Washington DC: Union Market (May 2013)

My spouse and I visited Union Market on a Sunday morning in late May 2013. We had read about the market in Food & Wine magazine, which compared it to the Ferry Building in San Francisco. We took the metro from the downtown area to the NoMA-Gallaudet station, and then walked a few blocks to the market through a seemingly rough part of town.

The market building is attractive, with high ceilings and garage doors that can be rolled up in nice weather. We knew the market was small, but we were not prepared for how small. Supposedly, it houses 40 artisans, but we felt that we saw no more than 20 (perhaps it still has room to expand?) It was clean, attractive, and interesting space, just not large. You can sit at the bar and have a drink or casual meal at Rappahannock Oyster Bar or Buffalo & Bergen. Merchants sell items such as meats, cheeses, flowers, knives, pickles, and smoked fish. The store Salt and Sundry was not open when we visited, but it sells linens, ceramics, and farm tables. Although the market supposedly opens at 8:00 am on the weekends (11:00 am on weekdays), on the day that we visited, most stands were not fully operational at that early hour.

We are glad to have seen it, but it took some effort, and we probably would not return until there are more vendors.