If you live or work in downtown Durham, you know you have to get in a car and drive to the nearest grocery stores on 9th and Broad Streets to get your eggs and butter, but that’s about to change with the opening of Bulldega: a very hip, very cool, very local urban market located directly across from City Hall.
The matriarch of the family who owns Bulldega, Yvette West, has lived in Durham (right above the space!) for many years. She’s passionate about stocking the shelves with environmentally-friendly products and goods from small businesses and farms (many of which are right here in the Triangle). At Bulldega, you can get eggs from Funny Girl Farm, meat from Joyce Farms and Firsthand Foods, fresh baked bread from The French Corner Bakery, Chapel Hill and Durham Toffee, Melina’s Fresh Pasta, Big Spoon Roasters, pints of ice cream from The Parlour, Brood Soda, fresh cut flowers from Curtis Flower Farm, and eco-friendly cleaning supplies, like a refill station from Fillaree.
The market will have Carrboro Coffee Roasters brewing all day and night, and small tables strategically placed so that people can hang out for a bit. There will also be take-and-go lunch items prepared by Durham Catering Co. and Saladelia Cafe.
There’s an entire wine and beer room in the back that has a cool wine cellar type vibe to it, and a palette board on the wall that will be a living herb garden, so you can pick a sprig of fresh rosemary and not waste buying a whole expensive pack just to have the rest of it sit around and go to waste.
Not only is Bulldega bringing a local market with a local focus, it’s also locally owned and operated; every member of the family has a role…whether it’s setting up the technology, ordering the wine and beer, or writing descriptions for the food.
The decor is perfect for the historic building, with exposed brick and high wood-beamed ceilings. The shelves are made by local woodworker Peters Design Works and the urban and industrial interior is mixed with vintage elements like antiques from Greensboro that retain their old world charm.
Since the owner lives upstairs, they’ll be able to open the market during winter storms and welcome local passerby’s who want to warm up over coffee or grab some food to ride out the storm. And on warm spring days, people can sit outside at bistro tables or walk over to do some light shopping during their lunch break.
Within just an hour of us visiting the space (which was still in progress) on a Thursday morning, several people popped their heads in the door to see if Bulldega was open. Like the rest of the downtown Durham crowd, we can’t wait for the official opening this Saturday (May 7) from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. (Regular hours are planned to be 7-9 Mon.-Fri.; 8-9 Sat., and 9-6 Sun.)
Photos: Tommie Watson Photography
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