Who says downtown cool can’t be found off the peninsula and still survive?

Other than if you live in the neighborhood, there’s compelling new reason to ride down Brighton Ave., even if you’re not going to the gas station, car dealer or creeping along this notoriously slow route to Westbrook.

Several weeks ago the new Rosemont Market and Bakery opened in the former Piscopo’s bakery building at 559 Brighton Ave., just past the Route 9 intersection.

What makes it newsworthy is this: They aim to fill the void left by the dismantled Portland Greengrocer—who, some feel, left many Portlanders in the lurch when they decided to stop selling fresh produce.

I’ll be interested to see what the new Greengrocer will be like once they re-open next month. For now the Rosemont is it, quickly attracting a steady following as word spreads of their arrival.

Co-owners John Naylor, who managed the wine and produce at the Greengrocer, bread baker Scott Anderson, who will still supply the Greengrocer and his own shop with breads, and his wife Lisa Childs are excited about their new business and see great growth ahead.

According to Childs, “There will be a big concentration on fresh quality produce. People want that.” She added that John will be working on stocking high-quality, value-priced wines, while her husband Scott will continue to turn out his great breads and other baked goods.

When I went there the other day I was glad to see some familiar names of specialty suppliers like Mainely Poultry chickens, Curtis Meats, Sunset Acres and Smiling Hill.

Already available are some of Scott’s baking specialties like his fabulous croissants, country-style loaves and crusty baguettes. I, for one, look forward to buying his double-fudge brownies again.

Also included in the mix will be sandwiches and soups and all the cheeses, bins of olives, dried and fresh pastas, teas and coffees and many other fresh and packaged specialty foods. Also, the massive kitchen and baker’s oven in the back of the shop will be in full swing before long.

As time goes on they may start to handle more organic food products from local farms, according to Childs, especially dairy products and meats.

Today I happily made the Rosemont part of a shopping itinerary to manage my sundry chores along a circuitous route. I started at People’s Bank drive-up cash machine in the Old Port and then scooted across the peninsula to Pat’s Meat Market to buy hard-to-find veal bones to make stock. Pat’s also had veal shanks for osso buco, perfect fare to weather tomorrow’s pending snow storm.

From Pat’s it’s a short ride to the Rosemont, where I bought a few baguettes, still piping hot, and some fresh mushrooms, potatoes and deep-red, luscious- looking tomatoes. The Rosemont, incidentally, has its own parking lot and parking along the street. From there it was simple to get back to the waterfront via the new interchange off St. John to Commercial St., where I stopped in at Browne Trading to buy wine. While I was there I noticed that they had the very rare Gay Island Oysters, which come from Gay Island off Cushing. If you haven’t tried these, do so because they are some of the best oysters you’ll ever have.

Ultimately it’s comforting to know that Portland supports so many quality food shops that make shopping fun and interesting. Places like the Rosemont are a welcome addition.

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