Salem Farmers’ Market Readies New Crop of Delights with June 7 Season Opener

 Business Spotlight, New Businesses, Salem Dining, Salem Event, Salem Farmers Market, Salem Festivals, Salem Shopping, Volunteer Opportunities  No Responses »
Jun 052018
 

What do the following seven major farms have in common: Clark Farm, Gibney Gardens, Maitland Mountain Farm, Grant Family Farm, Heavens Harvest Farm, Long Hill Orchard, and Wally’s Vegetables? They are the heart of the Salem Farmers’ Market, which returns for its 10th season this Thursday from 3-7pm, at Derby Square on Front Street in Salem, MA

Just as every shopping mall has anchor stores which are the main attractions, so does a successful Farmers’ Market have booths with general appeal items of summer vegetables, such as from the above-mentioned local and regional farms.

“Over the past decade, the Farmers’ Market has truly become a destination for the community – it’s a gathering place as well as an opportunity to get fresh, local produce and other one-of-a-kind goods,” Salem Main Streets Executive Director Kylie Sullivan said, adding that the market typically draws over 2,000 market-goers weekly. “With the great range of vendors that we have, there’s something for everyone at our Farmers’ Market.”

What Will You Find at Salem Farmers’ Market?

For five months every year, the largely volunteer-run market gives residents and tourists alike the opportunity to buy farm-fresh produce, seafood, baked goods, and meats. Also available are an array of specialty foods, bakery products, spices, and non-food vendors. In total this year we have 35 participating vendors!

Exciting new additions (think of them as all the cute and intriguing smaller stores in the mall) to the 2018 market include Fixx Chocolates, Kim Gregory Pure Pastry, Red Antler Apothecary, Root NS, Sustainable Food Solutions, and Zen Bear Foods, along with many other surprises and additions throughout the season.

Every week the market offers live music and representation from different community groups and initiatives.

To celebrate the market’s 10-year anniversary this year, attendees can look forward to limited edition swag, prizes, and special events popping up throughout the season, both at and outside of the market.As in previous years, the Salem Farmers’ Market will continue to take EBT through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.  In compliance with the City of Salem’s plastic bag ordinance, we encourage attendees to bring their own bags – or buy a tote bag at the market to support our work!

The market is made possible through the leadership of Salem Main Streets and the Farmers’ Market Committee, as well as the generous contributions of numerous volunteers.  We are still accepting volunteers to help with weekly set up from 1:30 to 3pm, help at the info table between 3-7pm, and break down help from 6:30 to 7:30pm. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Salem Farmers’ Market.

To get the latest updates about the farmers’ market, visit our website at www.salemfarmersmarket.org, or follow us on Facebook or Twitter .

The Salem Farmers’ Market will be held at Derby Square on Front Street in Salem, MA every Thursday from 3-7pm from June 7th through October 11th, 2018. Mark your calendar. Set aside a basket. And we’ll see you on Thursdays!

Share

Why Restaurants are a Hot Ticket in Salem Ma for Next Two Weeks

 New Businesses, Resources, Salem Dining, Salem Event, Salem Festivals, SMS News, Uncategorized  No Responses »
Mar 182018
 

Are you hungry? And we mean not only hungry for something to eat but hungry to try something new? Then you have come to the right place. For 10 exciting days, Salem’s diverse dining venues literally throw open the doors and invite you to enjoy some of their best offerings at unbeatable prices. The occasion? Well, of course, it is Salem Spring Restaurant Week.  Runs Sunday, March 18 – Thursday, March 22 and then again Sunday, March 25 – Thursday, March 29.

Expect a wide variety of delicious foods – from steak to seafood, American to ethnic, there is something for everyone. Restaurants offer multiple choices for appetizers, entrees as well as desserts.

If you go to a different establishment each night during Salem Spring Restaurant Week, you still won’t see them all! Please note the list of restaurants below is not final, they are subject to change.

Adriatic Restaurant and Bar – Click here for menu
155 Washington Street, Salem, MA – (978) 594-1832
Click here to make a reservation.

A warm interior and excellent cuisine—a winning combination that defines the Adriatic Restaurant & Bar. The brick oven pizzas are always a hit, and imaginative libations entice customers to come back time and again. Excellent market-fresh fish dishes inspired by regions surrounding the Adriatic Sea give this Mediterranean eatery something to boast about. A lengthy wine list featuring imported varietals and blends bring every meal’s flavors to fore and make patrons hunger for more.

Beerworks No. 2 Salem – click here for menu
Offering 2 course menu for $20
278 Derby Street, Salem, MA – (978) 745-2337

Located in Historic Downtown Salem since 1996, Salem Beer Works has something for everyone. With 15 freshly brewed beers on tap each day, guests enjoy the seasonal patio (weather permitting) and proximity to the Salem waterfront.   Whether you’re visiting from out of town, or live in the area, Salem Beer Works is the place to go for good food, good beer and good times.

Bella Verona – click here for menu
Offering 3 course menu for $30
107 Essex Street, Salem, MA – (978) 825-9911

Chef-owner Giorgio Manzana hails from Lake Garda Italy in the Provence of Verona and has a hotel-restaurant background that goes back over 35 years. Bella Verona enjoys catering to their clients, creating new dishes and continuing the simple good and authentic home-style cooking of Manzana’s region as well as other parts of Italy. As an Italian restaurant in the heart of Salem, they will bring you back to Verona, the home of Romeo and Juliet, to lose yourselves in the atmosphere and excellent food. In keeping to their traditional roots, they offer creative options with homemade pastas, and great daily specials.

BonChon – click here for menu
Offering 3 course menu for $20
299 Essex Street, Salem, MA – (978) 594-8256

“Bonchon” means “my hometown” in Korean. True to their original roots, Bonchon Downtown Salem is a family friendly establishment, offering an affordable casual dining experience along with lively atmosphere.  Enjoy the flavorful chicken wings that are their signature dish and then wash that down with a local Notch brew.

Finz Seafood & Grill – click here for menu
Offering 3 course menu for $30
76 Wharf Street, Salem, MA – (978) 744-0000
Click here to make a reservation.

Innovative and inspired menus, fresh raw bar, and a carefully chosen wine list all lead to an extraordinary dining experience at Finz. Our menu emphasizes creatively prepared fresh seasonal seafood. Our raw bar offers the freshest local oysters, clams, chilled lobster, colossal crab and jumbo shrimp. With indoor and outdoor waterfront dining, Finz is a great place to relax and enjoy outstanding food and drinks. Zagat’s rated Finz Seafood & Grill one of the Top 10 Waterfront restaurants in New England.

Firenze Trattoria – different selections nightly!
Offering 3 course menu for $30
2 Lynde Street, Salem, MA – (978) 219-1188

Firenze Trattoria is chef Zamir Kociaj’s way of sharing his passion for the authentic tastes of Firenze with the historic town of Salem. Merging years of experience with a neighborhood vibe, Firenze Trattoria is the perfect place to celebrate the simple moments with loved ones and friends while dining on delectable Italian fare.

Jami’s Kitchen – click here for menu
Offering 2 course menu for $20
2 Bridge Street, Salem, MA – (978) 740-4619

Located on the line between beautiful Beverly and Salem, Massachusetts, on the sunny side of the Salem bridge, Jami’s Kitchen serves its patrons in the New England tradition; presenting great food, fine beer and entertainment for locals and visitors alike. Our outdoor bar has spectacular views of the waterfront and offers harbor breezes, cool drinks and spirited conversation. We’re proud to welcome you, your friends, and your family of our comfortable kitchen!

Ledger Restaurant & Bar – click here for menu
Offering 3 course menu for $30
125 Washington Street Salem, MA – (978) 594-1908
Click here to make reservations on Open Table.

Ledger, located in the former Salem Savings Bank building (circa 1818), opened just this year by chef-owner Matt O’Neil and is already being touted by Zagat as one of the six sexiest new restaurants in Boston! Ledger is known for its progressive New England concept of traditional 19th-century dishes, cocktails, and techniques that are elevated with 21st-century resources. This is high-style cuisine, whether it’s the artful plating of each colorful dish or the creative take on wood-fired dishes, house-made charcuterie, and raw bar items.

Life Alive – click here for menu
Offering 4 course menu for $20
281 Essex Street, Salem, MA – (978) 677-8518

Want to enjoy a healthy meal that will make you feel good about eating? Look no further than Life Alive! Life Alive is devoted to making nourishing and delicious meals that are full of pleasure. Take pleasure and comfort in knowing that they are devoted to the vitality of our bodies, communities, and earth.

Longboards Restaurant & Bar – click here for menu
Offering 3 course menu for $20
72 Wharf St, Salem, MA – (978) 745-6659

Located on Pickering Wharf, Longboards Restaurant & Bar serves up award-winning sandwiches, lobster rolls and their new signature flatbreads, all with the promise that you won’t leave hungry. Longboards is your staple neighborhood bar with a full bar and a great list of local beers – check them out during your favorite game or come grab a drink and dinner with some friends!

Nat’s at the Hawthorne Hotel – click here for menu
Offering 3 course menu for $30
18 Washington Street, Salem, MA – (978) 825-4300
Click here to make reservations on Yelp.

For an unforgettable fine dining experience in Salem, enjoy the ambiance, warmth and hospitality of award-winning seasonal cuisine from Nathaniel’s restaurant. The menu features contemporary dining in a historic setting, while offering a carefully crafted wine menu and scrumptious desserts that will complete any night out or special occasion.

Opus – click here for menu
Offering 3 course menu for $30
87 Washington Street, Salem, MA – (978) 744-9600

With what can only be described as a maverick kitchen, Opus’ cuisine boasts unexpected flavor combinations that simply taste amazing. The restaurant’s dynamic sushi team draws on both east and western influences to create sushi rolls that are truly unique. The upstairs dining room is centered around an oversized, glowing glass bar where guests can meet for a drink or enjoy a three-course meal. Downstairs, in Opus Underground, guests can enjoy nightly entertainment in a Moroccan-inspired space filled with cozy seating and thought-out details. Opus is a go-to destination for live music, dinner, and cocktails seven days a week.

Regatta Pub at the Waterfront Hotel
225 Derby Street, Salem, MA – (978) 740-8788

The Regatta offers casual dining with flair. Try their signature “Regatta Blue” martini with your favorite burger or fresh seafood with a glass of chilled wine. The Regatta Pub offers an eclectic choice of appetizers, salads, sandwiches, and entrees in a relaxed and nautical inspired atmosphere, or chose to dine outside on their patio, weather permitting.

Rockafellas – click here for menu
Offering both 2 course menu for $20 and 3 course menu for $30
231 Essex Street, Salem, MA – (978) 745-2411

Rockafellas established a new tradition in dining in the center of historic Salem in 2003. As the most delicious occupant of the renowned Daniel Low Building, Rockafellas restaurant follows several other institutions of reputation including a department store, a bank (the vault now stores wines) and one of the first churches in America. Their menu features fresh seafood and Black Angus steaks and offers everything from burgers and salads and tapas to gourmet presentations. The wait staff assures a relaxed atmosphere where everyone feels at home.

Sea Level Oyster Bar – click here for menu
Offering 3 course menu for $30
94 Wharf Street, Salem, MA – (978) 741-0555
Click here to make reservations.

Located on Pickering Wharf, Sea Level Oyster Bar boasts two floors of fun while offering comfortable dining and great waterfront views. Sea Level also features a sit down raw bar packed with the freshest shellfish around. With an extensive beer list and creative cocktails that will quench your thirst while the kitchen cooks up fabulous seafood, gourmet pizzas and more, you are guaranteed to leave satisfied! Don’t forget to try their scrumptious desserts stamped in approval.

Thai Place – click here for menu
Offering both 2 course menu for $20, and 3 course menu for $30
Witch City Mall, Salem, MA – (978) 741-8008

Thai Place Restaurant has been open since 1990. Being the first Thai Restaurant in the North Shore area of Massachusetts, they are proud to be one of the first establishments to present the unique taste, culture and sincerity of Thailand. Thai Place’s dedication to prepare the finest Thai food comes with experience, care for their customers and careful selection of the freshest ingredients.

Turner’s Seafood at Lyceum Hall – click here for menu
Offering 3 course menu for $30 (March 18-22 only)
43 Church Street, Salem, MA – (978) 745-7665
Click here to make reservations on Open Table.

Turner’s Seafood at Lyceum Hall is an authentic New England seafood house in an iconic 1843 building with noted cultural history, complementing their family’s seafood heritage spanning four generations. This is where they prepare the catch-of-the-day becoming classic appetizers, entrees and creative daily specials. Turner’s shucks and serves the finest local and regional oysters & clams in their classic raw bar. And, their seafood market, Salem’s only, offers fresh, raw and prepared seafood to enjoy at home. It’s important to get to the docks early as good fish go fast but, the best go to Turner’s… then to you….dock to table … same day!

Salem has become a culinary destination, in addition to its other notoriety; people along the North Shore and beyond eagerly look forward to Salem Spring Restaurant Week. Reservations are encouraged; be advised to contact the restaurants directly. Please mention “Restaurant Week” when making your reservations.

 

 

Share

Salem Arts Festival Fundraiser to Feature Fabulous Fashions from Local Boutiques

 New Businesses, Salem Event, Salem Festivals, SMS News  No Responses »
Mar 152018
 

Ten years!!! The Salem Arts Festival is celebrating that milestone this year. You won’t want to miss a minute of it, including the exciting night of local fashion, food, drink, and fun known as Salem Arts Festival Fashion Show Fundraiser, Friday, April 6, 7-10pm

The Fundraiser will be held “upstairs” at the beautiful and historic Old Town Hall at 32 Derby Square.

“The Fashion Show gets bigger and better every year, and it’s really the perfect way to introduce the dynamic, locally-focused energy behind the Arts Festival,” says Kylie Sullivan, Executive Director of Salem Main Streets (SMS), the community nonprofit that founded the Festival.

Featuring fabulous fashions from local boutiques (full list to be posted online soon), attendees can also expect fantastic outside-the-box accoutrements and surprises from local creative genius Grace & Diggs, and other local makers, on the catwalk. In line with the Salem Main Streets themes of “Live, Work, Play” (inspiring this year’s festival), boutiques will model looks that display the amazing variety and versatility of fashion options that can be found in Salem. Lighting and ambience by Retonica will completely transform the historic hall throughout the night.

Karen Scalia of Salem Food Tours returns as the mastermind behind all fashion show logistics and staging, and with the Creative Collective (previously known as Creative Salem) officially joining Salem Main Streets as co-organizer of the Festival, locals know that means it’s going to be an incredible night. Farmers’ Market-inspired snacks by Ferreira Foods, drinks by North Shore Bartending, a photo booth, and a great raffle will make the evening complete.

Why a Fund-Raiser?

“The need for financial support is critical for the success of the festival, which welcomes 6,000 attendees to downtown Salem every June,” explains Sullivan. “We are committed to keeping the festival free and open to the public, but we’re also committed to paying our artists – that means we need to raise some substantial funds.”

Advance tickets are $35 per person with a cash bar, with $50 VIP tickets available for an assigned seat on the catwalk and a free thank you treat. Tickets purchased the day of the event are $30, with $45 for VIP seats – but this event regularly sells out, so we don’t recommend waiting!

Purchase tickets over the phone at 978-744-0004 x115, in person at 265 Essex Street (Salem Main Streets), or online at https://salem-main-streets.ticketleap.com/fashion-2018.  Proceeds directly benefit the Salem Arts Festival.

About the Salem Arts Festival

The 10th annual Salem Arts Festival will be held June 1st to 3rd, 2018.  SAF is organized by Salem Main Streets, the Creative Collective, and a collaboration of Salem organizations, including the City of Salem, Salem State University, Salem Food Tours, the Phoenix School, Salem Public Space Project, the Salem YMCA, Peabody Essex Museum, and the Salem Arts Association.

The festival is supported in part by a grant from the Salem Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. The festival also relies on the gracious support of its other creative partners, including Retonica Event Lighting, The Scarlet Letter Press, and Octocog Marketing and Design.

 

 

Share

End the Week by Finding That Elusive, Unusual Gift

 Haunted Happenings, New Businesses, Resources, Salem Event, Salem Farmers Market, Salem Festivals, Salem Shopping  No Responses »
Dec 142017
 

Looking for that “last gift” or stocking stuffer? Something really unusual? May we suggest you check out Salem Ma this Friday and Saturday for your holiday shopping needs?

Festive Fridays is an on-going December promotion designed to make shopping fit your schedule; many Salem merchants will be keeping their businesses open later on Friday night. Why drive all the way to a crowded mall, only to fight for a parking space? Everything in Salem is within walking distance, and there is abundant parking.

You may have browsed some of our stores during October’s Haunted Happenings and thought “I’d like to come back and check this store out when I had more time and not so many party-goers around.” Well, now’s your chance.

Then on Saturday, a wide range of local vendors will be present at The Salem Winter Market. Patrons can expect to fill their shopping bags with an assortment of foods and artisan crafts including seasonal produce, pasture-raised poultry, locally-caught lobster, baked goods, wreaths, handmade soaps, honey, pickles, gourmet ravioli, and artisan chocolates.

The Salem Winter Market takes place from 1-5pm at the Witch City Mall (formerly the Museum Place Mall, 1 Church Street) for your shopping convenience.

“The Winter Market is a fantastic opportunity to support local farms and artisans through the holiday season, and is a chance to find some truly unique holiday gifts,” states Kylie Sullivan, executive director of Salem Main Streets and organizer of the market.

For further information regarding current vendors and Winter Market updates, refer to the Market’s website, Facebook, and Twitter pages, or contact Kylie Sullivan directly at 978/744-0004 x115.

Happy Shopping!

Share

Trick or Treat Again & Again & Again in Salem

 Haunted Happenings, New Businesses, Parade, Salem Event, Salem Festivals, Salem Shopping  No Responses »
Oct 202017
 

Most kids’ Halloween costumes are worn once on October 31st and then put away, perhaps to be worn the next year. Most likely they will be passed down or donated. But not in Salem Ma., where we give our kids the chance to wear their costumes several times. Point in fact this Sunday, Oct 22nd when Trick or Treat on the Wharf takes place at Pickering Wharf.

To recap, it all begins with the Haunted Happenings Grand Parade when the children of Salem dress in costumes to help kick off our month-long celebration of Halloween. This is followed with Mayor’s Night Out where the little ones accompany the Mayor on a visit to businesses in our Downtown District which have goodies to hand out. And although the Howl-o-ween Pet Parade was for the animals to be in costume, their youthful owners could come dressed up as well.

It will conclude, of course, with actual trick or treating on Halloween afternoon/evening as children in costume visit homes of neighbors.

But this Sunday, there is one more event to delight the little ones. Participating establishments at Pickering Wharf will be offering treats for kids, as well as giving parents that one more chance to get more mileage out of the “must have” costume of 2017!

The Trick or Treat on the Wharf event runs from 5-7pm at Pickering Wharf.

Share
 Older Entries