Bakery led by Food Network guest opens in the North Market

View April drone footage of the North Market construction site in the video player above.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The bakery from an Upper Arlington grocery store is now open in the North Market, with a former Food Network guest leading its kitchen.

Littleton's Market Bakery opened Friday in the southwest corner of the Downtown food hall. The location includes a baking production facility, retail bakery and café. In April, the chief executive of the North Market touted the bakery as a significant new piece in its lineup of shops.

“The addition of Littleton’s Market Bakery to North Market Downtown is one of the most exciting and important in our history,” said Rick Harrison Wolfe, North Market executive director and CEO.

Food offerings cover a variety of baked goods, including house-made breads like baguettes, focaccia, sourdoughs and pastries. The kitchen is headed by executive pastry chef Aaron Clouse, who's been on the Food Network and was recently named Columbus Monthly's best chef of 2024, and lead baker Desi Vasquez, who was most recently the executive head baker of an artisan bakery in Houston.

The bakery's parent grocery store opened in 2023 at 2140 Tremont Center in Upper Arlington.

North Market expansion looms

The North Market is in the midst of an expansion that will see it gain 15,000 square feet over two stories. That project will include space for eight or nine new vendors. Here's what the construction site looked like in April:

A 32-story tower called the Merchant Building will also be built on the site. It will include a 206-room hotel, as well as residential and office spaces. That's expected to open in the summer of 2026.