Imagine a place where you can buy local, organic products from soap to syrup, wash cloths to spice rubs. Don’t forget your fresh produce, olive oils, and Pittsburgh Juice Company juices. While you’re at it, you might as well pick up lunch and take a yoga class. At Heirloom Superfood Market, you can do all of those things and more!
Heirloom Market is super easy to find, right at the end of the 31st Street Bridge. After a soft-opening during Open Streets Pittsburgh in June, they’ve been running at full capacity since October. And when we say “full capacity”, we mean it. They have something for every aspect of your well-being!
Heirloom calls itself a co-retail model, which means they’re opening up the market for like-minded businesses, mostly locally based, who are making healthy stuff. It’s a community space for wellness. For example, they offer yoga classes and things like knitting workshops in addition to selling goods – because making stuff is good for your brain. (Check their social media for all of their events!) Being healthy is more than just eating healthy, although Heirloom has you more than covered in that area, too.
Besides organic produce, they also sell bulk items like nuts and grains. You can bring your own bag or container, buy one there, or, in a pinch, use a brown bag they provide. The shelves are lined with other products like vinegar, probiotics, kombucha, and grocery staples. And, it’s easy to tell which products are local – just look for the green stickers. Between 40-45% of their vendors are local, and they’re always adding more.
There’s a lot of seasonality with their products since so many of them are local. Heirloom also encourages collaboration between their vendors, which helps everyone produce their goods more sustainably. Many of the vendors will swap ingredients or make something out of another vendor’s scraps. For example, Pittsburgh Juice Company provides ginger pulp – a byproduct of juicing that would otherwise be discarded – which is used to make ginger beer.
And, Heirloom is home to Pure Grub, which is serving up hot lunches. We’re not just talking any old lunch, though. Pure Grub is health based and focuses on nutrition as medicine. They’re dishing up food that’s gluten-free, dairy-free, and processed sugar-free. They make probiotic and macrobiotic foods that celebrate a myriad of cultures in their flavors. Like everything else at Heirloom, it’s all organic, and they’re primarily using locally sourced ingredients. The menu is constantly changing, so it’s always a delicious surprise.
Heirloom is really just focused on community. They’re building a community for their vendors, and they’re building a community for their customers. It’s a welcoming space for everyone…we guarantee you’ll feel at home when you walk through their door.
This content was provided by a local, independent contributor to Made in PGH, a lifestyle blog.