The Logan Street Market is still open. Here's how to support its small shops, restaurants

Of the 30+ vendors at Louisville's Logan Street Market, eight are still open for business with limited hours, including the convenience store The Bodega, giving Shelby Park and its surrounding neighborhoods access to fresh food and restaurant-made meals.

Logan Street Market officials hope that sales at The Bodega, the small grocery and supply store at the corner of the market at 1001 Logan St., will help the market survive the business slump as customers practice social distancing to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.

The Bodega, part of the Logan Street Market foundation nonprofit, sells fresh produce, eggs, dairy, nonperishables, pantry staples, beer, wine and spirits.

"With the rest of the market and its vendors severely struggling or shutdown completely, The Bodega is just one of the lifelines that we need to survive this incident," marketing director Sara Height wrote in a news release. "Please show your support for our local businesses, avoid large crowds at superstores and help us make it through this trying time."

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Logan Street Market owner Mike Safai said that while sales at The Bodega are up and there have been lines the past few days at the Country Meat Co., he's still had to lay off most of the Logan Street Market's staff.

"Our traffic was actually good until they announced the shutdown," Safai said. "We had to shut the bar down. We're losing a huge amount of revenue and it's very unfortunate."

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Like many Louisville restaurants, the Logan Street Market and its vendors offer gift cards as a way to bring the small locally-owned businesses that call the urban market home funds while the pandemic continues. Logan Street Market gift cards can be purchased in any amount at logan-street-market.square.site/.

Safai said this week people came to the market in tears asking if it was going to be closed. Many customers in Shelby Park and its surrounding neighborhoods depend on Logan Street Market's bodega and other options to get by, something that's becoming increasingly important as supermarkets in the area continue to feel a pinch from the coronavirus.

Along with The Bodega, Logan Street vendors still open include The Breeze Wine Bar & Spirits, Foko, Country Meat Co., Bourbon City Barkery, Ziba's Bistro, Harvey's Cheese and Safai Coffee.

While you can't sit down and enjoy your meal inside the Logan Street Market, the restaurants and vendors that are open are offering numerous to-go options, including curbside and delivery services.

Foko is offering a breakfast burrito called Wake Up Louisville for $10, a grilled chicken sandwich for $9 and a "The Whole Familia" platter that serves three to four people for $20.

“The community, I have no words for how they have responded,” said Foko public relations manager Flavia Garcia. “Everybody is at least sending sentiments, buying gift cards. People are calling in even if it’s a small to-go order, anything helps."

Ziba's Bistro offers most of its menu for pickup and curbside delivery, and Harvey's Cheese is selling $9 toasties to go (or five for $40), plus its expansive cheese offerings are for sale as well.

"This is so tough for everyone," Harvey's Cheese representatives wrote it a Facebook post on Monday. "Please help us find good homes for the remainder of our current cheese inventory. We will be open with limited hours this week with the hopes of not letting all this gorgeous, tasty cheese go to waste."

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While Louisville restaurants and vendors still don't know how long the shutdown will last, Safai said he thinks the market can pull through.

"We are all going to work together. Any help we get we will pass along to everybody," he said. "We'll make this happen. We're not going to let the neighborhood down. We'll try everything we can."

Dahlia Ghabour: 502-582-4497; dghabour@gannett.com; Twitter: @dghabour. Support strong journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/subscribe.

Logan Street Market vendors: