Belleville Market kicking off holiday season this week
Belleville Market, a recently launched multi-merchant shopping experience in downtown Easton that replaced the Easton Antique Emporium earlier this year, announced its lineup of in-store events and activities for the 2023 holiday season.
Belleville Market, 20 S. Third St., is inspired by the Belleville neighborhood of Paris and modeled after an outdoor European street market. Inside Belleville Market are over 70 makers, curators and collectors, all of whom are locally owned and creative-based small businesses.
Featured in-store holiday events include: Belleville Market Holiday Open House: 5:30-6 p.m. Thursday This is the official kickoff to the holiday season, Belleville Market style, during the inaugural Holiday Open House. Featuring shopping, live music, pop-up merchants, tastings and more. Plus, photos with Santa.
Christmas Craft Workshop Featuring Fusion Paint: 1 p.m. Nov. 25. This is a ticketed event. Attendees will create their own winter scene on a cutting board and will learn about Fusion mineral paint and metallics, how to use decoupage, add texture to paint, and how to use aging wax. All materials are included in the ticket price. Hosted by Harmony Girl Charm, a Belleville Market merchant.
Holiday Procrastinator’s Shopping Party Featuring Bad Santa: 6-9 p.m. Dec. 22. For those who wait until the last minute, Belleville Market is throwing a holiday party. Complete with last-minute shopping, live music, refreshments and photos with Bad Santa and his Harley.
Throughout the holiday season, Belleville Market will feature live musical entertainment, pop-up vendors, and tastings from area food and drink merchants.
Belleville Market was founded by Warren and Derrick Clark, co-founders of Domaci, a home furnishings retailer based in the Lehigh Valley. The pair took over ownership of the Easton Antique Emporium in May and completed its transition to the new Belleville Market in early July.
“With any of our retail projects, we’ve always set out to create stores that are more than just a place to shop, but also an experience where friends and neighbors could gather. With Belleville, we think we’ve finally accomplished this vision,” Derrick Clark said.
“We’ve always had a special place in our hearts for Christmas, and we’re very excited to be able to tap into the City of Easton’s vibrant entrepreneurial spirit this holiday season. With nearly 70 different merchants to choose from, you’re sure to find something for nearly everyone on your Christmas list here at Belleville Market,” Warren Clark said. “And even if you want to come in and just browse, we’re aiming to create a special experience that harkens back to the retail stores of yesteryear with especially festive decor. Strolling through the market will truly be like walking in a Winter Wonderland.”
To further simplify the holiday shopping experience, Belleville Market recently launched its Concierge Gift Curation Service. Customers are invited to complete a virtual “gift survey.” Once received, a personal shopper will curate the gift basket based on the information provided.
Belleville Market also offers opportunities for non-permanent merchant pop-ups, and a space to host workshops and small-scale private events. Those interested can inquire on the store’s website. — Ann Lowy
Cheesecake Factory sets opening date
We now have an opening date for the first Cheesecake Factory in the Lehigh Valley.
The full-service restaurant will open Dec. 19 in its Lehigh Valley Mall location, which will take up more than 8,900 square feet for indoor dining and more than 1,200 square feet for patio dining. It will be near the former site of Barnes & Noble at the mall’s central entrance.
The restaurant has placed job ads for restaurant
and kitchen manager positions and plans to hire 270 people.
The Cheesecake Factory, which was founded as a bakery in Los Angeles more than 50 years ago, is known, of course, for its cheesecake. It also offers more than 250 items on its menu. The company says on its website that its food is “fresh and from scratch in each restaurant.”
Items on the menu range include appetizers such as spring rolls and asparagus fries, soups, salads, flat-bread pizzas and sandwiches. Entrees include pasta, seafood and steaks. The dessert menu includes almost three dozen varieties of cheesecake.