COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) — An upscale butcher has been announced as the first tenant at Highside Market, a downtown Columbus mixed-use development. Cleaver & Cork, a butcher and artisan market with four locations in Georgia, will be opening in the summer of next year.
Highside Market, being developed by Chris Woodruff and The Cotton Companies, is on 13th Street between Second and Third Avenues.
Cleaver & Cork will go into the former Ray’s Body Shop building at the intersection of Third Avenue and 13th Street, Woodruff said.
“As Georgia’s second-biggest city, Columbus has a level of charm and vibrancy that is attracting young professionals, families, and businesses alike,” said Woodruff, president of The Cotton Companies. “We are working with Colliers International to carefully curate a selection of businesses at Highside Market like Cleaver & Cork that we believe will uniquely cater to our growing community.”
“Cleaver & Cork will occupy a 1,800 square foot space in Highside Market, offering a premium selection of charcuterie, exotic and familiar meats, and seafood, along with artisan goods and local cheeses,” according to a news release from The Cotton Companies. “The market will also purvey a variety of craft beer and wine to round out each guest’s personalized shopping experience.”
The business is family-owned with locations in Sharpsburg, Newnan, Marietta, and Alpharetta.
“We’re proud of the reputation Cleaver & Cork has built as a neighborhood staple within each of the communities where we operate, and we feel our vision for our brand is aligned well with The Cotton Companies vision for Highside Market,” said Audrey Stine, co-founder of Cleaver & Cork. “We couldn’t be more excited to open our next location in Columbus, a place we’ve come to love, and more specifically in Highside Market, an exciting new destination for the town.”
Highside Markets is a mix of new construction and renovation of existing buildings. When it’s finished, it will be about 55,000 square feet of restaurant, retail, office, and event space.
The Cotton Companies is also developing Midcity Yards between Fifth and Sixth Avenues near 15th Street. Fetch Park, a place for humans and dogs to play, is the first business in that development and it opened earlier this year.
In addition to Fetch Park, Moe’s Original BBQ is planning an establishment that should be open in the spring. It will be in the old Uneeda Glass building.