Brentwood and Marin Country Marts - Where Cotton Candy Meets James Perse & Locavore Casual Food Gurus
Brentwood Country Mart
JS Rosenfield Curates Style & Substance From The Bay Area To
Los Angeles
I grew up near the old Farmer's Market in Los Angeles now shrouded in The Grove with its original heart still beating under the new outdoor shopping mecca. I came of age in the Farmer's Market with my parents and grandparents leading me through the corridors of food stalls and the melting pot that was always Los Angeles. I took pony rides (down the street) and plunged my hands into jelly bean jars and ate jaw breakers, rode coin up horses and remember magic happening just by watching the world of food and commerce.
We ate on wooden benches and food counters always punctuated by rows of fresh produce, whole cods on ice with eyes wide open mesmerizing my childhood imagination. It was a melting pot of cultures from China to Russia and the smells and the collision of food and community, a Disneyland to a kid. The Country marts still retain that magic for kids and adults with a high end boutique shopping effect. The marts are a nod to the markets of another era and they simply work.
Rustic Bakery
What was especially memorable for me in the older Farmer's Market was the use of wood, the clapboard, the carts, the benches and the Americana props that kept my Los Angeles upbringing in tune with the rest of the country from main street to main street.
Larkspur & Brentwood
Marin Country Mart at Larkspur Landing is a pretty good example of taking a 70's style outdoor retail destination and tweaking it with wood, fountains, umbrellas, decomposed granite, benches and more benches, the location is starting to come together in a magical way. It took a while but the vision has landed and its many sister stores in Brentwood have their own Marin flavor.
Farmshop is the food star in the marts collection and the strongest link between the two Californias. After living in Marin and spending a lot of time in Napa and Sonoma, I walked into this very local little gem in Brentwood and felt like I was smack in the heart of both Californias. With food sourced from farms and artisan producers up and down the coast, Farmshop menus and the market illuminate our fresh food culture and an open table community gestalt. Thanks Jeff for bridging the gap! Marin Country Mart will be opening the next Farmshop early winter, no market, casual dining, delicious farm to table fare.
Kat Nguyen/JS2 for FarmShop
Farmshop is the latest answer to community dining on the west side of Los Angeles. Though chef-owner Jeff Cerciello (Culinary Director for Bouchon, Bouchon Bakery and Ad Hoc; French Laundry; El Bulli) and Restaurant Director Michel Darmon (Encantado Resort in Santa Fe; Bouchon; Bouchon Bakery; Ad Hoc; Per Se; Guy Savoy) hail from some of the world's most respected fine-dining establishments, Farmshop is a straightforward breakfast/lunch/dinner restaurant-cum-market located in the Brentwood Country Mart.
The menus feature fresh, California-inspired fare made from artisanally-sourced ingredients.
"Everything we serve and, in fact, everything you see at Farmshop starts with a name, a face and a long-standing relationship that we believe in."
- chef-owner Jeff Cerciello
The Country Marts share tenants but each location embraces just that, its location with total synergy yet its own regional spin.
The Visionary Who put it all together, a local Angeleno with a flair for design and restoration creating community spaces with style and simplicity.
J.S. Rosenfield & Co. believes that shopping centers are more than just places to shop. They are environments that bring social and economic value to communities, while creating a place for people to congregate and businesses to flourish.
Founded in 1987, J.S. Rosenfield & Co. restores and renovates existing shopping environments and prides itself on attracting exceptional and unique merchants to benefit the communities in which we live and work.
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