BUSINESS

Sneak peek: 7 things you wouldn’t expect about Market District

Ellen Garrison
Ellen.Garrison@indystar.com
Market District employees prepared Monday, Oct. 5, 2015, for the store's 6 a.m. Wednesday opening. Located at 11505 N. Illinois St., Carmel, the new store offers more shopping options than you might expect.

Market District and its associated getGo Cafe + Market will open at 6 a.m. Wednesday in Carmel with a wide variety of unusual offerings for a grocery store.

Here are seven things you will be amazed to find in a local supermarket:

1. They’ll cook your meat for you

You can purchase any meat or seafood item and have it prepared right there, free of charge.

A full kitchen operation, right across from the deli, will offer eight to 10 preparation options — four to five butter and sauce options and four to five seasoning options.

“If you want to grab a dry-aged beefsteak and sit down, we can grill that and put a little Gorgonzola butter on it for you, and out you go,” said Tom DeVries, senior vice president and general manager for Market District.

This is the first time Market District has offered this service to its clients. Associated with the full-service kitchen is the “Chopping Block,” where you can pick up pre-chopped seasonal vegetables and kits for preparing things such as roasted vegetable pizza and leek soup from scratch.

Exotic foods available in the meat department at Market District include wild boar (foreground), boneless python fillet and fresh whole rabbit (background).

2. A climate-controlled cigar case

Yes, you read that right. The grocery store has a humidor, which is an airtight room that is climate-controlled to keep cigars moist. Market District carries close to 100 varieties of cigars in a walk-in humidor in its wine, beer and liquor department, along with cigar accessories.

Unfortunately, you can’t test the cigars in-store because of pesky rules about smoking inside grocery stores.

In the same department, it also carries thousands of wines, beers and liquor.

Market District employee Juli Boone stocks wines in the store's expansive beer, wine and liquor department.

3. Beauty Bar

Serenity Eyre and Scott Thompson, whose Serenity+Scott Beauty products will be sold at the new Market District, set up their displays in the Health, Beauty and Wellness department.

For the first time, this Market District includes a beauty salon that provides makeovers, haircuts and facials. The hours will be slightly different from store hours, and the salon will be closed on Sundays.

The beauty products section, which is a common grocery store fixture, contains some uncommon products. It’s the only place in Indiana to buy Serenity+Scott products, a North Carolina-based makeup company, and the first time Market District is carrying perfume and makeup brand TokyoMilk.

4. Store-made gourmet popcorn and personalized Hershey’s Kisses

For the lovers of flavored popped corn, Market District makes its own gourmet popcorn in its elaborate sweet shop. It keeps eight to 10 flavors on hand and has 28 flavors overall, including salted caramel apple, honey mustard pretzel and barbecue ranch.

Customers also can make their own personalized Hershey’s Kisses with customized messages on the paper tail and printed on the bottom. DeVries said he thinks it’s the only personalization station of its kind in the U.S.

In addition to those offerings, the sweet shop has 30 varieties of homemade fudge, 18 flavors of gelato and traditional candy products.

Hand-dipped chocolate treats are prepared in the sweet shop, one of the featured departments in the new Market District.

5. table by Market District

If you get really hungry while shopping, there’s a full-service sit-down restaurant.

Table by Market District offers a full lunch menu, full dinner menu and a Sunday brunch. There are 18 draft beers on tap and a full wine list, and the restaurant can seat 120 people inside.

The Sunday brunch option will have five made-to-order stations and a mimosa bar. In anticipation of a lot of guests, brunch will extend to the rentable banquet hall above the restaurant and will be able to accommodate 500 people.

“We had two people show up this week for it, thinking it was already open,” DeVries said.

Dining options in the new Market District range from a cafe to full-service restaurant (table) and a banquet hall (shown) for special events, such as wedding receptions, or use for restaurant overflow.

6. getGo Cafe + Market

Across the parking lot from the main store is the associated convenience store with a twist. Containing all the traditional convenience store amenities, including a gas station and snack food aisles, getGo also has made-to-order burgers, sandwiches, including a special Indiana pork tenderloin, and salads, as well as breakfast options.

The sandwich bread is baked fresh in the store; the meat and veggies are sliced in-store; and orders are placed on touch-screen terminals.

A made-to-order kiosk in the new getGo Cafe + Market lets customers choose sauces and toppings for their orders. After selections are made, a ticket is printed and food is freshly prepared.

7. Cooking school

Have you always wanted to know what wines go with which entrees? You can learn all that and more in a class at Market District’s cooking school.

The cooking school will offer themed and seasonal courses and classes on beer and wine pairings. It’s a rent-able space, along with the banquet hall and the outdoor patio area associated with the restaurant.

The store is located at 11505 N. Illinois St. and will be open from 6 a.m. to midnight. It currently employs about 550 people.

Call Star reporter Ellen Garrison at (317) 444-6179. Follow her on Twitter: @EllenGarrison.