The Revolution Market Undergoes Its Own Revolution

I’ll be honest. I haven’t been back to the Revolution Market since Produce with Purpose moved out to pursue their stand alone operation and packing site. My work schedule doesn’t offer me many opportunities to visit the smaller vendors in town that close around five, Revolution Market included, so when I saw their Grand Opening to celebrate the renovations since Produce With Purpose left the facility, I knew I had to be there.

We arrived right at their five pm start time, and the crowd was already there. So many other members of the media were there taking pictures, but it was good for me to still be remembered by the ladies running Bountiful Boards and Souper Day. We spotted each other through the crowds and made time to talk when able. Being introduced to all of the new offerings by the people responsible remains the best part about the location.

Early visitors to the Grand Opening

Mushroom Gouda Soup from Souper Day

Souper Day has perhaps taken on the greatest changes since the vendor switch up earlier this year. Their space may have expanded, but so has their menu. These changes came in just in time for the shifting of the seasons that cause most people to give up on hot soup for the year. Cold sandwiches and gazpachos are now available, making Souper Day as viable an option in the summer as it is in the winter.

​Bountiful Boards has expanded to fill in the space left behind after Produce with Purpose left the market, and that means three cold cases of cheese to turn it into a proper cheese shop. This fills a hole left behind in Green Bay upon the closure of Nala’s Cheese and Wine in Bellevue sometime last year, and it makes it much more likely that I’ll make more frequent visits to the market in order to see them.​

Their previous business model focused entirely on the boards wasn’t as inviting for me as a person who doesn’t do much hosting at home. Access to a big cheese case, however, is very inviting. Cheese and crackers are a common snack in the Eating Normal House, and we left this visit with a brand new cheese in our lives after enjoying the cheese tasting during the event.

Souper Day and Bountiful Boards have also taken on joint ventures in catering. If you’re looking to supply a tasty, locally produced lunch to an office or an event, stop in to the Revolution Market to investigate your options. Many of the potential items were available for sampling and viewing during the Grand Opening event– including a lunch box which would fill that office lunch void perfectly. We took home one of their cold sandwiches for lunch the next day and enjoyed the Souper Day crafted sandwich with Bountiful Boards cheese to its fullest.

Perhaps most exciting for me was the opportunity to sample future offerings from the next tenant at the Revolution Building: McKayla Marie Sweets. A bakery is exactly what that region of town needs. Her sample macarons moved so quickly that they were gone within the first hour of the event, but I got my hands on her peanut butter and cacao nib mini macaron before then. The bitter raw chocolate flavor of the cacao nib balanced perfectly with the peanut butter flavored cookie. Their dainty size made them an attractive feature of the table. You couldn’t go by without grabbing one.

The owner hopes to be ready for business in August, and we will be there to say hello and welcome them into their new facility. The small business growth going on in the Revolution Market is exciting to watch. We wish the new tenants luck in their endeavor! Green Bay is spoiled for bakeries of all kinds, but dare I say none of them have made a macaron that got me as excited as theirs?

McKayla Marie Sweets Sample Stand

New to the building are two attractions: a kombucha bar and a small cold case of locally sourced produce from a collective of local growers. We did not get in to sample the kombucha, but we did take a look at the local produce that the market has added to the corner to keep people like me coming in even if we’re not in the market for lunch. If you miss Produce with Purpose over there like we do, it eases the pain a little.

These new expansions provide all businesses involved with a great opportunity, and we as a community would be foolish to ignore the opportunity that it also presents us. Eating well and eating local in the age of inflation takes some of the pain out of the wallet by putting the money into the hands of people you know, and the people here will know you. They make it their responsibility. 

Here’s to a new era at the Revolution Market.