Harvest Market is a Fresh Oasis in the Land of Food Deserts.
Local. Healthy. Convenient.
A lot has been said as of late about the problem Birmingham has with **[“Food Deserts.”](https://www.wvtm13.com/article/nearly-70-of-birmingham-residents-live-in-food-deserts-mayor-s-report-says/26938870)** Mayor Randal Woodfin even **[made national news](https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/19/business/dollar-general-opposition/index.html)** discussing the issue. Luckily, Harvest Market, on 2nd Ave. North, is providing fresh and healthy options in the heart of the booming loft district! 
**[Harvest Market](https://www.facebook.com/harvestmarketbham/)** is now open and has succeeded in “Goldilocksing” itself into the Birmingham grocery scene, finding the perfect size to serve the area. The store isn’t a massive building, like Publix, but is much larger than a corner store. Amber and I came across it while looking for an inexpensive and healthy lunch option last week! (Their fresh salad bar came to our rescue!) 
Jeff Gentry, who owns **[Bamawise](https://www.facebook.com/bamawise/)**, brought this concept to life. Jeff happened to be in the store during our first visit and took time to tell us a bit about the concept and what’s coming soon to the location. He was sitting at the juice bar in the center of the store and was surrounded by planters full of fresh wheatgrass used in the juices they serve! 
Harvest Market itself is both spacious and beautiful. For anyone who misses the Western Supermarket, you will find that the ambiance, and even the wall art, provides a comforting familiarity. Aisle after aisle, we were enamored by the selection of items and the very reasonable pricing! 
Another thing we immediately noticed is that they carry local brands! There were refrigerated dough balls from **[Cookie Fix](http://happeninsintheham.com/satisfy-your-sweet-tooth-with-cookie-fix-in-homewood/)** in Homewood, and SO MUCH local beer! And speaking of beer, Harvest Market now has a loft area with beer on tap! Everyday they offer up $2 domestics and $3 specialty beers! The loft has wifi, three different tv screens, and a great view of the store! In the near future they will have a conference room in the loft that will be available to use for meetings! 
If I forget to pack a lunch to take with me when I go to work at **[Forge](http://happeninsintheham.com/kim-lee-founder-of-forge-has-created-an-inviting-coworking-space-in-the-heart-of-downtown-birmingham/)**, I can now walk over to Harvest Market and pick up some fresh lunch options! They have an impressive salad bar that definitely fits in mine and Amber’s current meal plan. We both built our own salads during our first visit and ate them upstairs in the loft area. Amber was quick to point out that the salad bar was cheaper than the ones she normally goes to. 
We’ve already seen how excited the residents at Pizitz and at other nearby lofts are about Harvest Market opening. They are so excited to be able to walk to a quality grocery store. Since we run Happenin’s in the Ham out of Forge in The Pizitz, we’re beyond excited to welcome them to the neighborhood! 
You should stop in and check them out for yourself! You are going to be very impressed with their selection of fresh produce, sandwiches, grocery items, and their expansive wine and beer section! Having Harvest Market downtown is nothing short of a game changer for the loft district!
-Russell H.
