12:00pm | Residents of downtown Long Beach welcomed a long-awaited arrival to their neighborhood , as the Kress Market organic and gourmet grocer held its official opening party at Pine and 5th Street on Thursday afternoon.
Servers walked around offering toothpicks stacked with organic olives and freshly-sliced meats, while vendors outside handed off samples of gourmet feta cheeses and olive oil tortillas. The market offers fresh and healthy shopping alternatives in an area of Long Beach with few healthy shopping options.
Inside, though small, Kress Market is crammed with brightly-colored produce, a very diverse wine section and a gourmet deli slicing meats before your eyes. Choose from a wide variety of smoothies and voila, enjoy your lunch inside or on the sidewalk seating.
The market is located on the ground floor of the historic Kress Lofts building, which houses office space and residences. Store owners Javier and Hilda Ortiz have made Kress Market their life’s work and designed the entire operation based on community input.
Both owners spoke to a large crowd at the opening yesterday, along with 1st District Councilmember Robert Garcia. Check out the video below to hear what they had to say, and see the variety of healthy and delicious foods that Kress Market has to offer.
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