Findlay Market: A Shopping Tradition

One of my family’s favorite weekend activities is going grocery shopping.

Huh? What’s that you say? Grocery shopping is one of your favorite things to do on the weekend??

Yes. But it’s not your typical grocery shopping trip.  You see, we do a majority of our shopping at Findlay Market.

If you haven’t been, Findlay Market is one of the countries oldest outdoor markets, and it’s located in downtown’s historic Over-The-Rhine neighborhood.  One of our favorite weekend spots, it offers just about anything and everything your heart could desire when it comes to fresh food.

On a typical weekend we’ll pick up a loaf of Aunt Nay Nay’s monkey bread,  produce from vendors like Daisy Mae’s Market, cheese from Gibbs (I recommend the pepperoni cheese), our meat from Charles Bare Meats, spices from my friend De at Herbs & Spice (ask for Debbie’s Southwest!) and a lot more. We seriously leave almost every time with at least four reusable shopping bags filled to the gills.

Because you don’t have to take everything to go, while at Findlay we also typically treat ourselves  to a cup of coffee and hot loaf of bread from the Bean Haus (if the weather is nice we buy some butter from Gibbs, grab a seat outside and gobble it down right there!) and a waffle (with strawberries & whipped cream of course) from Taste of Belgium for the boys. We’ve even eaten an entire bag of cherries before without leaving the Market….

I mentioned outside earlier, this is one of my favorite things about Findlay Market.  Outside the main building there is a courtyard lined with additional vendors and storefronts.  Here you can relax at tables while listening to live music or taking in the juggling skills of an aspiring college student; buy wine or participate in a tasting at Market Wines or depending on the time of year, visit the beer garden; you can even buy fresh honey or pick up pet food (The mechanical horse outside of PetWants is a favorite destination for our boys).

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If you haven’t had a chance to visit Findlay Market yet, this weekend could be the perfect time to do so.  Sunday, Findlay Market is hosting the Findlay Market Fall Food Festival from 10am – 4pm. The event will include live music from 12-4pm; a cooking demonstration by Cooking with Caitlin, sponsored by Daisy Mae’s Market; food tastings, and displays by area non-profit groups.  For the kiddos there’s a special Halloween scavenger hunt throughout the Market, games, vendor trick-or-treating and they are encouraging them to come in costume.

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Thinking about visiting Findlay Market??  Here are directions, courtesy of  the Findlay Market website:

From SB I-75:	Exit at Western Avenue/Liberty Street. Turn left at the second traffic light, Liberty Street. Turn left at Elm Street. Proceed two blocks to Findlay Market.
From SB I-71:	Exit at Reading Road. Turn right on Liberty Street. Turn right at Elm Street. Proceed two blocks to Findlay Market.
From NB I-75:	Stay to right on bridge over Ohio River. At Ohio end of bridge, exit to Fifth Street. Turn left at the third traffic light onto Elm Street. Proceed twelve blocks to Findlay Market.

Findlay Market is open Tuesday – Friday 9am-6pm, Saturday 8am – 6pm and Sunday 10am – 4pm, Closed Monday.

Findlay Market

1801 Race Street
Cincinnati, OH 45202
(513) 665-4839

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