I've always felt a special draw toward little shops, markets, and cafes tucked into residential streets. They just seem extra cozy, familiar, and friendly mixed in on a block lined with colorful houses, sharing the sidewalk with vegetable beds, welcome mats, maybe some garden gnomes. The Delightful Neighborhood Market is just that kind of spot. It's a corner store perched up in the North End of Tacoma where you get the feeling they know their customers. How do you get that feeling? Well, its hard to miss when the cashier-owner makes sure you're finding everything all right, then introduces himself kindly, shakes your hand, and asks if its your first time in. Almost like the business is just another house on the block, and you're a guest, and you're welcome.
Delightful Neighborhood Market in Tacoma's North End on N 45th St.
Where It Is and What You'll Find
Annie's Mac & Cheese along with some organic canned goods for a quick dinner.
Delightful Neighborhood Market
4818 N 45th St, Tacoma
M-Th: 7 am-9 pm, Fri: 7 am-10 pm
Sat: 8 am-10 pm, Sun: 8 am-8 pm
At Delightful Neighborhood Market you're going to find some things you'd expect to find in a convenience store:
Kombucha cleanse brought home from Delightful Neighborhood Market to our own picnic table.
Pringles
Pop-Tarts
canned beer
cigarettes
gum
all that good stuff
You're also going to find things you wouldn't expect to find at a typical corner store, like:
PNW microbrews
kombucha on draft (bring your growler!)
Annie's Shells & White Cheddar
organic frozen veggies
bone broth
Smith Brothers Milk
Local Business Supporting Local Businesses
48 Likes, 5 Comments - Delightful Neighborhood Market (@delightfulmkt) on Instagram: "Have you tried this? It's amazing and we thinking you should try it! You can find @bonafidepotents..."
What else? They're stocking and supporting local, small Tacoma companies like Vimana Culture kombucha, Valhalla and Bluebeard Coffee, and Ice Cream Social! This is so great. Yes, when I go to the corner store I really just might want some Pringles. So thanks for stocking those. But, I might have a hankering for ice cream, and I might really like it to be wonderful ice cream, which means I might like it to be from Ice Cream Social. That way, I'm eating something delicious, shopping at a small family business, and supporting a local product all at the same time.
Yep, this is just a regular little market on some levels. But it's more. It's filling a need in a neighborhood, it's maintaining a tradition (the building first opened as a store back in 1916!), and it's reaching out to the community. Follow them on Instagram and you'll get invitations to come in for free hot cocoa on snow days. That's a pretty nice offer, delightful even. Image from @delightfulmkt.
Take it to the Park
Dandelions and lawn daisies brighten the grass at Baltimore Park with plenty of space for your picnic blanket.
So, go say hello next time you're wandering through the North End or Ruston. Pick up a pint of ice cream, buy a bottle of kombucha (or fill your growler), add in some chips since you are at a corner store after all, then maybe head to one of the little neighborhood parks nearby and breathe the fresh air. You'll find Jane Clark Park at 4825 N. 39th and Baltimore Park at 4716 N. Baltimore, each about half a mile away all set with grass, benches, a playground, and some good community vibes. Have yourself a small-town-style afternoon in the city; you can't go wrong.
A nice walking path circles Baltimore Park. Take your snack and have a stroll.
Playground at Jane Clark Park. A nice spot to stop when you're in the neighborhood.
See you around, neighbors!
