Markets: Winchester Farm Exchange Celebrates All-Things Local & Lobster Rolls
We paid a visit to Canal Winchester's community-minded market and cafe, plus local food news.
We Paid a Visit to Winchester Farm Exchange in Canal Winchester
By Erin Edwards
It all started with a farm stand.
As a small farmer in Canal Winchester, Trish Preston ran the farm stand along with some friends, selling farm-raised beef, pork, lamb and chicken as well as items like honey and bread.
“Especially during the pandemic, it became very popular, and a lot of people were coming all of the time,” says Preston, who runs Preston Family Farm in Fairfield County along with her husband and three girls.
In February 2024, Chelsie Casagrande Smith, the owner of an event venue in historic downtown Canal Winchester, came to Preston with an idea. Casagrande Smith had been closely following the historical renovations happening across the street at 8 S. High St., an 1880s-era building that had once been home to several grocery stores and, later, Chase Bank.
“She was like, ‘Let's move your farm stand and build this whole farm market thing in this building,’ ” Preston says. “And I thought, ‘That sounds like the craziest idea I've ever heard, and I have no idea how that will work.’ ”
By leaning on Preston’s network of friends who are local farm and food producers, she and Casagrande Smith laid out the plan for Winchester Farm Exchange in “about three hours” and had the doors open six months later.
“I'm a farmer. She's an entrepreneur. So, it was kind of a perfect partnership,” Preston says.
Cultivating the Market
If Magnolia’s Joanna Gaines opened a market and cafe in the heart of Canal Winchester, it might look a bit like Winchester Farm Exchange. I’d call the vibe “modern farmhouse.” But this nearly year-old business is more than a cute shop and an impressive building renovation; it walks the walk of dedicated locavores, too.
The market is stocked with a selection of locally farmed produce, dairy and meats from founding farm partners such as Schultz Valley Farms, Sweet Grass Dairy, County Line Meats, Smith Brothers Creamery and others. You’ll also find locally made breads, condiments, beauty products, gifts, Ohio wines, craft beer and much more. (The closest comparison I can think of is Beechwold Farm Market.)
The pitch to the market’s original farm partners was simple, Preston says.
“We brought them into this space before we had anything in it and said, ‘We want to do this as a traditional farm market, where you would pay for your space and then you get to keep your proceeds. We'll have a central checkout that we all contribute to.’ And they were all like, ‘This, sounds crazy. Let's do it.’ ”
The market has been slowly adding vendors ever since and now has close to 70 vendors. Just this week, Winchester Farm Exchange was awarded a Best Neighborhood Impact award by Columbus Business First as part of its 2025 Building Columbus Awards.
“If We're Selling Food, We Should Serve Food”
Winchester Farm Exchange also has two restaurant partners working out of its on-site commercial kitchen. Several tables and counter seats are situated near the market’s large picture windows overlooking South High Street. Sprig & Brie Cafe offers breakfast and lunch service at the market, with a menu of avo toasts, yogurt parfaits, salads, chicken salad sandwiches, charcuterie nachos and more. Owner Adalyn Snead runs Spig & Brie Charcuterie, a business offering elaborate grazing tables, in-home charcuterie classes and more.
Meanwhile, many Foodletter readers will be familiar with the offerings from COLO Cafe, operated by the fine folks behind COLO in the North Market. (COLO founder Ian Holmes is a neighbor of Preston’s in Canal Winchester.) COLO offers a lunchtime menu of lobster rolls, lobster mac ’n’ cheese, shrimp tacos, burgers and more.
Fighting Food Insecurity
Winchester Farm Exchange also has a charitable component called the Fishes & Loaves Food Alliance, something Preston has been dreaming about creating since 2016.
“Slow-grown food from small farms can be a little bit more pricey…so the Fishes & Loaves Food Alliance will actually help to make what we're doing more accessible to our community,” Preston says. “We want to focus on the kids in our [Canal Winchester School District] and their families who might struggle with some of the resources and [food insecurity].”
Currently, the Alliance operates a community garden space on Preston Family Farm. The group recently delivered its first harvest to Canal Winchester’s Community Food Pantry. “For 2026, we've been granted an acre plot at our middle school, so we've got an educator and a garden coordinator,” Preston says. “They'll also be partnering with our school district to do nutrition education in the classroom.”
What’s Next?
Winchester Farm Exchange recently received a grant from the city, enabling it to add a walk-up window where the old bank drive-thru window is now. Once it’s open, Preston says customers will be able to grab lunch or dinner at the walk-up window, and hang out at the tables and chairs out back.
Be sure to follow @winchesterfarmexcahnge for updates on the market’s first anniversary celebration coming up in August, which will include a public party in the back parking lot with a chance to meet local farmers, sample food and more.
Find It:
Winchester Farm Exchange
8 S. High St., Canal Winchester
614-499-2755
Read More» Canal Winchester’s Bellawood Farm is serving up some fine pizza.
Notes
Around the Columbus Food & Drink Scene
The French restaurant Chouette (66 N. High St.) is throwing a Downtown street party this Saturday, July 13, in celebration of Bastille Day (July 14). The free festival, taking place noon-4 p.m. under the "Current" sculpture, will feature an afternoon of French cuisine, jazz, adult beverages, artisans and more. Downtown’s DORA will be in effect, too. Learn more here.
Columbus Food Adventures’ Supper Club returns next week with a creative, 7-course dinner prepared by Ajumama chef Laura Lee. Tickets are still available for the intimate chef’s dinner, taking place in Gahanna at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 16. Reserve your seats here.
Two new Columbus venues with a view opened this week. Astra Columbus, which is replacing the lackluster Lumin Sky Bar atop the AC Hotel Columbus Downtown, opens to the public today. The new rooftop restaurant and bar boasts a menu of heavy apps, flatbreads, steaks, pastas and more. Meanwhile, after a significant renovation, the waterfront restaurant The Boat House at Confluence Park reopened this week for regular dining service.