Root Cellar

Great little find in downtown! I read online that this place has THE best chicken available around town and boy was I correct! At first I was sticker shocked at the price, but after realizing that I’m supporting local agriculture as well as, having the closest thing to fresh here — totally worth it!!! I wish it could fresh and not frozen, but hey not complaining! Their veggies are delish and fresh, too! Can’t beat local arugula from MO! Definitely check it out!

I was a fervent Root Cellar-​er when they were under the old owners and when they were located on Broadway (more on that later), but now it’s on a whole ‘nother level. No, literally, they have more than one level to the store.
What’s going on? Why can’t they just stay in that basement place and call it good? Well, this new venue is bigger, and the old owner (s) also owned the Broadway Brewery, and the rumor is they are going to expand that restaurant into the basement place where they old Root Cellar was located. Plus, this new place has much more panache, and since the new downtown farmer’s market started on Sundays, this new location hooks them into that whole casbah (or would it be a souk?). Anyhow, there are things in the works.
Some of the things in the works: Free wi-​fi for the internet deficient. There is a loading dock that they want to turn into a stage for live music acts, and the audience can hunker down in the parking lot and listen al fresco. They’ve already installed a cooler in the loading dock deck, where they might start stocking beer and wine and such. I told them to install some old speakers and a turntable and an amp, and I would provide a mess of vinyl, and that would attract the neo-​retro folks who dig that stuff. Who knows. From the loading dock deck, you can saunter down a few stairs into a long room with a huge wooden bar, end-​capped with a deli counter. So the plan is, to have sandwiches and stuff, as well as coffee, tea, etc. Perhaps they will give Uprise a run for their money? I say they should aim for a different consumer niche, since Uprise has pretty much locked-​in the hipster crowd, they need to go for the blue collar crowd who appreciate all that local food/​music stuff. Who knows? This could usher in a critical mass for the new North Village Arts District. Maybe it will give the «District» a run for their money. The «District» being the semi-​mafioso oligarchs who control the downtown area, and who took out the benches from the sidewalks because unseemly folks were sitting in them. I guess they installed them, so they can take them out, but geez, it sounds a little draconian. For all I know the NVA District folks will do the same thing, but I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt.
Anyhow, here is a good article on their moving, and some nice photos:
In addition, they have a CSA, where you can get a box of local veggies and fruits and stuff for like $ 30 or so. They give you a little print out with info on where everything came from, and some recipes that include some of the foods. You pay by the week, but to guarantee a box, you should sign up.
The new owners are real nice, and if you are looking for suggestions on what is good or interesting, they are very helpful.