Until the week before Christmas, the centrally located Wonder Saturday Market will continue offering shoppers a diverse selection of food and artisan vendors in an indoor, socially distanced setting.
The fall/winter hours are an extension of the Wonder Building's summer farmers market, hosted on the first floor of the historic building at 835 N. Post St. This year was the venue's second market season, initially set to close Oct. 10.
"We started as a farmers market for the summer, however, after much discussion with our vendors and our regular customers, decided to extend into the winter season," says market coordinator Kim Deater. "Because we're an indoor market, it just makes sense."
The Wonder Saturday Market is open from 10 am to 2 pm each Saturday through Dec. 19. Deater says she expects to host between 16 and 20 vendors each week, offering a mix of prepared food, farm goods such as produce and meat, jewelry, textiles, pottery and personal care items like soaps and skin-care products.
Among the market's November lineup are Tamale Box, Lucky Lady Bread Co., Patti's Pies, Cliffside Orchards, North Side Candle Co. and Commellini Estate, plus many others.
"The mix of vendors makes for obvious holiday market themes," Deater says. "We have tons of great food leading up to Thanksgiving, and we have food and gifts for Christmas."
She says updates on special pop-up vendors and other holiday-related information will be shared closer to those dates on the market's social media channels.
The Wonder Market is also home to two permanent vendors that operate during the market, as well as outside its hours: High Tide Lobster Bar and Evans Brothers Coffee. The newly launched People's Waffles food truck is also scheduled to sell at the weekly event.
Masks are required at the Saturday market, with no exceptions, Deater adds. Customers who can't wear a mask for medical reasons are gladly accommodated through curbside pickup ordering, she says. More at wondersaturdaymarket.com.
LADDER COFFEE EXPANDS WITH TWO NEW SPOTS
2020 is stacking up to be a big year for Ladder Coffee Roasters, which recently celebrated the opening of its third location in North Spokane and the acquisition of another local coffee shop.
The coffee roaster's third store opened Oct. 26 at 1212 W. Francis Ave. in a building shared with Canopy Credit Union; the setup is similar to Ladder's Spokane Valley cafe (13105 E. Sprague Ave.), also shared with a branch of the credit union.
Days after the Francis store's opening, Ladder took to social media to announce it had purchased Vessel Coffee Roasters in the North Monroe Business District (2823 N. Monroe St.). The quick transition has already occurred, with Ladder posting that the location "will remain a place for excellent coffee and top-tier hospitality, just under a new name."
Ladder was founded by Aaron Rivkin in 2017, beginning as a drive-thru stand in North Spokane and quickly transitioning to a full-service cafe inside the Dormitory Building on West Riverside Avenue. that debuted in mid-2018. In addition to serving its house-roasted coffee, Ladder specializes in heartily topped toast slices. More at laddercoffee.com.
TWO SPOKANE BAKERS COMPETE ON FOOD NETWORK
The seventh season of the Food Network's Holiday Baking Championship features not one, but two local bakers. Eva Roberts, owner of Just American Desserts, and Kristina Stephenson, a pastry chef at Northern Quest Resort & Casino, are among the 12 competitors vying for the 2020 championship and a $25,000 grand prize.
The two-hour Holiday Baking Championship premiere aired Nov. 2, with seven more episodes to come before the finale Dec. 21. Roberts and Stephenson are up against a roster of both hobby and professional bakers for this year's season, judged by Duff Goldman, Carla Hall and Nancy Fuller.
This isn't the first time Food Network has featured some of the Inland Northwest's brightest baking talent, or pitted them against each other. In 2018, the network's Christmas Cookie Challenge featured Spokane chef Ricky Webster (Rind & Wheat) and cookie artist Amber Stout (Flour & Frosting Spokane), with Webster being crowned the winner to take home the $10,000 grand prize. ♦
