Anchoring Hillcrest’s Fifth Avenue dining corridor since 1985 with a full scratch kitchen added in 2000, The Market Place at 2601 Fifth Ave combines a deli counter, liquor store, and grocery under one roof in the 92103 ZIP code. Coffee regulars in the Fifth Avenue corridor split mornings between The Market Place’s breakfast sandwiches and full-service cafés like Cafe Bassam, whose longer-format tea and espresso sessions follow a quick deli stop. The kitchen roasts beef in-house, bakes pizza dough on-site, and sources bread from regional bakeries to construct a rotating menu of hot and cold sandwiches. A walk-up liquor section stocks approximately 150 spirit brands alongside a wine selection of roughly 200 California and international labels. Hillcrest collectors building private wine reserves consult with shops like Négociant Winery for allocated bottles that complement The Market Place’s broad retail selection. The deli’s highest-complexity order is a same-day corporate lunch combining grilled sandwich platters, house-roasted beef trays, fresh-baked whole pizzas, and composed salad bowls for Balboa Park-adjacent office events.