Years in the making, The Brightwaters Market opens its doors

What started with a homemade salad for a coworker has grown into one of Brightwaters’ newest businesses.

After years of preparing meals from her home kitchen, Danielle Strafford-Mobarak has opened a new market in the heart of Brightwaters, offering scratch-made meals, baked goods, fresh sourdough bread and locally sourced products, all with an emphasis on clean ingredients.

The Brightwaters Market, currently in its soft-opening phase at 348 N Windsor Ave., is the culmination of nearly three years of planning.

“I was doing meal prep for people for a few years, and I was growing out of my house,” Strafford-Mobarak said. “I got to the point where I either needed to find a place or stop doing what I was doing.”

She spent nearly two years searching for the right location before finding the storefront in Brightwaters Village.

“I drove through the village all the time, and I knew this was what the village needed,” she said. “Everything just kind of fell into place.”

Turning the longtime vacant space, which was once home to a hardware store, into a working market proved to be a project of its own.

Strafford-Mobarak signed the lease about a year ago before navigating village approvals, working with an architect and equipment suppliers, and building out the interior from the ground up.

“There was nothing here,” she said. “No floors, no walls. Everything had to be created.”

The market has been quietly welcoming customers for the past few weeks as Strafford-Mobarak fine-tunes the operation ahead of an official grand opening.

“We make everything from scratch,” she said. “We don’t cook with seed oils. We don’t use aluminum or plastic in our cooking. We don’t use food dyes. We use filtered water and quality salt.”

That philosophy grew out of Strafford-Mobarak’s own health journey.

After experiencing health issues in 2020, she began working with a holistic health practitioner and changed the way she cooked and ate.

“I learned how my body was reacting to different foods,” she said. “As time went on, I realized more and more people were looking for those same options, and they’re really hard to find.”

Today, the market offers build-your-own grain bowls, salads, wraps, sandwiches, soups and pasta dishes, along with fresh sourdough bread, gluten-free baked goods and desserts.

“I wanted it to be a one-stop shop where people could find healthier food and desserts,” she said.

The selection has already struck a chord with some customers.

“I’ve had people almost cry because we have gluten-free desserts,” Strafford-Mobarak said. “It’s really hard to find food that’s gluten-free, dye-free and made this clean.”

Shelves throughout the market also showcase products from local vendors, a key part of Strafford-Mobarak’s vision for the space.

Among them is 11-year-old entrepreneur Lukas Guenther, who makes locally sourced eggshell powder supplements and other pet food toppers.

Guenther began developing the products about a year ago after his 14-year-old cat developed kidney disease. His line now includes several blends for cats and dogs, refill packs and a calcium supplement for tortoises.

“I really want this to feel like a farmers market,” she said. “I want to bring in local vendors and give small businesses a place to share what they’re passionate about.”

The market also features an open-concept kitchen, allowing customers to watch meals being prepared.

“I wanted people to feel connected,” she said. “You can see exactly what we’re doing back there, and you know everything is clean.”

The idea for the business traces back to Strafford-Mobarak’s previous career as an occupational therapy assistant.

One day, a coworker noticed the salad she had packed for lunch and asked if Strafford-Mobarak could make one for her. Then another coworker asked. Before long, she was preparing lunches for teachers throughout the school.

“It all started with a salad,” Strafford-Mobarak said with a laugh.

Eventually, customers began requesting soups, homemade sourdough bread and baked goods, inspiring her to leave her career in education and pursue food full time.

And she’s already thinking about what comes next.

Plans for a second phase include an espresso bar, meal-prep memberships, cooking classes, children’s activities and an ice cream window serving organic ice cream, gelato and Italian ices made without artificial dyes.

The market was also designed with families in mind, complete with a children’s play area and a checkerboard table built decades ago by Strafford-Mobarak’s father while he was in high school.

Customers can also sponsor personalized decorative cutting boards that hang throughout the market, giving community members a way to leave their mark on the space.

“I want this to be a place where people feel comfortable bringing their families,” she said.

For now, Strafford-Mobarak is focused on settling into the community one customer at a time.

“I really think this village needed something like this,” she said. “We’re trying to create a place where people can get great food, support local businesses and leave feeling good about what they ate.”

See what’s in store

Photos by Julianne Mosher