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Downtown gourmet market Urban Radish celebrates grand opening

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Downtown’s Urban Radish, the first gourmet market of its kind in the Arts District, celebrated its grand opening Saturday with a ribbon-cutting, samples galore and crowds of shoppers.

After the 9 a.m. ribbon-cutting, shoppers sampled Urban Radish’s signature coffee, quinoa cookies, house-made Maui-style jerky and Weiser Family Farms melons as co-owner Carol Paxton led tours to point out Cotton Candy grapes, dried morels, baby romanesco and the store’s growing wine section.

The market opened in a neighborhood that formerly had few grocery options, even though restaurants have started to burgeon. “As a resident of the Arts District, I’ve seen this area develop” into a food lover’s destination, Paxton said. Restaurants such as Church & State and Bestia, the bakery Bread Lounge and Handsome Coffee Roasters are within walking distance. Stumptown Coffee also soon will open in the area.

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Photos: Inside Urban Radish

The 8,000-square-foot, light-filled warehouse was designed by Creative Space in what was a glass factory. The giant chipmunk mural on the side of the building was painted by Belgian street muralist Peter Roa.

The parking lot houses an electric-car charging station, and at the building’s entrance is an outdoor patio with picnic tables, where customers can eat prepared food from the deli.

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“I’m not into ham, but this ham ... ,” said one shopper over samples of Fra Mani’s rosemary ham and La Quercia’s prosciutto Americano. The deli carries a wide selection of charcuterie as well as cheeses cared for by a cheesemonger who formerly worked at Cowgirl Creamery and Neal’s Yard Dairy in London.

Other shoppers loaded up their double-decker carts and recyclable jute bags with Monograno pasta, Cadia gelato, packaged Let’s Be Frank hot dogs, Community Grains hard red winter wheat flour and house-smoked salmon.

The butcher counter also makes its own sausages and offers meat from subprimal cuts -- and eventually from whole animals. “My grandfather was a butcher,” Paxton said. “It was important for us to observe traditions.” (The market’s tagline is “a market rooted in tradition.”)

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Paxton said that among the biggest challenges has been finding the right mix of gourmet goods at the right prices. “It’s a balance, but we have to remain committed to quality.”

The market is open daily 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

661 Imperial St. (between Jesse and 7th streets), Los Angeles, www.urban-radish.com.

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Photos: Inside Urban Radish

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