I found Hopewell the morning before a day of golf. Or, perhaps I should say, Hopewell found me. Hubby and I left the house early searching for a coffee stop on our way to the course. We altered our route to stop at a not-so-little coffeeshop, Boro Bean*, on Broad Street in the heart of Hopewell.
*A possible coffeehouse adventure post in the future? We shall see…
My bet is, as I took this picture, I was saying, “Smile normal!”
I knew of Hopewell. I’d put it on my list* of Broad/Main Streets in Jersey to visit, but my intentions and actual actions often land miles from one another requiring coincidence to intervene.
*When I say I ‘put it on my list’, we all know this is a hypothetical list, right?
This first visit led to a detailed search of the town which started with our drive in and out and continued online later. While Hopewell lacks the surplus of little independent shops I crave in a town of its nature, it makes up for it with an abundance of good food.
Like, really good food.
Brick Farm Market is at the top of the list of stops I must make when in or near Hopewell.
Think about public markets with a variety of vendors. Brick Farm Market has exactly that feel with one vendor: Double Brook Farm, the farm which sources the majority of the product going in and out of Brick Farm Market.
There is a grocery section, a bakery, charcuterie, a cheese shop, a butcher, produce, a café, a coffee bar, and a juice bar.
One stop shopping. Literally.
They have all the funky kinds of things I can’t find at my usual grocery store, like lard and guanciale (pork jowel), a wide selection of cheeseboard worthy cheeses, along with their own specialties like homemade hotdogs and fresh pressed juices.
We typically make three or four purchases when we’re there because it’s all too irresistible. First, we eat at the café. Then, naturally, we order a few goodies to take home from the bakery, possibly grabbing a coffee as well. Then, we might visit the upstairs butcher and cheese shop or we’ll wander through the grocery section and make a few unique selections before sighing and wishing we lived closer.
Double Brook Farm also has a tavern: Brick Farm Tavern, less than a mile down the road. I’ve dined there twice now and both times had wildly different and incredibly satisfying meals.
Unforgettable gnocchi shared as a starter at the Tavern
What I love best about Brick Farm Market is simply its existence. That the farm decided they needed to do more than function as a farm. That they wanted to connect to the community by making their products available in a way where others can see the literal farm to table* approach.
*Speaking of farm to table, they even host special events at the market such as their upcoming Rose Veal Butcher Dinner.
In my fantasy world where I am an astronaut who writes stories and owns a Christmas tree farm, my farm functions exactly this way.
And I hope more start to, too.
Brick Farm Market 65 E. Broad Street, Hopewell, NJ
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