The Edmonds Museum Holiday Market returns this Saturday, Nov. 7, along 5th Avenue North and Bell Street. It runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., right outside the Edmonds Historical Museum. Inside the museum, the current exhibit tells the history of farms, markets and restaurants in Edmonds. Many of the businesses it features are still open today.
A chef who appears on one of its walls opened his second downtown spot in October. Read together, the market, the exhibit and that opening show that this town's food history is still being written a few blocks from the museum.
Saturday, 9 to 2, on both sides of the museum door
The Edmonds Historical Museum describes its Holiday Market as an annual Saturday tradition. Local farmers, artisans, makers, bakers and specialty food producers fill the street, selling fresh and preserved foods, holiday greenery, handcrafted gifts, artwork and seasonal treats, with music and decorations along the block. The museum also posts a booth map on that page, so you can see the layout before you go.
The 2026 season covers six Saturdays:
- Nov. 7, 14 and 21
- Dec. 5, 12 and 19
The museum's own Saturday hours are 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., the same window as the market. Admission is free, and donations are encouraged. It is also open Friday from 1 to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m., so visitors who want a quieter look at the exhibit have two other options each week.
An exhibit where most of the names still serve food
"From Farm to Table: The History of Farms, Markets, and Restaurants in Edmonds" opened over Labor Day weekend. My Edmonds News reported that about 150 people came to the grand opening and that the exhibit will stay on display until June 12, 2027. Museum curator Polly Yorioka and collections manager Allyson Alvis organized it, with help from four University of Washington assistant curators.
The displays name these current businesses and owners.
- Immigrant-owned businesses: Rinconcito Peruano, owned by Genesis Rojus; Caravan Kebab, owned by Raja Shahzad; Rise & Shine Bakery, owned by Mai Tran; Café Louve, owned by Haifa and Nabila Alhusseni; and T&T Seafood, owned by Tony Mann and Teresa Lam.
- Shubert Ho's restaurants: Bar Dojo, Salt & Iron, MARKET and Fire & Feast.
- "The Pizza Triangle": Motown Pizza, owned by Lee Kindell; Sourdough Willy's Pizzeria in Kingston, owned by Will Grant; and Niles Peacock Kitchen & Bar, owned by Niles Peacock.
- Toshi's Teriyaki, which is locally family owned.
- Edmonds Bakery, owned by Ken Bellingham.
Two details are good reasons to go in person. Edmonds Bakery has been at its current location for 103 years, and the exhibit displays rolling pins used over that whole stretch. And the reason the three pizzerias are called the Pizza Triangle is something My Edmonds News left for visitors to discover.
The exhibit also looks at the ethnic markets that now line the Highway 99 corridor, the history of eateries at Old Milltown, and the role of the Edmonds Food Bank and others in feeding families facing food insecurity.
The older layer under the same blocks
The historical displays explain why a Saturday food market outside the museum fits the setting. Before the restaurants on today's menu, Edmonds ate at hotel dining rooms like the Bishop/Olympic View Hotel and the Royal Hotel, and at the Edmonds Café. People bought groceries at Deland's Grocery, Otto's Meat Market, William Kingdon's General Store and Roscoe Brothers Grocery. The exhibit also covers local farming, Alderwood Manor poultry and the strawberry festivals of the 1920s.
The general store displays are hands-on. Visitors can try an old cash register, a coffee grinder and a meat grinder. On a market Saturday, you can try the meat grinder and then step outside to buy from farmers and bakers selling on the same street.
The newest entry opened in October, from a name already on the wall
One of the names in the Pizza Triangle display has added a second downtown address since the exhibit opened. On Oct. 3, Niles Peacock opened Rooster Bagel Café at 515 Main St. The Herald described it as his second Edmonds eatery, alongside Niles Peacock Kitchen & Bar. That first restaurant is at 178 Sunset Ave. S.
The building has its own history. For 17 years, 515 Main St. was home to The Loft, a restaurant and bar with an upstairs loft and a covered patio. It opened in August 2008, and My Edmonds News reported in November 2025 that it had closed for good. The Edmonds Beacon reported that the loft is still there inside the new café, now joined by rooster paintings.
Rooster opened with four slow-fermented sourdough bagels: plain, everything, cheese and Maldon salt. It also serves schmears and espresso made with Forecast Coffee Company beans. At opening week, the Herald reported plans for breakfast sandwiches, bagel-breaded chicken cutlets and bagel chips with dip. Cocktails, beer, wine and adaptogen-based mocktails were expected later in the fall and winter.
The bagels have a backstory. Peacock's career includes fashion design study at Parsons, bartending in New York, a Level 2 sommelier certification and pizza competitions. His bagel and schmear entries won awards at a 2023 expo, as My Edmonds News covered at the time.
Rooster opened with hours of 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. Director of Operations Hilary Ness told My Edmonds News that the café would extend its hours as the team settles in and the menu grows:
"Our longer-term vision for Rooster is to become a day-to-night neighborhood café, kitchen and bar, with breakfast, lunch, dinner and evening service."
If Rooster gets there, 515 Main St. will again serve dinner and drinks, as The Loft did for 17 years.
A Saturday loop, in market order
Four stops for a market Saturday:
- Breakfast at Rooster, 515 Main St. It opened with an 8 a.m. start, an hour before the market sets up.
- The Holiday Market on 5th Avenue North and Bell Street, starting at 9 a.m., with farmers, bakers, greenery and gifts.
- "From Farm to Table" at 118 5th Ave. N., open the same Saturday hours, with free admission. Find the Edmonds Bakery rolling pins and work out the Pizza Triangle.
- Lunch on 5th Avenue South. Girardi's Osteria at 504 5th Ave. S. opens at 11:30 a.m. on Saturdays. It has been family-owned since 1999, and owner Fred Milani told My Edmonds News that it redesigned its menu this fall to deal with rising costs. Most dishes now come in a standard, economical portion, and diners can add extra meat to build the larger size.
The market returns on Nov. 14 and 21, takes a break for Thanksgiving weekend, and comes back Dec. 5, 12 and 19. The exhibit runs well past the holidays, into June 2027.
At Hines Group, we follow the small stories that shape a downtown Saturday, from a new bagel counter on Main Street to the families who have run the same bakery for generations. If you're thinking about where your own next chapter in Edmonds or West Seattle might be, we'd be glad to talk it through. Request a Complimentary Home Consultation.
