Hunterdon County's own Fieldstone Coffee Roasters, Olive with a Twist, More Than Q and Chocodiem are expanding to Pennsylvania at the Easton Public Market.
Lovers of hand painted Belgium chocolate, fresh roasted coffee, aged balsamic and smoked brisket can now find their foodie favorites in one location.
Hunterdon County's own Fieldstone Coffee Roasters, Olive with a Twist, More Than Q and Chocodiem are expanding to Pennsylvania at the Easton Public Market.
Celebrating its grand opening on Friday, the 16,000-square-foot, year-round market features 14 artisanal food vendors, a farm stand and demonstration kitchen and will be open Wednesday through Sunday.
For chef Matt Martin who first opened his barbecue joint More Than Q in the Stockton Market three years ago, the concept of a shared space for different businesses is a familiar one.
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"We think the market model is fantastic," Martin said. "The overhead is lower, product levels are manageable, there's great foot traffic through people browsing and free advertising from other vendors. Someone comes in looking for a loaf of bread and maybe they get some barbecue."
Much like the Stockton location, More Than Q will be serving up brisket and pulled pork along popular sides like burnt end baked beans, fried pickles and five cheese mac n'cheese.
Thanks to a new indoor smoker with double the capacity of the one in Stockton, Martin said spare ribs will be a full-time menu offering in Easton, while deviled eggs, pulled chicken and smoked turkey will be specialty items.
In the market, Martin's neighbor will be Scratch, a collaboration between ShawneeCraft Brewery and Apple Ridge Farm serving up wood-fired pizza and beer, and a wine bar by Tolino Vineyards.
"The vendors are really carefully sourced, so we're in wonderful company," Martin said. "It's a great array with something for everyone and Easton itself is a growing town so we're getting in at the ground level."
Clinton chocolatier Jean-Paul Hepp agrees, stating that the Lehigh Valley and specifically Easton has become a destination for gourmands.
"There's art, music, festivals and restaurants; it's a great place to move to. It's all very exciting," Hepp said.
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Hepp opened Chocodiem's storefront at the Clinton Falls Village nearly four years ago, and will now expand to a larger space at the Easton Public Market allowing him to display his customized dessert tables for weddings and parties alongside individually sold pralines, truffles and other chocolates.
Hepp said he'll be adding drinking chocolates, macarons, pastries and gelato to his Easton menu, and the market's demonstration kitchen will allow him to host chocolate making classes.
Also expanding to the market, is Olive with a Twist of Frenchtown which sells its own organic olive oils and all natural balsamic vinegars as well as cheese, olives, spreads and sauces and farm market favorite Fieldstone Coffee Roasters of Holland Township is using the market to open its first permanent location selling its fresh coffee and tea by the cup or by the bag.
A program of the Greater Easton Development Partnership, the Easton Public Market will open its doors on Friday at 11 a.m. The market's regular hours will be 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.
Visit eastonpublicmarket.com for more information.
Emily Cummins may be reached at ecummins@njadvancemedia.com Follow her on Twitter @EmilyACummins and Facebook.