Market District Carmel

We moved here recently from Florida and the biggest adjustment has been not having the best grocery store in the entire world right down the street… Publix.
We have tried a lot of grocery stores since we moved here and the Market District is the closest to Publix that we can find… it’s even better.
Yes, there are a lot of specialty items, the meat department for example has everything you could imagine, including two kinds of snakes! You can buy food and they will prepare it plus they carry every type of meat and seafood you could ever imagine.
Once you get through that section you will find a typical grocery store. Well not entirely typical, their selection is probably better than most stores in this area. The prices were surprisingly good, especially with their membership card. They have great sales and we ended up with a cart full for under $ 100.
I wish it was closer but it is definitely worth the drive on the weekends.

First and foremost, this place kills it in the «service with a smile» department.
Top 5 reasons you may find me at Market District:
–fresh squeezed bottled juice that is $ 2-​$ 4 cheaper than you’ll find it elsewhere and three times as fresh (you can literally watch them pressing the juice) Go for the carrot apple ginger for $ 3.99 —- sooo good.
–Incredible salad and antipasta bar (perfect for pre-​party purchases) — you’ll be the hit of the party
–brie bar — — yes, you heard me — there’s a station where brie is topped/​wrapped to your liking for dinner parties/​entertaining (it’s SO neat!)
–nuts/​bulk wall — you’ll find everything from spicy Thai cashews to dried fruit of all shapes and sizes
–Lastly, hot foods bar — want a steak grilled and marinated to your liking? Yes, they have this. And soup and veggies and fish and so on and so on. It’s an experience.

Here for the Unilocal elite event. Hard to summarize. Does TOTALLY AWESOME cover it. Love the concept of freshly prepared items I house plus locally produced top drawer dairy, meats, beers and wines. This is a foodie paradise. I’ll be here early and often. Another great Unilocal event. Thanx

This place really does have the largest selection of food in the metro Indy area that I know of. The prices are not as outrageous as some reviewers claim if you are actually comparing apples to apples.
We typically get stuff that’s not available in more plebeian supermarkets — I don’t need to come all the way here from east Carmel to buy milk and eggs. The huge variety of sliced meats, cheeses, pates, fresh fish, fresh and aged meats, etc. is unmatched anywhere else in the Indy area.
There is also a huge selection of prepared foods with, of course, free samples. Sometimes we skip a meal and just bring the kids here for the free food. It’s all good.

This is a larger than average grocery store with a fancy restaurant called, «Table». We had coupons for both so we enjoyed Sunday brunch at the restaurant before shopping in the store. The whole family did the brunch buffet which came with an entrée from the kitchen. The buffet was fully loaded with salad bar, hot side dishes and veggies, a meat carver with roasted pork butt and beef tenderloin, shrimp, cheese, and a desert table. For a little extra we got a Bloody Mary, this too was fully loaded with bacon, shrimp, pickle, and more.
The store was on the larger side but not as big as Costco or jungle jim’s in Cincinnati. The big deal here seemed to be meat, bakery and an extensive deli. Well worth the visit, we will be back.

I read all the hype and witnessed all the great reviews and this place STILL beat expectations. It’s a very pleasant experience just to walk around.
I finally bought something last week when I volunteered to make dinner in an effort to impress my wife and take some pressure off of her for what had been a stressful day.
I shopped at the various stations in the deli area — which is half the building — and got some ideas. I ended up buying these lasagna squares that were PERFECT because I didn’t know exactly if I’d be feeding three or six people. I made a salad from the salad bar and bought a sourdough loaf.
The meal I presented was simply arranged and re-​heated but the family was delighted because they were probably expecting corndogs and fries.
The $ 30 I spent seems pricey but was worth the comfort-​food feel and de-​stress that came along with it.

Who doesn’t love this place? Market District is a great addition to the area and fits right in with its mixture of great prices and local options.
There are some great features: lots of ready to eat options. Starbucks. A killer seafood selection. Local options (like Frittle and Tulip Tree, and Broad Ripple Chip Co., to name a few). I love being able to pick up those during a regular shopping trip.
Many other cool features too such as a cook to order area (pick up a steak, have them cook it right then). Fresh pasta bar. The cool features are endless.
The strange part though is that I’ve had some issues getting some standard ingredients there, that I can find at any other grocery. And I love their produce area but the set up is confusing-​i have to search and search for veggies, because they are in the smaller displays rather than longer rows. Aesthetically, that looks better-​I get that-​but I have to do a lot more walking around boxes just to find lemons.
I go here as much as I can. But I think I’ll still keep meijer and Kroger in the rotation for my everyday shopping.

This place is pretty amazing. I heard about it so we made the trip from Brownsburg to here. It is super clean (it is also pretty new). The produce section alone is amazing. The seafood section is gorgeous!
I do really like the layout too. Checkout is super easy. The prices are wonderful as well.
But sadly I live in Brownsburg so I don’t think it really warrants the drive up there. Maybe someone will one day build a nice grocery on the west side.

Excellent selection of great foods, beer, cheese and the fish market was great.
Bride and I ate at the help yourself bar. Very very good. Salad and toppings were extremely fresh.
I enjoyed the stuffed grape leaves and the Italian Wedding soup. Telling you — just like Pittsburgh.
We will be back for sure — prices and good and they had some super awesome deals as well.

Yet another fantastic grocery store option in Carmel! I now rotate between about 5 – 6 different groceries, and Market District has more frequently entered the lineup lately, especially since it’s so close to my office. I often grab lunch at either the delicious salad bar (I love their selection of good greens, beans, cheeses, and dressings especially) or the fresh sushi (brown rice and quinoa sushi, $ 5 sushi Wednesdays, yes please!)
The grocery selection is fantastic. I’m not as huge of a fan of the produce area as I expected, because certain items are hard to find and sometimes just missing. But overall, the grocery store has a fantastic selection! Since Market District is a Giant Eagle brand, they have deluxe, high-​end products as well as cheap, store-​brand Giant Eagle stuff, and a mix of both healthy and junk food, so shopping here can fit most people’s preferences and budget. The staff always seems cheerful, and the atmosphere is pleasant to just walk around in the store. When I only have a couple of items, I’d rather do the self-​checkouts, so it would be nice if they had more of those, but I have no major complaints and usually come here at least a couple times a week since soon after they opened.

This is the kind of place you bring your mom who lives in a po-​dunk small town to, just to see the expression on her face by a place that virtually has E-​VERY-​THING inside one gargantuan space. It’s ridiculous in all the right ways, from the wine cellar to the gelato case to the hair salon to the dry cleaning drop-​off to a meat department that will season and cook your protein for you. Don’t try to understand it; just allot yourself three hours to explore and shop.

Five stars because the staff is super personable and friendly. We came here for dinner at the hot deli, and even though we took forever to decide exactly what we wanted, the people behind the counter seemed happy to help us, gave us recommendations and didn’t get frustrated by our being there. They seemed like they were having a good time being at work, which is enough to bring me back. Also, the food was pretty good and a lot for the price!
There is also an actual restaurant that is a bit pricier. But it looked really fancy and I hope to try it out sometime.

During my first official shopping trip to Market District, I spent close to 180 minutes of my precious life aimlessly wandering around the store in a near food trance. Although I felt as if I nearly lost my mind due to over stimulation, I made it out alive and without blowing my budget. High five!
After attending two pre-​opening events, I couldn’t wait for my first shopping trip to Market District. It didn’t hurt that I had recently received a coupon for $ 20 off a $ 100 purchase. Why, of course I will use this sweet discount. I figured it would be less crowded early on a Sunday morning. I was right. I was armed with my shopping list and ready to go. I figured I would be in and out in about an hour. Um, so that did not happen.
This place is MASSIVE! They worked hard to make this place a one stop shop. Free valet parking. Curbside pick-​up (the first four are free). Starbuck’s. A butcher. Seafood shop. Juice bar. Pasta bar. A bakery. Oh, the bakery. The aroma of freshly baked goods tingles your senses. I didn’t know where to start. There was so much to explore. I started in the middle of the store, and I honestly went up and down every single aisle. I wasn’t familiar with the layout of the store, so took me awhile to understand the lay of the land.
There is a wide selection of, well, everything! I did feel guilty for shopping at a big chain store, but I do love how they intentionally spotlight local companies such as Revival Food Co., Broad Ripple Chip Co, Local Folks Food, and sooooo many more. A nice selection of your local faves! I hope they expand.
The prices are fairly reasonable. Cheaper than Fresh Market. In the same price range as Kroger. They didn’t have a ton of sales going on, so I paid full price for most items.
I won’t bore you with the contents of my cart because I was looking for mainly kitchen staples to refresh my fridge and pantry. I will spotlight a few amazing things I picked up. I decided to try Brewla Bars, which are all natural ice bars. I decided to try the strawberry + hibiscus tea. It was a bit pricey at $ 4.99, but for a unique, dairy free, somewhat healthy alternative to ice cream, I was willing to pay. These ice pops were delish, by the way. They also had unique varieties of Terra chips, which are my favorite sweet potato chips. I’m now addicted to the sweet cinnamon ones. The pumpkin globs with buttercream frosting (basically pumpkin whoopie pies) from the bakery and multi grain bread were out-​of-​sight! Mmmmmm… I brought a variety of veggies and produce. All which were of pretty good quality. Not bruised or scary looking.
Overall, Market District is a winner. Did they completely steal my heart? Nah. I will still shop at my usual spots including my local fave, Wildwood Market, but I will head back to Market District when I’m looking for something special or get another awesome coupon.

As a foodie, I love this place and the wild amount of options. The dessert window alone takes my breath away. The candy aisle or shall I say AISLES were stocked with not only modern candies, but candies from my parents generation that are usually harder to find. They definitely have the largest meat and wine sections around, and offer great free samples everywhere. They have a juicer that will juice any fresh fruit for you instantly, and their own restaurant, «Table.»
As a college student, I appreciate the areas of the store with the pre-​made meals. For example, they have bags of fresh ingredients with recipes on them so that you make your own meal, but don’t have to take the time finding all the specific ingredients. They also have make your own pizzas, a sushi bar, soup station, and a grill section that groups together foods you might want to grill. They have a vegetable medley mixed together that I would love to cook at home. However, as a college student I also don’t think this will be my go-​to grocery store because of the increased prices.
This place is definitely an adventure. I went here basically all day with my friends to explore. They have a pharmacy that gives flu shots, a beauty salon, a make up bar, and a Starbucks. However, the best part is that there is a big chalk board when you walk in of all the local businesses that the store supports and stocks. They feature Sabu soap, Frittle, and Smoking Goose to name a few!

So imagine this great new cooking/​recipe blog, or better yet, imagine YOU were the one cooking the holiday meal for a very particular set of family members. The different recipes and dishes are asking for an array of spices and meats and vegetables and stuff that you KNOW isn’t at your local «regular» grocery store… and those «particular» eaters, you know, gluten free, paleo, local only, organic meal guests… that come to you home and will look at you side ways if all you can pull out is some green beans and Udi’s!!! Well no fear. that is why Market District in Carmel was created!
What is so special about Market District… well where do I begin. First it HUGE… definitely the place to go if you need to get your Fitbit steps in. But in its grandness there is a wide array of food to choose from. They have sections for your special diet eaters, Gluten free, locally grown, paleo, goat, sheep cows milk. Freshly squeezed juices, premade meals that come with meat, veggies, rolls and dessert. This place has it ALL.
Unlike most grocery stores where the perimeter of the store is smaller then the pre-​packaged foods, Market District in Carmel really does cater to the healthy eater. Their selection is vast in fruits and vegetables and meats and cheeses and they have great 5 for $ 20 deals in both meat and seafood aisle.
As a bonus they offer a Starbucks (a real one), top grade restaurant/​bar with great outdoor seating, cooking school, banquet area and no kidding A HIGH END SPA… who would’ve guessed.
Market District really has set the bar for grocery shopping in Indiana!

It’s like… A super Target ate 3 Traders Joes.
Yes, it’s huge. And yes, it has cute niche areas. And if I were throwing a wine and cheese party I might go here to consult someone for the perfect wine from the wine area, the perfect cheeses from the cheese area, the perfect cheese board from the home good area and the perfect bouquet from the flowers area.
But I’m not Martha Stewart.
So I prefer Trader Joes.

This is an amazing grocery store. It’s huge — probably the largest in Indiana. And it’s only 10 minutes from my house. Prices are reasonable (in addition to their upmarket Market District brand, they also carry their regular low-​cost Giant Eagle store brand) and there is a great selection of everything.
The checkout lines are like the lines at TJ Maxx. You stand in one line and when a register opens up, you are directed to that one — no more guessing which line is faster.
There is an on-​site full-​service restaurant (Table at Market District) which utilizes items found in the grocery. There is a separate Unilocal listing for the restaurant.
If you don’t have time for sit-​down service, there is a food court where you can pick up hot and cold items and a seating area.

I don’t think we will be choosing here over our regular grocery. Really nothing great. They don’t carry some of the items and brands I prefer. The queuing line told us to go to a lane with 2 other people in it and carts full. The line next to it was almost done. So we ignored the queuing computer. Doughnuts were fresh and tasty
The Kid (probably 21 ½ years old) in the Beer Wine area was very dismissive when I asked about a particular brand of wine.
I just expected to be blown away, it’s just a grocery store. Im hopeful it will add competitive pricing at other nearby grocery.

I think my expectations were too high. Have you ever been to a place like Jungle Jim’s near Cincinnati? If so, that is what I was really wanting in Indy. What Market District felt like to me was simply a very large grocery store.
I’ll break it down:
Pros:
Wine Selection is OMG
Meat Section is amazing. Tons of fish choices, lobster, crab and pre-​created meals.
Dry aged beef! Where else can you find this outside of restaurants? That is awesome although expensive, but hey… nowhere else to get it.
Cool little deli computers around the store where you can place your order over their wireless network and pick up your sandwich later.
Awesome «chef section» where they are constantly cooking hot meals and you can pick up a meal and go.
Cons:
Too much normal domestic stuff — 80% of this stuff is available at Kroger, Marsh and Wal-​Mart. Get more exotic stuff please!
Prices — HOLY… the prices here are astronomical. I’m not even talking about for things you cannot get elsewhere (in which case I’d understand) but I’m talking about mass produced normal stuff you can find at your local Kroger. Things here are roughly 30−40% more expensive. No reason for that. Good thing they are in Carmel where financial sense is thrown out of the window for convenience. :)
Not a great flow — The aisles aren’t done in an intuitive way in my opinion. This could vary by preference, but for me, this was a con.
Anyway, I’d come here for a few things like the Chef Bar, possibly try out the buffet on brunch and also the Salmon as I noticed the Atlantic Salmon was $ 6 a pound which is awesome.

I simply can’t wait till this store opens! The pre-​grand opening party tonight was amazing! I have been waiting for this store to open for 2 years and it is truly a magical places. Market District is a true shopping, eating, hanging with friends, learning new recipes, finding new foods, meeting great people, getting your hair done, having a drink, destination!
The amount of vegetables they had on display tonight was simply amazing! The Gelato was delicious! The pastries to die for. Everything we sampled was so good! It was really fun discovering the store with my friends and we have already planned to come back to eat brunch, get dinner, and hang out on that beautiful patio trying all the wines.
Market District was definitely worth the wait!