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What You Can Expect From One And Plant 4 Bowden

We look at everything… EVERYTHING that is coming up at the new Plant 4 Bowden so you know what to keep an eye out for.

In a suburb built around the tagline ‘Life More Interesting’, you can sense something unqiue is brewing. We’re talking the recently transformed Bowden; you know that vibrant, urban development located on the city fringe next to the Entertainment Centre? Upon turning onto Park Terrace it’s hard to miss the funky billboards surrounding the development, giving off instant contemporary community hub vibes. It seems very industrial chic.

But there’s also substance as you enter. The Bowden streets are lined with beautifully decorated Stobie poles with practically every second brick wall featuring a curated mural (hello Adelaide Street Art!). Basically Bowden is redefining the way people live in Adelaide and making those who aren’t residents of the suburb a tad jealous along the way. Good thing for us is that in Bowden there is a strong focus on community spirit and creating a space for people from all walks (suburbs) of life to enjoy.

This brings us to Plant 4 and the newly opened Bowden IGA supermarket which opened a couple weeks ago. The Ceres Market Shed Group, the community-loving creatives behind The Market Shed on Holland, have been frantically working around the clock to turn the former industrial warehouse into a contemporary hub soon to be filled with food, wine and all-round good vibes.

“What can we expect from Plant 4?” We hear you cry!

Plant 4

Rustic vibes of the IGA and Plant 4 as seen from Park Terrace.

Well, let’s start with the in-house eateries (permanently set up seven days a week FYI). Whilst we can’t say exactly who just yet, we can tell you to brace yourselves for a health café, Japanese cuisine, a wood oven and an in-house baker. Also we can drop a couple of names here and excitedly confirm two Market Shed favourites to add to the in-house eatery list. Yes that’s right, seven days a week you can experience the delicious Greek flavours of Voula’s Village Fare and you will also find Barry from Beach Organics in his new store roasting coffee on site. Umm, yes please! We can also reveal plans for, food rescue organisation and Bowden locals, Oz Harvest to occupy the west mezzanine three times a week to engage with and educate the community.

Now it’s time for market chat. Market days are Wednesdays (from 3pm – 8pm) and Saturdays (from 8am – 2pm), every single week. Let us just repeat that, each week, there are not one but two market opportunities. Word on the street is the markets will commence on Wednesday 2nd November and Saturday 5th November (yes we can excitedly confirm this is legit!). Plant 4 Manager, Jono Kaitatzis emphasises the proud choice of tenants and stallholders, “We have carefully selected good people consciously doing good things for the community”. And we can’t wait to meet them. If the success of the Market Shed is anything to go by the Plant 4 markets will be pumping.

Plant 4

Plant 4 Manager Jono Kaitatzis looking very happy with progress to date.

Versatility, progression and innovation are words that spring to mind when listening to Kaitatzis tell the story of this incredible space. “This whole space is multi-use, we’ve got the open ground floor, the main event space and bar upstairs, the balcony, east and west mezzanine, the void open space and the laneway,” he begins. Future plans aim to host weddings or have events spill out onto Bowden Park, the options for what the space can be utilised for are literally endless. With open minds and big hearts the owners believe in the idea that anything is possible.

Supporting local is a key value of Plant 4. Growers and small businesses alike will contribute to the Plant 4 family in the form of market stallholders, IGA products and permanent tenancies of course. Kaitatzis continues, This space can really be anything with a consciousness of provenance of food and where things come from. There is a big focus on culture, it will be forever progressive.”

On non-market days (everyday besides Wednesday and Saturday) Plant 4 offers a creative co-working space, bringing people together, creating an energy you want to be around. Can you just imagine independently working from a place buzzing with productivity whilst also offering food and drink options galore? Dream no more, this can now be your reality.

 

Plant 4

Loving the natural light shining through and the feature glass lift.

Looking for a new yoga venue? Well stop searching because Plant 4 plans to offer yoga sessions (stay tuned for more details). For ultimate hipster points be sure to find a green smoothie, head to the closest brick wall and Instagram that moment right up before you head home from Plant 4. Pics or it didn’t happen, right?

The absolute detail and thought gone into creating this special place needs to be acknowledged (hats off to you Ceres Market Shed Group). Upon walking through the IGA doors into the giant industrial space, the natural light floods through the saw-tooth roof. BTW, through the IGA isn’t the only entrance to Plant 4, with windows and doors surrounding the space and in-house eateries offering access that can spill outside.

Plant 4
Have you ever heard of a cheese room? Picture this, a glass fridge set at a temperature perfect for hard cheeses, but then inside you find a smaller glass fridge temperature-controlled for soft cheese. Well yes you guessed it, Plant 4 has plans to host one of these heavenly sounding rooms in the future.

What goes hand-in-hand with good food and wine? Music. You just wait until you experience the sound system at Plant 4. The speakers hang down from the roof facing the ground and can be programmed to play in different sections allowing flexible zoning. Technology game strong, we say.

Shout-out to the chairs which have been carefully selected for max efficiency and max aesthetics, as in they are light to carry but also look rustic and fit perfectly with the Plant 4 style.

Take the stairs or the statement glass lift to the mezzanine level and you will find the main event and function space complete with a bar and balcony overlooking Bowden Park. This space will be the prime spot for hosting a multitude of special events.

The whole building is fit for purpose with a commercial kitchen and cool-room also situated on the mezzanine for community members to book out. Side note: Just imagine the aromas floating around Plant 4 whilst you are working downstairs in the co-working space, mhmm… This kitchen can be utilised for demos, forums, education, kids and adult cooking classes and for the chefs to use for events. Speaking of chefs, the Plant 4 family will be home to three in-house catering chefs who are dedicated to producing delicious food incorporating local produce, even utilising ingredients from the in-house eateries and conveniently located supermarket next door.

Market stallholders can also use the kitchen during the week, which is super convenient. So instead of juggling food prep in their commercial approved kitchen at home and mastering the art of temperature controlled transportation to the venue this kitchen just makes things 100 times easier.

Instead of looking at tent roofs, the stallholders have been carefully crafting portable stall spaces. By keeping things open like this, it allows stallholder vibes to float right up to the mezzanine, giving the people relaxing on the upper level a great action view of production. How fun is that?

Plant 4

Couldn’t help but grab a few goodies from the IGA on the way out.

The laneway is a special event space in itself; it connects Plant 4 to Plant 3. Picture this, it’s a balmy night and you’re sitting down underneath twinkling fairy lights treated to a decent feed and tasty glass of red. How good does that sound?! (NB: Plant 3 has been recently acquired by the Ceres Market Shed Group which means we have another exciting project to look forward to in about eighteen months time!)

There is a strong focus on sustainability at Plant 4 and the Bowden community. The owners have taken up every opportunity to leave the place light and bright. Plant 4 has 5 Star Green Rating and proudly so. Here is a cool lighting fact for you: The lights adjust automatically to the level of natural light streaming in, so one section of lights may be using 75% of artificial light and the other 25% being compensated by natural light, with another lighting section of Plant 4 dim to 12% of artificial lighting soaking up 88% of natural light. This is so that the space doesn’t waste unnecessary energy. Talk about ethical goals.

This space is totally suitable in all weather conditions with large heaters and big-ass fans (they are actually called that BTW) hanging from the roof. So yeah winter or summer this place will definitely cater to the needs of the people.

OH and we can’t forget to mention the worm farm! Every scrap in this place will be fed to the worms and turned into soil. Resulting in no wastage, and hundreds of very satisfied worms. A worm farm is not a requirement of the 5 Star Green Rating, but just something the owners wanted to provide from the good of their (very generous) hearts.

Plant 4 is a space guaranteed to be activated on a public holiday for sure. Happy people, good food, refreshing drinks and chill music, what could be better than that?!

Special mention to Bowden IGA, also open seven days a week (from 7.30am-8.30pm), meaning that it will also be open public holidays. Yes, that means even Christmas Day. Fun fact: the Ceres Market Shed Group also own the Gilbert Street IGA and opened those IGA doors on Christmas Day for 15 years in a row (with the exception of last year’s extremely well deserved Christmas rest day). I mean working on Christmas Day, does that not just scream community spirit?

So that’s about all we can spill right now. In case you missed it: Plant 4 markets open on Wednesday 2nd November from 3pm – 8pm and Saturday 5th November from 8am – 2pm. Pencil it in your diaries ASAP. With a slow roll out Kaitatzis describes, “just like The Market Shed, Plant 4 will grow organically”.

Although Plant 4 is in the construction stages for a little longer, you can already feel the wholesome energy and positive vibes oozing throughout the space. Every decision made by the owners has been consciously thought out. From the earthy, warm and inviting feel of the collective space to the owners’ passion and vision for the community, we can 100% guarantee that Plant 4 is set to be the go-to hub bringing people together. And. We. Cannot. Wait.

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