In a time when the service industry is facing more challenges than ever, The Wandering Market is trying out a new strategy to help bolster the local food economy.

They've partnered with the Cornerstone Bar and Grill to overhaul the current menu and focus instead on using ingredients exclusively from local farmers and producers. The plan is intended to reduce food waste and offer even more options for customers.

Co-owner and manager of The Wandering Market Nadine LeBean says that with this new strategy, there will always be some variety in the menu.

"So the menu will be constantly changing, it'll be based upon what is abundant and in season. Usually, the way that a restaurant works is they have a set menu and then have to go looking for specific products, whereas we're going to be doing the opposite. We will get a variety of products and then our chefs will turn those into meals."

According to LeBean, this will help reduce cherry-picking only the most desirable vegetables or cuts of meat and will keep down food waste in the long run. LeBean has been hoping to get something like this going for a long time, and with the pandemic hitting local businesses so hard, decided that it was now or never.

"Recently with COVID making everything so difficult for restaurants, we finally got it together and said, 'Okay, if we're going to do this, let's do it in a big way...we need to completely overhaul it.'"

The brand new menu accompanies a suite of renovations at the Cornerstone as well. LeBean says another important factor for them is a streamlined delivery service.

"We're also focusing on a really good delivery plan so that people could even have the meals they want for the week delivered ahead of time. So it's not only like takeout where you just order for the night. You can go online and order seven meals and not worry about supper for the whole week."

They hope to be able to partner with other local businesses as well to show just how much the local economy has to offer.

 

A soft re-opening of the Cornerstone is set for Wednesday, Oct. 7.