Marty's Market opens in Strip District (Railroad: store, agricultural, rail)

[pman]

Originally Posted by szug-bot

no problems here with beef raised on 'crapass midwestern grain feed'. the preparation of the beef goes a long way in eating something incredible.

Quite the opposite. When you start with good beef preparation is simply not messing it up. Adding flavor is for lower quality beef..perhaps the stuff in the Midwest based on highly subsidized corn feed. I think the idea behind grass fed is the grazing which generally produces higher quality like in Argentina. The added benefit for some is the cow leads a decent cow life before being slaughtered.

[quaymorris]

Thought I'd update this as I just dropped by Marty's for their soft opening. I love the atmosphere. They remind me a lot of East End Coop. Some of the items are pricey (I paid $45 for two strip steaks) and the selection was lacking in the veggies and fruits department. My only real gripe, though, was with the staff. Everyone seemed to be chatting with their friends, oblivious to the fact that today is a big day for Marty's and that it's just poor customer service. A cashier completed ignore everyone in line while she chatted until the bag boy could get her attention. Sorry, but poor customer service is a really big pet peeve of mine. We'll see how it goes. I really want them to work because they're so close.

Oh, and I've been to the coffee bar/cafe, visited last weekend. Their chai is kickass amazing (think I mentioned that) and the cafe was busy today.

[Evergrey]

Let us know how those strip steaks work out.

[concept_fusion]

Originally Posted by quaymorris

lol:
Nonetheless, Ms. Koetters isn't the least bit anxious about taking over the spot, noting that Right by Nature was more of a full-scale supermarket than Marty's Market, with its focus solely on food, intends to be."

Marty's Market aims to be new Strip District food 'destination' - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

She should be.

Went to the strip this Saturday during a rain-shower and it was totally packed, couldn't even find a place to park. The problem with Marty's market or the old right by nature store is location. It's off by it's own, a ways away from the anchors like the Macaroni Company. It's not so much that those stores compete, but keep each other in business by attracting mob like crowds.

Right by nature was a impeccably designed 'micro' format organic/heath-conscious supermarket. But it was always empty. Maybe people will make the extra trip to it if Marty's stocks hard to find items the strip in known for. It will also need to advertise well, something right by nature never excelled at.

[groar]

Originally Posted by UKyank

How is the grass fed beef at those places? It's all I ever had in england but hated the gamey taste that you don't get with grain fed beef - that being said, I've heard there was grass fed beef that doesnt have that taste & if that was the case here, I'd try it again

i dunno, my only point was that being cheaper is not the be all end all of people shopping at a store. whole foods is super successful despite being more expensive and about 3 minutes from trader joe's. so saying that marty's will inevitably fail because tj's is cheaper is silly.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by concept_fusion

She should be.

Went to the strip this Saturday during a rain-shower and it was totally packed, couldn't even find a place to park. The problem with Marty's market or the old right by nature store is location. It's off by it's own, a ways away from the anchors like the Macaroni Company. It's not so much that those stores compete, but keep each other in business by attracting mob like crowds.

Right by nature was a impeccably designed 'micro' format organic/heath-conscious supermarket. But it was always empty. Maybe people will make the extra trip to it if Marty's stocks hard to find items the strip in known for. It will also need to advertise well, something right by nature never excelled at.

I stopped in as well, and it seems like, even if it will be better-managed than Right By Nature, it's following the same flawed path.

Talking with the checkout woman, they still don't have around half of their stock in the store, and won't for a week. But even taking that into account, the store was notably sparse, with around 70% of the items identical to the Co-op - only more expensive. Minus the notable lack of cool produce, it's basically the exact same stock Right By Nature started with.

I'll keep looking in, as it's right on the way home from me via bike commute. However, it doesn't look incredibly promising as a long-term thing.

[SteelCityRising]

I also live very near to this new market and appreciate everyone's helpful feedback thus far! I never patronized "Right by Nature" when it was in existence (partially because I didn't even know it did exist), but I look foward to scoping out Marty's next weekend.

A couple of points:

1.) In addition to the residents who currently live in the nearby Cork Factory Lofts, Cigar Factory Lofts, 31st Street Lofts, Strip Lofts, Brake Lofts, and Otto Milk Condos, amongst other smaller projects, there is also another large residential project going in adjacent to this location as well as much more residential planned behind the former produce terminal building on Smallman Street. I believe Right by Nature may have just opened several years prematurely. I'm hoping Marty's can sustain itself for a few years with the existing local clientele before all of the nearby planned development occurs.

2.) Polish Hill, which is also within walking distance and doesn't have its own business district, is trending more "yuppie"/"bohemian" with each passing year and could also potentially serve as source of clientele. One thing I don't understand about Pittsburgh merchants is their marketing choices. My partner, who currently lives in Shadyside, receives several grand opening fliers, menus, coupons, etc. daily through his mail slot for local merchants, many of which are outside of the neighborhood (and are likely trying to draw in some of that Shadyside cash). Polish Hill may have been an undesirable aging white-trash urban ghetto of sorts in the past, but now it's evolved into a great mixture of young and old, poor and rich, hipster/bohemian/yuppie in the neighborhood; however, we still don't receive any sort of promotional materials from merchants in nearby neighborhoods the way those in Shadyside do. Why? Judging by the scarce parking here most residents own vehicles and can easily access a slew of neighborhoods in five to seven minutes. Pittsburgh businesses just do a horrible job of advertising.

3.) If unique products are offered, then people from the suburbs WILL travel to Marty's as a destination in similar fashion as to how people from Fox Chapel, for example, currently pass out their own nearby Giant Eagle and Community Supermarket for Whole Foods and Trader Joe's in the East End. I love Sonic's tater tots, and I don't hesitate to drive all the way out to Frazer Township whenever I need my own "fix" of that place. Ditto driving to Homestead for Chick-Fil-A. As others have said the owner of Marty's will just have the challenge of spreading the word about her business and ensuring that the crowds on Penn Avenue can meander on over to her store. There's an interior design store adjacent to Marty's that I never see anyone at, and if that place can somehow draw enough foot traffic to stay afloat then I don't see why a specialty grocer couldn't.

[quaymorris]

Originally Posted by eschaton

I stopped in as well, and it seems like, even if it will be better-managed than Right By Nature, it's following the same flawed path.

Talking with the checkout woman, they still don't have around half of their stock in the store, and won't for a week. But even taking that into account, the store was notably sparse, with around 70% of the items identical to the Co-op - only more expensive. Minus the notable lack of cool produce, it's basically the exact same stock Right By Nature started with.

I'll keep looking in, as it's right on the way home from me via bike commute. However, it doesn't look incredibly promising as a long-term thing.

This was pretty much what I observed as well. And the coop thing - that's what I mentioned to my boyfriend. Similar feel to the coop except pricier and the coop (as of now, anyway) has a much better produce selection. I too hope it pans out, but it didn't give me a great feeling.

Also, when I was I last week they weren't validating garage tickets. Do you know if they are now? The owner told me they were working on the lease.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by quaymorris

This was pretty much what I observed as well. And the coop thing - that's what I mentioned to my boyfriend. Similar feel to the coop except pricier and the coop (as of now, anyway) has a much better produce selection. I too hope it pans out, but it didn't give me a great feeling.

In my mind, the co-op shows the way it needs to be done. Independent groceries need to be jam-packed for their square footage in order to make a profit.

Originally Posted by quaymorris

Also, when I was I last week they weren't validating garage tickets. Do you know if they are now? The owner told me they were working on the lease.

Nope, still not validating. She told me the exact same thing.

[quaymorris]

Originally Posted by eschaton

In my mind, the co-op shows the way it needs to be done. Independent groceries need to be jam-packed for their square footage in order to make a profit.

Nope, still not validating. She told me the exact same thing.

Damn. She really needs to work that out. And I agree on East End, obviously. We went there today and a cashier told me they've had a number of people who have told them that Marty's is too expensive.