From the orchard to the dining table

August 29, 2015

By Samantha Cronk (scronk@journal-news.net) , Journal News

 INWOOD - Soon, the fresh produce, vegetables and meats found in Taylor's Farm Market won't just be found on shelves, but on plates.

Taylor's Farm Market, located on Pilgrim St. in Inwood, is currently renovating its facility to add a restaurant, offering residents a casual atmosphere and superior food while focusing on a farm-to-table approach to ensure fresh ingredients and quality meals.

"I've lived here my whole life and know there's just not a lot of good places in Inwood to come and eat lunch. I got to thinking, we have all this space behind the market and started asking people what we should do with it, and they said a restaurant. We wanted to to start off a little small but decided to use the space up. It's going to be a really nice space," said Ryan Taylor, co-owner.

The restaurant will be about 2,000 square feet and will seat about 65. The entrance will be accessible through the farmers market.

Michele "Dubbie" Stewart has been hired as the restaurant manager, lending her passion for food and business experience to a project she said she's personally invested in. Stewart said she was originally hired as a consultant to help create the restaurant's menu, but after learning about the project and meeting the Taylor family she grew so attached she quite her job to dedicate herself full-time.

The restaurant will feature a variety of lunch-oriented items such as specialty salads, homemade soups and bread bowls, gourmet sandwiches, wraps and paninis and hand-battered appetizers, as well as adding personal touches such as mason jar drinking glasses and old milk jugs as water service for the table.

Taylor said he expects the restaurant to open in November.

In addition to the restaurant, food services will also include onsite and offsite catering for weddings, baby showers and small events.

In an effort to get the community involved with the restaurant, Taylor is leaving the restaurant's name in the hands of the residents. He is currently sponsoring a contest for residents to submit their ideas of what to name the restaurant, with the selected winner receiving a $50 gift certificate to the farmers market.

"We've struggled with picking out a name, so we thought we'd have the people who are going to eat here and the community input on the name," Taylor said.

"We want it to be something that honors the history of the building as an apple packing plant," he said, adding that he has already received more than 200 suggestions. Restaurant name suggestions can be made at the farm market's website, at www.taylorfarmsmarket.com.

Taylor's Farm Market opened in May 2014, occupying the former Inwood Farmers Market, after winning the bid proposal through the West Virginia Department of Agriculture, which owns the property and facility. The market is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Staff writer Samantha Cronk can be reached at 304-263-8931, ext. 132, or twitter.com/scronkJN.