Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
The ground beneath the Asheville restaurant scene shook a little Monday when Mountain Xpress food writer Hanna Raskin sent out a note on Twitter that chef Mark Rosenstein, the founder of The Market Place, is selling his restaurant.
Rosenstein’s importance on the local food scene cannot be over-stated. He’s been preaching the importance of locally grown food for decades. He created a masterful dining experience at his Wall Street restaurant. He’s the pre-eminent chef in Asheville.
And now he’s apparently stepping away. There have been no details forthcoming, so I have to leave it at that. In the meantime, here’s some background on Rosenstein:
In 1971, at nineteen years old, Mark Rosenstein built and opened his first restaurant, The Frog and Owl Café. Located in the country nine miles outside the resort town of Highlands, NC, one traveled down a single lane dirt road to reach the restaurant which occupied an old grist mill, the Old Buck Creek Mill, built around 1870. Each day, with pocket knife and basket in hand, Mark would visit local farms and gardens to select that day’s produce as food delivery trucks would not venture down the country road. Across from the mill was a trout pond. Often during the evenings, extra trout were needed and a staff member was sent over to fish. As a young restaurateur , Mark became expert at adapting his menu to feature whatever fresh ingredients he could find each day.
Mark moved to Asheville in 1979 to continue his passion for making people happy with his cooking and fine service, opening The Market Place at its original Market Street location. For his efforts, Food & Wine magazine named him to its first Honor Roll of American Chefs in 1983. The Market Place found its second home, and current location, on Wall Street in 1990, just as the revitalization of downtown Asheville began to take hold. Wall Street was the perfect location for The Market Place — a quaint side street in the middle of the city’s thriving arts and cultural scene. In 2004, Mark, his staff and patrons will celebrate the restaurant’s 25th anniversary. Now a downtown institution, The Market Place continues to be revered by locals and the city’s many visitors while Mark balances his time between creating in the kitchen, managing the busy restaurant, and navigating the many outlets of his ongoing passion for food and wine.
Throughout his years in the restaurant business, Mark’s hunting and gathering mentality has continued to influence his daily menu. The Market Place continues the tradition of using the freshest foods, with a strong emphasis on local and organic products, knowing that the best food is that which moves quickly from farm to plate. Seasonal ingredients, fresh hand-made preparations, creativity, and the use of certain timeless Europeanrecipes result in cuisine with levels of quality and originality so rare they take your breath away.
More to come on this story as it develops.
We’ve eaten at the Market Place restaurant many times over the years. It was excellent in the 1990’s, but seems to have hit some turbulence in recent years. Its always been a nice, but expensive, tab. What I disliked more than anything was the poor service when the place was very busy….they never seemed to have enough staff. The food was very good, however some of the items on the menu were not stellar. I hope something even nicer takes over.
The Market Place is a great measuring stick of how a restaurant should be operated. 30 years in a business that requires your presense on nights and weekends can take a toll on anyone. Maybe Mark wants to have some time to go out to eat as a customer for a change. Great Job, Mark! Your business has long been a good model for the locally-owned and operated restaurants this city proudly offers in a sea of chain restaurants.
oh so good.. my mouth is watering thinking of the faro i had there last time.. i agree though, the service and food at times had become hit or miss.
Wow. The community has definitely benefited over the years from Rosenstein. I think it also pretty interesting that the news broke over Twitter. Pretty cool.
I love Mark and his restaurant…..he has the best smoked trout dish, and my all time favorite cocktail, the Greys Hound with a fresh twig of rosemary in it…..get one before it’s too late 🙁
local – yes!
heidi, the restaurant isn’t going away. just getting a new owner.
the market place restaurant will definitely be missed in asheville. let’s hope that something even better takes over in that space.
in my opinion, the food (and especially the service) in this restaurant has declined over the past few years. some menu items are always stellar, however many miss the mark.
my main issue is the service which can be very indifferent. perhaps mark and his staff are simply worn out from the grueling grind of the restaurant business.
Mark brought gourmet food and dining to the area long before Asheville was cool! The leap of faith that he took to open The Market Place says it all. I ate at The Market Place many times after it first opened on Market Street and many times at the Wall Street location. The food was always incredible and the service excellent. He is a leader in this town dubbed "Foodtopia".