapped in hay. “I’ll be stocking a lot of stuff that I also want to try,” she says. Cheeses can be paired with more than 150 kinds of wine and nine coolers stocked with beer.
STAY: The store will replicate some of the original location’s popular patio events, like summertime staple Surf and Truck, when patrons can buy a half-pound of peel-and-eat shrimp and check out a local food cart. (With only a dozen parking spaces, the store can’t accommodate larger food trucks.)
