New indoor food market opens in Charlottesville.
In early 2021, Charlottesville welcomed a new indoor food market to the city. Located at 946 Grady Ave, the market calls the historic Monticello Dairy building its home.
According to the Dairy Market website, the history of the market dates back to the opening of the Monticello Ice Cream Company in 1912. In 1936 the company built the historic Monticello Dairy building which quickly became a place for social gatherings. The same building has been used by many local businesses over the years, and in 2017 Cunningham Quill Architects and Stony Point Development group purchased the building. Since then, they have renovated it to host local restaurants and breweries in a food court style. They also are currently building an apartment complex next to the market. In early 2021 the Dairy Market opened to the public offering 12 food vendors, one full-service restaurant, a brewery, four retailers, and a bar.
When I visited the Dairy Market, I first noticed how surprisingly big the place is. When guests first walk up from the parking lot, they are introduced to some outdoor patio seating and the entrance to Starr Hill brewery. Guests can enter from either these doors or continue down the side of the building to the main entrance. Starr Hill has its own dining area and bar where customers are allowed to bring food from one of the other vendors. The food court is connected to the brewery and is set up in a long hallway with counter service restaurants on each side. At the end of the row of food options, the building opens up to a large room with the Milkman Bar on one side and coffee and ice cream on the other.
I ordered a wrap for $10 from Dino’s Wood-Fired Pizza & Rotisserie Chicken and brought it over to the seating area in Starr Hill. The wrap was huge and delicious, and the beer from Starr Hill was great! There were many options for me to choose among from pizza, sandwiches, and fried chicken to ice cream and coffee. One thing I did notice is that there doesn’t seem to be enough seating area available for when the place goes to full capacity. A patron even told me “We were hoping that there would be more room to just hang out.” Which I agree with.
Although it does feel like a lot in a relatively small area I really enjoyed checking out the market. It offers a unique dining experience to Charlottesville and they did a fantastic job keeping the history of the building alive.
Address: 946 Grady Ave, Charlottesville, VA 22903
Hours: 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday-Monday 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday-Saturday (Vendors vary between these hours)
