GALLERY OF FOOD BODEGA OPENS

A SUMMER SOLSTICE GRAND OPENING FOR GALLERY OF FOOD BODEGA

Tucson, AZ— After a year of careful curation and planning, Kristine Jensen’s Gallery of Food Bodega is ready for a Grand Opening. The festivities will take place on Sunday, June 20th from noon to 6pm on the day of the Summer Solstice, an ideal time for a new beginning.

When the pandemic hit its stride early in 2020, Gallery of Food Catering Chef/owner Kristine Jensen, owner of Gallery of Food Catering, had to make some difficult decisions that included the closing of her signature restaurant Café Botanica at the Tucson Botanical Gardens. With over 30 years of experience as one of Tucson’s culinary leaders, she believed that her clients and others, would be grateful to have a supply of fresh local ingredients delivered to their door weekly. She has been committed to farm-to-table cooking, sustainable farming and eating from the local food shed since she began cooking years ago. Kristine’s background as a chef, caterer, restaurateur and now… grocer has led her to this moment.

With the help of local purveyors like Pivot Produce, Barrio Bread, Top-Knot Farms, Cheri’s Desert Harvest, Aravaipa Farms and others, she created the Gallery of Food online Bodega early in 2020. Working from her midtown commissary kitchen, Jensen created the perfect home-delivery shopping list that included seasonal fruits and vegetables, sustainably raised meats, poultry and seafood, breads, as well as a delectable array of house- made dishes prepared by Gallery of Food Chef Christopher Baldwin. Baldwin, has an extensive culinary background, including Chef at Café Botanica. From there, he transitioned with Jensen to creating beautiful, tasty food for the Gallery of Food Bodega. Their unique variety of soups, stews, pastries and guest favorites from the Café made staying home a lot more fun for many.

While the Gallery of Food grocery delivery service was taking off, Jensen was busy planning for the future – and turning the front of her building into something she has dreamed about for years – a fully stocked Bodega showcasing locally sourced, hand crafted items. The beautiful little gem of a market, chock full of the best- of- local everything features all the items from the online shopping list and more. “We continue to be inspired by the bounty of the Sonoran Desert and the wide variety of indigenous foods available to us and are pleased to carry so many wonderful local delights. We hope our guests will appreciate the hard work and dedication of the wonderful farmers, ranchers and other producers in this region. We are delighted to share their products in our little store”, said Jensen.

The public is invited to the Grand Opening festivities to enjoy live music while touring the store and kitchen facility and talk with Kristine, Christopher and the well-trained Bodega staff to learn about the many local resources of the region. The bodega will be fully stocked and open for shopping.

Gallery of Food Bodega is located at 2522 E. Ft Lowell Road and is open Wednesday-Saturday 11-6pm with hours expanding in the fall. In addition to the online and in-person grocery service, Gallery of Food also offers full-service catering for events of all sizes. To visit the on-line store or for catering information visit www.Galleryoffood.com) or call 520- 884-5033. Facebook: Facebook.com/GalleryofFoodTucson, Instagram: Instagram.com/Gallery.of.Food