The Market at Circa 1857
A soon-to-be-twinkling courtyard at the heart of Mid City’s revitalization
Lucie Monk Carter
Garrett Kemp, owner of The Market at Circa 1857.
Stacks of old shutters and rusty gates, piles and piles of unfinished doors—with a bit of imagination and elbow grease, they could feature in your home. With a bit of candlelight, they serve as set dressing for our most romantic Country Roads Supper Club yet.
In the courtyard of The Market at Circa 1857, the old and the abandoned take on the particular beauty of antiquity. Throw in the wafts of warm jazz, a bite of lamb osso buco, and your partner’s champagne-sparkled eyes—nights like these don’t come around often.
The iconic century-old Government Street building has been a go-to for one-of-a-kind antiques, architectural pieces, and art for the past eighteen years. Current owner, 23-year-old Garrett Kemp—enchanted by the funky oasis of vintage finds and storied odds and ends—bought the business from his former boss in 2016, renaming it The Market at Circa 1857. Since then, he’s striven to really bring The Market to the community and the community to The Market.
“A stereotypical antique store is often thought of as a sort of sleepy, minding themselves kind of business, a hidden gem,” he said. “I want people to know about us, and to know they can come here to shop or just to come and have a good time.”
In the recent years under Kemp’s wing, The Market at Circa 1857 has opened its goldenrod doors as an eclectic event venue, hosting workshops and wine tastings, as well as the shop’s annual Champarty, which Kemp says brings in a couple thousand people each year. The space has also been a key destination for Mid City events like White Light Night and the Mid City Makers Market.
Kemp added that this expansion of services and involvement is part of his effort to widen and diversify the Circa family, bringing in people of all backgrounds and age-groups. “This place is for everybody,” he said. “There is something for everyone here, regardless of income, regardless of style.”
Dinner will be served on February 14, 6:30 pm, at The Market at Circa 1857. $100 tickets available via bontempstix.com.
This article originally appeared in the February 2019 issue. Subscribe to our print edition here.
