New faces and concepts have opened at the indie-spirited lifestyle district in West Palm Beach in recent months.
If it has been a while since you last visited the Warehouse District near downtown West Palm, expect to find some notable tweaks and new faces next time you wander through.
At Grandview Public Market, the food hall that has been the District’s centerpiece since its February 2018 debut, say hello to Danny Lebron at Lechon Tropical. In another of the food hall’s vendor shuffles, the newish stall took over the former El Cochinito space.
Lebron used to work at El Cochinito, a spinoff of a Los Angeles Cuban sandwich shop. But when the owners left the market in June to open a bakery in L.A., Lebron made a bid for the space.
His enterprise was not lost on Grandview’s owners. After all, Lebron had set up a weekend crepe business while working at El Cochinito. Short story shorter: Lebron rebranded the stand, where he offers a small menu of Cuban and Caribbean classics along with items from his Tropical Crepes side hustle.
Across the corridor from the stand, the former Locanta Local Eatery stall has been rebranded as well. The former owners, who moved on from the food hall this summer, still operate the main Locanta restaurant on Military Trail. The new food hall concept, which is not operated by Locanta Local, bears a slightly tweaked name — Lokanta. The Mediterranean-inspired menu is similar to the former tenant’s.
Walk just southwest, along the spruced up rail bed that runs behind the food hall and past the year-old Steam Horse Brewing Co. and find Steel Tie Spirits, the District’s rum distillery, which opened five months ago. This is Ben Etheridge’s domain and the new home of a craft alcohol company he founded with his late father.
With its vintage structure and antique touches (like a Henry Flagler mansion rocking chair, 1921 piano, steam trunks, old books and 1937 radio), the place is as much a museum as it is a spirits distillery and tasting room.
Walk two minutes to the northwest and venture into Elizabeth Ave Station, home of the newish Composition Coffee House, a deliciously chill spot.
Owner Josh Korman will brew you a cup of nuanced Kenyan coffee via the AeroPress method. (Or whatever your caffeine-delivery method may be.) Korman is not just a start-up business guy, he’s a coffee philosopher who has some interesting stories to tell. He says he named his business Composition to reflect the “parts that make up a whole.”
The name also refers to a collaborative effort that defines the coffee world, “and creating a space that recognizes different people of different backgrounds.”
“Every single person in this craft has a role in coffee, from seed to cup. Their role matters,” says Korman, who brews coffee using beans roasted by Passenger Coffee Roasters of Pennsylvania. “My role is being the final handler of that coffee.”
If you love coffee, you’ll find a kindred spirit on Elizabeth Ave.
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