Newly Opened Logan Street
Market, Home to 35 Independent Businesses
By Rachel Reynolds
Medora and Mike Safai were driving home from Cincinnati when
they were brainstorming and landed on the great idea for Logan Street Market in
Louisville.
“We were in the car and said, ‘wouldn’t it be cool if
Louisville had a public market?’” Medora says.
The couple had just visited Finlay’s Market in Cincinnati. “By the time we got home, we had a business
plan.”
Logan Street Market was launched in October 2019 in a building that was a candy
and tobacco distribution warehouse for 30 years. In 2016 it became a
coffee roasting facility run by Medora and Mike, and the building had lots of
extra space for a market.
“Mike’s family is from Seattle, and when we visit there we
always go to Pike’s Market,” Medora says.
The planning for Logan Street was inspired by public markets in larger
cities like Pike’s, Quincy Market in Boston, Reading Market in Philadelphia,
and Findlay’s Market in Cincinnati.
The market, located at 1001 Logan Street, covers 30,000 square
feet of interior space, plus there’s a side street outdoor market on
weekends. Thirty-five booths make up the permanent year-round market,
with an additional 10-15 pop-up booths on Sundays.
The market was created as an entrepreneurial incubator, each
vendor chosen specifically to fill a niche. It fulfills the needs of local
residents in the city’s food desert neighborhoods while providing
out-of-towners a fun place to explore Louisville’s creative side.
It houses Wild Hops Brewery and the newly revealed Wild Hops
International Lounge -- an 8,000-square-foot space with a stage, soft seating
and optimal social distancing options.
The businesses are independently and locally owned, often by
minorities and women. They showcase a
mixture from apparel and arts to take-home staples like groceries, pet
supplies, meats, seafood, cheese, coffee, packaged wine, spirits and beer as well
as dine-in prepared foods inspired by Latin, Asian and French cuisine.
Pop-up vendors on weekends increase shopping options from local bakers,
makers and growers. Art Bazaar on the last Friday of the month highlights local
artists’ creativity.
The market runs Tuesday through Sunday and is closed on
Mondays. Breakfast starts at 8 a.m.,
shopping is from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and bars serve until 8 p.m. There will be special
extended hours through the holidays – on Friday and Saturday, all vendors will
stay open until 8 p.m.
Logan Street just won the runner up for “best place to socially
distance” in the Leo Reader’s Choice Award.
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