Jen and Emily Chan, the couple behind Cabbagetown restaurant and supper club JenChan’s on Carroll Street, will open their next venture together in Reynoldstown later this summer.
Mikkelson’s Market will take over the Urban Market grocery store on Flat Shoals Avenue. Barring any permitting issues, the couple hopes to open Mikkelson’s Market by July.
The Chans had been in talks to open their neighborhood market along Hotel Row in South Downtown. They decided not to move forward there. Hotel Row didn’t fit their plans for Mikkelson’s Market, but they still believe in the renovation of the historic buildings on Mitchell Street.
The couple next set their sights on finding a space in East Lake. When the Flat Shoals Avenue grocery store came up for sale, everything fell into place and they stopped looking elsewhere. The location is a short bike ride away from the Chan’s home in Cabbagetown.
Mikkelson’s Market is a very personal project for Emily Chan. They named the market after Chan’s father who died earlier this year. It pays tribute to her family’s Danish heritage through specialty items on the grab-and-go food menu.
“My dad owned restaurants, as did my mom. I’ve now lost both of them. Part of my grieving is throwing myself into work and opening this market in honor of my dad,” Chan said. “I got my work ethic from my dad. You don’t get days off when you own a restaurant. We even named our son Mikkelson. There’s just something about passing down a legacy and knowledge and recipes in families.”
At Mikkelson’s Market, the Chans will sell prepared plates of the day from JenChan’s and grab-and-go food like breakfast sandwiches, Hoisin duck and pints of smoked gouda mac and cheese. The market will also sell provisions such as smoked fish, other preserved goods, smørrebrøds (Danish open-faced sandwiches) and aebleskivers (Danish pancake-like puffed pastries) based on Chan’s…
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