WILMINGTON—Up Beet Market in downtown Wilmington cuts the hunt out of hunting for vegan options. Located in Chandler’s Wharf, Up Beet Market is Wilmington’s first vegan-only store.
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“Everything in here is vegan and cruelty-free,” Jess Marler, the store’s owner, said.
Marler decided to dive in and offer the growing vegan community in town a market to call their own. Though there are health-conscious options in the region, vegans still find themselves scanning ingredient lists before walking out the door.
“It’s super frustrating when at the end of the day you want to pop in, grab a few things for a meal and go home,” Marler said. “You double all of your trips just trying to hunt down the vegan version.”
She said vegans in town order items online or end up swinging by multiple health food stores to pick up everything they need. “You ping-pong around grocery stores,” Marler said. “You end up having to go to some other grocery store, inevitably, to get some other ingredient that they don’t have.”
Vegan Mecca
When you walk in Up Beet Market’s doors, Marler said, “you’re safe.” Vegans can shop for cooking staples, snacks, and home goods and forget about stressing over spotting animal derivative ingredients.
Open just two weeks, Marler said the store already has vegans flocking.
“I didn’t expect to have such a big following right when we opened the doors,” she said.
Though she said the store is still waiting to add more items, it hosts a Panacea Brewing Co. filling station, a vegan jerky tower, multiple vegan cheese options and art made by vegan artists.
Soon, Up Beet Market will offer a gelato dipping station and plans to expand into offering more produce.
“This is our baby step into hopefully expanding into being a vegan Mecca,” Marler said. “That’s our goal; that’s the endgame.”
Up Beet Market is still working out its hours but will be open every day of the week from noon until 6 p.m. at 225 South Water Street.
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