An Invitation to Indulge at Paso Market Walk
Photography by Richard Fusillo
The highly anticipated Paso Market Walk made quite a splash when it opened in the midst of the pandemic last August. With its stylish design, welcoming outdoor area and compelling lineup of food and drink vendors, it’s already firmly planted on San Luis Obispo County’s culinary map just one year later.
How could it not be? The open-air, ranch-style structure is a one-stop shop for vegan paninis, colorful bowls of ramen, freshly baked bread, desserts and local ales.
The Spring Street project is the brainchild of proprietor Deborah Mann, who felt “it was the right time to do this, to give back to the community with something new and different.” She has longtime local roots as the 1981 co-founder of Justin Vineyards that later sold in 2010.
Deborah modeled the project after other urban markets she encountered in her travels. However, this North County layout has a decidedly different feel.
While similar markets tend toward straight hallways flanked with vendors, Paso Market Walk’s design showcases four offset “pods.” They seem like separate structures, but their doors all lead to an airy high-ceilinged interior that encourages you to peer around every corner at each of the nine vendors. Outside, visitors can dine al fresco at any of the outdoor seating options or meander to the on-site nursery — a tendril to the property’s previous incarnation as Hometown Nursery.
The pod layout embraces the outdoor dining area, which is peacefully shaded by majestic oak trees. Keeping the wooded giants was integral from the start, notes Deborah, as was maintaining the property’s historic Victorian home. Built in 1890 by a local almond grower, the decaying structure was painstakingly moved to the acre’s southern edge, where it’s being refurbished as one of the project’s restaurants.
The resulting ambiance of the Paso Market Walk is one of strolling around a friend’s imaginatively crafted home — if that friend curated a brilliant culinary mecca of the area’s best bites. Keep things tame with a scoop of gelato or cup of craft coffee or start the weekend early with locally made potent potables such as cider, beer and wine.
A New Grill Includes Old Favorites
Among the Market Walk’s food purveyors is The Third Degree: An American Grill by Berry Hill. If part of that name sounds familiar, it’s because Jody Storsteen’s Berry Hill Bistro was a popular downtown Paso Robles fixture since 2003. That location was already slated to close upon the opening of The Third Degree, but fans will recognize some favorites on the new menu.
Tried and true sandwiches and salads, such as the wild salmon BLT and the Berry Hill Salad, with apple, cranberries, blue cheese, caramelized walnuts and balsamic vinaigrette, grace the page. You may be found guilty of enjoying the burgers on this court room-themed menu, which includes The Prosecutor with avocado and bacon, The Suspect topped with goat cheese and roasted red peppers and a lineup of three sliders dubbed The Jury.
“When creating the menu, we decided to place focus on the burgers and grill side of things,” Jody explains. That led to a catchy play on the word “grill” as in “getting the third degree.” She adds, “Although we have focused more on a grill-themed menu, our food, cooking concept and beliefs have never changed. We are still serving the best comfort food you can find, with a little extra love and flair.”
One thing that did change is a move from table-side service. All Paso Market Walk purveyors service patrons over the counter, allowing them to take the goods to go or enjoy onsite. During the pandemic, the outdoor dining areas proved very beneficial, as well as the project’s distinction as a market, an essential business that could remain open despite restrictions.
Location, Location, Location
Paso Market Walk is located a few short blocks away from downtown (1803 Spring Street), which lends itself to exciting possibilities when gatherings can safely resume. Deborah hopes the spacious outdoor layout will lend itself to intimate live concerts, creative pop-ups and even movie nights with films projected onto one of the exterior walls.
She acknowledges that the project’s location away from the fray may have encouraged locals to seek it out from the get-go, though it’s certainly a very Instagrammable tourist stop as well.
“You certainly want the locals to support you first,” Deborah says. “They’re really supporting us in a big way right now, and that’s been so important. We’re very grateful to be part of this wonderful community.”
