New Hot Bar and Soup and Salad Bar at Mountain View Market

LAS CRUCES >> Those who regularly shop at Mountain View Market Co-Op, 1300 El Paseo Road, may have noticed the many changes taking place at the store over the last few months, particularly the remodeling of the store caf, now branded as Mountain View Market Kitchen.

Along with the smoothies, sandwiches, wraps and salad options already offered in the caf portion of the store, a new Hot Bar and Salad Bar, offering entres and sides, has recently been been added to Mountain View Market Kitchen, near the produce aisle.

"We're focusing on certified organic and local produce," said Mountain View Market Perishables Manager Caitlin Karrenberg, 27. "...We can incorporate a lot of the produce that's grown here in Southern New Mexico into our salad bar, so that customers and member-owners have access to food that comes from within 20 miles of the store."

Perishables manager Caitlin Karrenberg arranges food on the new hot bar at Mountain View Market Kitchen that will soon have a salad bar addition. Niki Rhynes - For the Sun-News.

Karrenberg, who has 14 years of experience working in food service, said one of her main tasks at Mountain View Market with the collaboration of the Mountain View Market general manager, manger and board of directors has been to expand and improve the kitchen portion of the store.

"I do a lot of the creative side in the kitchen so I created the menus, I designed the hot bar and the cold bar and continue to design the facade that the customers will interact with with our employees," she said.

The new salad bar offers organic lettuce, spinach, a spring mix, organic nuts and locally produced cheeses, as well as sustainably produced meat dishes, like chicken salad. All food items offered are also made in-house, like croutons made from locally produced bread and salad dressing made from scratch, using organic ingredients, Karrenberg said.

"I think I have a set-up of over 20 options on the salad bar so there's going to be a lot of food on there," she said.

While the salad bar options will remain fairly static, depending on what's in season, the hot bar features a different menu each month, with different meals offered each day of the week, including vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options.

"We take a lot of pride in the food we produce," Karrenberg said. "We get it from really good places. We don't cut corners. We don't skimp. We do everything from scratch and it shows. You can tell when you eat the food."

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New Hot Bar and Soup and Salad Bar at Mountain View Market