"My husband and I both grew up on the East Coast, and we have a soft spot for deli food," Carey explains. "Every deli out there has people who come in for their Taylor ham, egg and cheese. We wanted to bring that to Colorado."
Figuring out how took a little more maneuvering. "Bryan was initially going to do a truck and deliver deli sandwiches downtown," Carey says. "But our sister-in-law lives in Golden, and she called us up and said, 'There's not really a market here.' She threw out the idea that we'd be a good fit here."
Especially since Carey and Bryan both have backgrounds in produce: The couple met at Whole Foods where Bryan was the sous chef in the prepared foods department and Carey headed the floral section. Bryan went on to sell produce through Growers Organic and Freshpoint, but when he was laid off last year, it gave him the opportunity to pursue his lifelong dream of opening a business.
And after that phone call from the couples' sister-in-law, they decided to launch Local Market near North Washington Avenue and Highway 93: a half-market, half-deli, incorporating all of their experience and interests into one space.
"We sell local and organic produce, imported specialty products and the kinds of local products you'd see at the farmers' market," Carey notes. "And we also have a deli." The couple brought on Jim Davis, who once manned the burners at Root Down, to run the show in the kitchen, and he imported another former Root Down employee to help him out. The pair turns out breakfast sandwiches made with house-cured bacon, New York-style sandwiches piled with house-made pastrami and roast beef, house-made pulled pork, prepared foods like chicken scaloppini and meatballs and meats and cheeses sliced to order. The place is also stocking Taylor ham (of course) plus Colorado-raised all-natural, free-range beef.
The place has only been open for a month and a half, but the couple couldn't be happier about the development. "We tried to do a bagel business a while ago, but we didn't have the time to commit to it," says Carey. "We're glad we had the opportunity to follow our dream."
Local Market is open daily from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.
