When we first found out about Melrose Market on Capitol Hill, we got giddy about our new neighbors. Opening up shop next to the relocation of Matt Dillon’s Sitka & Spruce seemed like a foodie dream. But after digging our hands in a little deeper, we have begun to unearth a truly special project.

Photo: Matt Dillon of Sitka & Spruce, The Corson Building

Positioned quietly around the big names, some small local startups are filling the Melrose Market stalls with unique synergy. The Melrose Avenue block, between Pike and Pine, is being transformed into what might be best described as an organic food court.

Photo: Historic shot of Melrose Market circa Ninteen Thirty God-Knows-When

With Homegrown joining Calf & Kid, an artisanal cheese shop, Rain Shadow Meats, an old school New York City-style butcher (developed by Russ Flint of Boat Street), and Marigold and Mint, an organic flower shop supplied by its own local farm for the freshest flowers around, this old, wide-open space is filling up with new, inimitable energy. With so many innovators under one roof, everyone feeds off one another.

Melrose Market Rendering from Graham Baba Architects

The possibilities for collaboration are truly exciting; so is the prospect of having our new block feature as one of Seattle’s neighborhood farmers markets. Wouldn’t that be something?