Market City Cafe

A few years ago, when I first started hanging out downtown, I met a long-time pen pal at a little shop called Cherry Corner. My pilot friend and I had a beautiful conversation while I ate the most delectable fruit tart. It was one of those occasions that help you hold a building and a restaurant fondly in your heart. After Cherry Corner closed, we were left with a building whose very emptiness felt like a wound. Therefore, it was a most promising sight when Market City’s signage quietly announced their arrival.

Market City is, plainly put, a soup, salad and sandwich shop. And yet there is nothing plain about Market City Café. They take ordinary sandwiches and elevate them from the mundane with a few simple ingredients. For example: The Martina and May, a grilled chicken sandwich with a slice of brie cheese and honey mustard mayo. Or a creamy chicken salad on a buttery croissant. Yes, you can find these in other shops, but at Market City Café there is something a bit different about it.

The crispy-soft baguette that holds the Martina & May sandwich and the creamy brie cheese gave the chicken sandwich a definite lift. The chicken salad sandwich was good, especially once I added the salt and pepper and got it warmed a bit. The chicken soup had a rich stock, nice, hearty chunks of vegetables and tender, flavorful pieces of chicken. It felt at once comforting and decadent. Market City Café makes their own chips as well, which are very good, much more flavorful and much less salty than traditional chips, although they are affected by the humidity a warm sandwich emits.

I am a bit of a nut about customer service. I believe that anyone that walks into an establishment should be made to feel welcome. Whenever you visit historic downtown areas of other cities, you usually get that feel that they are glad you are there because that means they will be open that much longer. Downtown areas usually have a very symbiotic relationship with their customers, especially in Macon where the goal is to grow the area. Simply put, every place should become as welcoming as home. My visits to Market City Café have made me feel at home—from the hostess who greeted me warmly and pointed out foods I might like if I chose to eat there to the waitress who gave me a thorough explanation of the foods I could order and whose recommendation was not only good, but also extremely satisfying.

It also wasn’t just our waiter who was extremely friendly, possibly in the hopes of getting good tips, but every other person on the staff had a ready smile, a warm greeting and an air of help that wouldn’t begrudge giving help to someone they were not already waiting on. The inside is a bit crowded, but it doesn’t hinder the charm of the place. There were also areas that were very quiet and intimate available, which makes this a great place for lunch with a group or a place to write while sipping a drink and eating something light. Now that back room is open up, the Café is a lot nicer.

The elephant in the room is how they opened. The first few times, the service – though friendly – was slow and forgetful. That’s certainly improved. Food came out within 10 –15 minutes of my order. The other thing was the sweet tea. We’re Southern and stubborn. We want it “just so”. In the beginning, their sweet tea was awful. It was brewed too strong and there wasn’t enough sugar in the restaurant to cover that up. But, to my utter delight, it was perfect this last trip out. Whatever sparked the change, kudos!

At this point, it’s hard to fault them. They’ve survived those opening jitters where the wrinkles must be ironed-out. And now, it’s what we’d hoped for: a quaint, quiet lunch spot. It’s also more now too. The market part seems ready to flourish next and that would be exciting. Market City Café is good and deserves a taste. Their prices are reasonable, service is friendly, but most of all, they are a worthy addition, not only to downtown, but also to the memory the building holds. Market City Café is on the corner of Cherry and Third Street downtown.