News
Peanut butter combos a slice of life in remodeled Public Market House
By David Carkhuff
Staff writer
[email protected]
The combination of Borealis multi-grain bread, cashew butter and raspberry preserves is the most popular sandwich at Peanut Butter Jelly Time, but everybody has their favorite.
Steve Miner, owner of Peanut Butter Jelly Time, reported logging his 500th
customer in only three weeks of operating on the second floor of the Market
House in Monument Square.
"It's my second attempt at starting, I started in Boston back in August and the
entity I was leasing from went bankrupt," Miner said.
Now, stationed on the remodeled second floor of the popular Market House,
Miner said he stays busy dishing out organic breakfast and lunch
combinations.
"Everybody's combination, it seems pretty unique," he said. "I've had people
come up and put pumpkin seeds on their sandwiches."
Standbys on a lunch sandwich are peanut butter, jelly, honey, granola and
fluff. For those craving breakfast cereals in the morning, Peanut Butter Jelly
Time lets you buy the bowl and add any ingredients you like.
Ingredients consist of organic products that are sold in bulk.
"I started making my own cashew butter and almond butter, and I just made a
cinnamon peanut butter," Miner said.
Miner described his launch as "pretty smooth sailing."
The restored second floor has been a popular draw.
"Watching people's jaws drop as they come up the stairs is the best part,"
Miner said. "People want to tango dance on our floor."
On Dec. 1, Kris Horton, president of the Market House, announced the
opening of the second floor. Three tenants are in place: Market House Coffee,
Pie in the Sky Bakery pizzeria (which produces its dough off site but prepares
the pizza in front of customers) and Miner's Peanut Butter Jelly Time
The Market House opened in September of 2006 after the closing of the
Portland Public Market on Cumberland Avenue and is operated by three
former Public Market vendors. From the beginning, there were plans to expand
to the second floor with more vendors but the economy and renovation issues
delayed the expansion for several years, Horton noted.
"The mission of the Market House is to carry on the vision of an in-town public
market in Portland by providing a community gathering place that celebrates
Maine people, food and agricultural traditions while joining the ongoing efforts
to revitalize Portland’s downtown, incubating small businesses and involving
the international community," states the Market House's website
(www.publicmarkethouse.com).
The second floor, with its ample seating and floor space, is a definite draw,
Horton said.
"We have seating for 50 so far, and the seats are usually full every day," she
said.
There's space for three or four more tenants on the second floor, depending on
their size, Horton said. People can rent day tables as well.
Jessica Turcotte is a vendor using one of the day tables. She recently spent
a day organizing a bin of donated toys which families can borrow and take
home. The public is also invited to donate used toys.
The toy bin accompanies a children's area, where board games are available.
Turcotte said she also wants to start a story time or art class for children so
parents can relax at the tables while their kids play.
At the day table, Turcotte was selling a hat that she calls a "scwig," a
combination of scarf and wig, designed for kids and adults. She said she
wants to bring the "inner child" out with these playful, ornamental head
coverings. Turcotte said that with every hat that she sells, $10 goes to buying
yarn so she can knit hats for children with cancer.
Two of the three original vendors comprising Market Vendors, LLC — K. Horton’s Specialty Foods and Maine Beer & Beverage Co. — were created and incubated in the Portland Public Market. A fourth business, Spartan Grill, was a food cart on Monument Square before moving in and becoming an indoor, year-round establishment, the market noted on its website.
A fifth business is Local Sprouts Community Supported Kitchen, which
provides local and organic food.
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