Tag Archives: local food

ChocMo, High Spirits plan move to new Poulsbo building

Poulsbo’s ChocMo restaurant and High Spirits liquor store plan to move to a new building and expand next year.

The businesses will set up shop in a 28,000-square-foot commercial facility planned by the Crabtree and Ryan families on Eighth Avenue.

The building is expected to open in the fall of 2017, according to a news release.

ChocMo and High Spirits will be joined in the facility by a 180-seat restaurant called Crabtree kitchen + bar and a shared workspace center called Vibe Coworks.

The move will allow High Spirits to grow from 4,000 to 10,000 square feet.The store will add a growler-filling station, “beer cave,” and wine cellar, and plans to host classes and tastings.

A delivery service is being considered, according to the release.

ChocMo, which began as a chocolate shop in 2005, will offer breakfast, lunch, espresso and chocolate drinks. With added space to work in, ChocMo staff will start making chocolate from raw cocao beans.

Upstairs, Crabtree kitchen + bar will focus on connecting diners with locally-grown food, including fruits and vegetables cultivated onsite. Beef for the restaurant will be raised at the family’s Silver Creek Angus farm in Kingston, which currently supplies ChocMo.

Local food market adding Kingston location

Tad Sooter

kitsapfreshlogo Kitsap Fresh is adding a Kingston location, just in time for the fall harvest.

The local food co-op, which allows members to order online from local farms and pickup produce from a central distribution hub, will celebrate the launch of a new pickup site at Downpour Brewing in Kingston from 4-7 p.m. on Sept. 28.

Prospective members can learn more about Kitsap Fresh at the event, which will also feature live music and specials on beer growlers.

Kingston is the third location for Kitsap Fresh, which also has pickup spots in Poulsbo and Bremerton. More are planned.

Downpour is located at 10991 NE State Hwy 104, next to The Cup & Muffin.

Monday tour will connect local food producers and buyers

Tad Sooter

Local Buying Tour & Meetup - OlyKit — Click to see full flyer

The state Department of Agriculture will host a tour in Kitsap and Jefferson counties Monday with the aim of uniting local food producers and food buyers.

The tour bus will visit at farms, a grocery store, restaurants, a brewery and a regional food hub. At each stop, industry professionals will discuss their experiences and offer tips for success.

“It’s an opportunity for buyers to get to know farms, but also farms to get to know the market opportunities available to them,” Raymond said.

Click on the flyer for more event information or check out this website for full details.

Island Food Circle aims to make finding local food easy

Tad Sooter

Farmers markets are the most consistent purveyors of locally grown food, and they’re flourishing in Kitsap.

Local produce is also cropping up in restaurants and grocery stores. A new initiative on Bainbridge Island aims to make local food as easy to find on weekdays as it is on Saturday mornings.

Island Food Circle, a project of Sound Food, has created an online guide to local food sellers on and around Bainbridge. The list is broken down by category (veggies, meat, dairy, etc.) each with a list of sources.

Food Circle is also distributing window decals to the sellers so shoppers spot them on the street.

The initial group of 18 stores, farm stands and restaurants were nominated by island farmers. The membership list will be renewed regularly.

“It’s the farmers saying these are people who are buying local on a consistent basis,” project coordinator Carolyn Goodwin said.

The Food Circle maintains another list of local food producers it makes available to store managers and chefs.

Some types of foods, like dairy, are hard to find on Bainbridge, or even in the county, Goodwin said. For those, the Food Circle expands to include regional producers.

Goodwin said Food Circles could be organized in other communities using the same model.

“There could be a Kitsap Food Circle,” she said. “I think that would be great.”

For more on the Food Circle, see www.soundfood.org.