Who’s setting up shop at Point Ruston’s new market? Here’s the vendor list

Point Ruston soon will open the doors to The Public Market, a 30,000-square-foot food hall and retailer that eventually will house more than 35 permanent vendors, a convenience store and two commercial kitchens.

Market manager Stacy Carkonen described it as “the crown jewel” of the 97-acre Point Ruston development, one that will connect small, local businesses with residents and tourists alike.

She hopes for a soft opening the week of July 6, though construction — slowed in part due to COVID-19 and in part to a host of hiccups — will continue in other parts of the building. Some tenants will be in what is their permanent location, while others will temporarily set up in the main hall, known as the Grand Atrium.

When completed, The Public Market stands to become a veritable destination for local food and drink with a waterfront view.

“Our vision for building an active, thriving waterfront has always included bringing a vibrant, year-round public market to our residents and the wider community,” Point Ruston managing partner Mike Cohen said in a statement.

The space also will house a demo kitchen focused on healthy eating and a teaching kitchen sponsored by CHI Franciscan.

“People want experience when they come in,” Carkonen said. “Pasta being made, a jeweler doing their work. Our goal ultimately is to have a really interactive space for folks to find something new each time they come back.”

Carkonen joined the venture earlier this year after six years at the Tacoma Farmers Market, which she considers a sort of small business incubator. That entrepreneurial mentality will carry through to The Public Market, where local brands will shine.

Anchor tenants include a 133-year-old butcher, a beloved Olympia-based coffee roaster and Tacoma’s oatmeal cookie queen, Karina Blasco.

After years of selling at farmers markets, Blasco’s first storefront will open in its permanent market location later this year. It will reach beyond her oatmeal cookies to edible dough, overnight oats and build-your-own oat bowls with a buffet of toppings. She has been waiting for Tacoma to land a market like this one.

“I knew my cookies needed to thrive in that sort of environment,” she told The News Tribune in a recent interview. “I never wanted to take the risk of putting up a storefront in wherever and having that full pressure of only coming to the storefront — the only place.”

The Public Market will offer the experience of discovering an array of foods and products all in one place, where businesses thrive off of one another.

“One of the main things they’re going there for is the environment, the nature of upscale business you just don’t find everywhere — businesses with a niche,” she said.

A Lakewood business owner, whom Carkonen could not yet mention by name, will run Point Ruston Market, a small grocery and liquor store — a convenience she said Point Ruston residents have longed for. He won’t sell produce, as that will be covered by vendor Fardell Farms, but he will offer freshly prepared food that will focus on Middle Eastern staples like hummus and falafel. The shop will also boast a “growler bar” for craft beer.

Just over half of the spaces have been filled. Carkonen is still searching for the right seafood vendor and wine shop, among a few other gaps, and she encourages local business owners to consider the possibilities of having a permanent store in the new marketplace, despite the ongoing construction and COVID-19 spacing restrictions. Day stalls are also an option.

“Point Ruston is such an amazing community hub,” she told The News Tribune in a phone call. “It is going to be a great spot to have a business. If some really creative folks can see past this and see the opportunity that exists, that’s what I’m hoping to find.”

FOOD VENDORS

*indicates a day stall vendor

▪ Blessings from My Heart to Your Table — baker and caterer based in Tukwila

▪ Dancing Goats Coffee Bar — Batdorf & Bronson cafe and roaster based in Olympia

▪ Fardell Farms — fruit and vegetable retailer based in Entiat

▪ Fathom Seafood — live oysters, Dungeness crabs, Manila clams and lobsters from Tacoma wholesaler*

▪ Little Belly by Happy Belly — wellness shop with smoothies, juice, salads and wholesome snacks based in downtown Tacoma*

▪ King’s Mozzarella — cheesemaker (mozzarella and burrata, plus queso fresco and Oaxaca cheese) known for selling at farmers markets

▪ OMG Olive Oil — oil and vinegar supplier with a shop in Pike Place Market*

▪ Only Oatmeal Cookie Creations — refreshed oatmeal cookies from Karina Blasco, plus edible cookie dough, overnight oats and build-your-own oatmeal bowls

▪ Owen Meats — butcher and meat market based in Cle Elum, opening its second location ever since 1887

▪ Point Ruston Market — grocer and convenience store, will serve Middle Eastern fare as well as beer by the growler

▪ Pike Place Nuts — famed nut purveyor from, of course, Pike Place Market

▪ Shipwreck Apiaries — honey and beeswax producer based in Seattle

▪ Taco Street — family-run taqueria based in Seattle, will serve alcohol

RETAIL VENDORS

▪ Jack + Adeline — artisan cutting boards, cheese boards and live-edge furniture maker based in Seattle

▪ Love Lurra — skincare, beauty products and candles made with raw, natural ingredients

▪ Purple Peacock — gift shop specializing in finds from Asia with storefront at Point Ruston

▪ Sage & Onyx Soapery — skincare producer using raw, natural ingredients

▪ Xee Yang’s Garden — florist

THE PUBLIC MARKET AT POINT RUSTON

▪ 5101 Yacht Club Road at the Grand Loop, Tacoma, no phone yet, pointruston.com

▪ Details: Monday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

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This story was originally published June 30, 2020 at 5:10 AM.