Atlanta - November 29, 2006

Spree for All

Irwin Street Market Opens

Ever notice how trips to the market never quite go as planned?

You set out for toilet paper and emerge knee-deep in kalamata olives and lychee toothpaste. (But no toilet paper.)

Hodgepodgers should steer clear of Irwin Street Market, a Parisian-style storefront that just opened quietly in the Old Fourth Ward. Come only if you’re ready to lose the day.

Shops in cozy coves open onto a library-slash-reading room. Not surprisingly, there’s something for everyone, but we especially love Flower Bar for exotic blooms and cocktail-themed arrangements, The Dough Bar for cookie concoctions, and La Peche Rose for owner Alex White’s custom-designed lingerie and hand-painted cami sets.

Stop by Jake’s latest outpost to create your own signature ice cream flavor and check whether they’ve finished setting up shop at Picnic (gourmet picnic baskets), Dream ‘n Play (fantasy wooden beds for kids), and The Chef’s Garden (a miniature gourmet grocery).

We’d say that you were buying time.

But that’s the one thing not even you can buy.

Irwin Street Market, 660 Irwin Street, Inman Park (404-586-9972 or irwinstreetmarket.com).