Ocean Market, a European deli, opens Downtown on Monday

Shane McIntosh, owner of Ocean Catering Co., hopes to capture the lunchtime business crowd
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Greek Fisherman salad

Courtesy of Caren West PR

Across from Emory University Hospital Midtown, in a strip of unremarkable businesses near Shakespeare Tavern, comes a new lunch spot hoping to put its stamp on the neighborhood. Chef Shane McIntosh, owner of Ocean Catering Company, is opening a European deli called Ocean Market at 489 Peachtree Street.

A classically trained chef, McIntosh got his start in an old blues club in Memphis. He worked his way around the country, interning at the Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco, before moving to Atlanta in 1999. At first he led the kitchen for businesses like Delta and UPS through Aramark, but in 2002, he went out on his own and has been catering everything from corporate lunches to weddings.

It was on a family trip to Paris that he got the idea for Ocean Market, which will serve crepes, panini, soups, salads, and more.

“My little girl was walking down the [Paris] street eating a crepe and wearing a beret. I had my panini in hand. I thought, ‘this is the greatest feeling in the world!’” he says.

At Ocean Market, McIntosh is curing and cooking all meats in-house. “The deli doesn’t have deli meats,” he says. “It has whole turkey breasts and country ham and beef brisket and salmon—all smoked here.”

He’s most proud of his bahn mi, comprised of pulled pork smoked for eighteen hours, foie gras cream, Asian purple cabbage slaw, and a secret hot sauce. Other menu items include a salmon club with turkey bacon and citrus marmalade, and the Dirty South Bread Salad—mixed greens with Heirloom tomatoes, thick croutons, steamed crab and seared crawfish tails tossed in basil pistou.

Meats and produce will be “as local as we can get,” and McIntosh is working with local bakeries Bread Garden and Metrotainment for the breads and desserts.

Ocean Market will be open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with the space available for private events in the evenings. The restaurant features small indoor and outdoor dining areas, and patrons will order at the counter. McIntosh hopes to offer delivery by the summer.

Teas, root beers, and lemonades will be available, but for something a little more potent, McIntosh suggests you bring your own.

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