Crystal Wise
Dena and Trent Shaskan.
A Facebook post on 3rd Street Market co-founder Dena Shaskan’s feed laid out the inevitable news that the over two-year-old business would be under new ownership starting Saturday February 24th.
The post began with the phrase, “Big announcement time” before stating, “3rd Street Market’s final day of operation is this Saturday at 7:00 pm.”
The 3rd Street Market opened in October 2022, offering customers an all-in-one culinary experience that includes a bakery, soup and sandwich cafe, coffee bar, and wine shop. Besides the 3rd Street Market, the Shaskans also own and operate Hopscotch, a snack shop designed for both kids and adults, and the amply named Wines from a Broad, a wine bar where every wine is crafted by a female winemaker.
Another project of note this duo of culinarian’s has been involved in includes The Table, a small market in the South Main area, which featured Trent’s homemade bread. For over a decade, before opening her own catering business, Dena was the executive chef at Cafe Modern, the restaurant inside the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.
The Shaskans would eventually come up with the concept for the 3rd Street Market after Trent had a chance meeting with Sundance Square afficionado Sasha Bass at a farmer’s market. “Sasha is a super smart, active, amazingly observant person of all things city and downtown,” Trent told Fort Worth Magazine. “She’s really into Sundance and brings a worldly perspective to bear.”
Due to COVID, Dena says she and Trent were reimagining their future in the culinary industry when they received an invitation to open a bakery and restaurant in Sundance Square.
“Sundance approached us about a brick-and-mortar, and it made sense,” Dena said. “It was our next logical step,”
Now, just a few years after this concept has come to fruition, this duo preps to walk away from this downtown market, which according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram will reopen under new management per a statement from Sundance Square.
“We want to express our immense gratitude to our customers,” Dena Shaskan’s Instagram post read. “Come by and get a hug and stock up on our signature soups and lasagnas before Dena hangs up her apron. And be sure to grab as much bread as you can, as we're unsure when Trent will be back in action. But back in action he will be!”
Correction: The first version of this story stated the 3rd Street Market was closing.
