The Spiice Route in Shadyside soon will include a specialty grocery store, with the opening of Mera Market in the same spacious spot.
Slated to launch this summer, Mera — which is Hindi for mine — will feature fresh, frozen and prepared Indian foods, plus ground-to-order spices, meats and produce as part of an expanded culinary experience. The new venture coincides with the one-year anniversary of The Spiice Route, an eatery serving classic curries, tandoor-style BBQ, biryani bowls, pakoras, Papdi chaat, home-baked naan and other comforting northern Indian fare.
Indulge in Indian Meals and Groceries at Mera Market, Coming Soon to Shadyside
Adding a market to the space, which is located at 5503 Centre Ave., will make the ingredients used in those dishes more accessible to seasoned home cooks, as well as foodies eager to explore global flavors. Owner and New Delhi native Tina Kohli notes that many elements of Indian cuisine have broad, mainstream appeal.
Mera will carry a curated selection of pantry staples such as Punjab-style ghee, aromatic basmati and other varieties of rice, half a dozen kinds of lentils (dal), paneer, pickled vegetables (achar) and flours ranging from stone-ground whole-wheat to chickpea. Meats will include lamb and goat; the produce section will feature fresh okra, bitter gourd and other south Asian veggies.
Convenience shoppers will find an array of frozen dinners and ready-to-cook meal kits, savory snacks (namkeen), sweet treats (mithai) and grab-and-go samosas.
Changing the Way You Shop
Mera Market reimagines the traditional grocery model, says Kohli. “It is welcoming, beautifully organized and designed to make Indian ingredients approachable, exciting and ‘everyday.’” The market’s vibrant ambience emphasizes contemporary Indian life, Kohli says. “There are no cliched images of the Taj Mahal.”
Destinations that pair restaurants with groceries — grocerants, in industry parlance — have grown in popularity for their one-stop convenience. Kohli became intrigued with the concept during her travels to other cities and felt it would match with Spiice Route.
“Whether you call it shop-and-dine or dine-and-shop, there was nothing like it in our area” she says. “We have a huge space for it, and we’re centrally located.”
Mera will also stock basic staples like milk and eggs. The market is expected to serve a diverse customer base, including students, who will welcome such a resource close to home, Kohli says. “A lot of them don’t have cars, so this will be a place they can easily get to for good quality things, reasonably priced.”
“We’re a business, but we’re more than that. I can tell you from the heart, this will be a help to the community.”
By Deborah Weisberg
Photo by Evan Okun