Downtown has plenty of places to buy canned soup and paper towels. But this employment hub, cultural center and burgeoning residential neighborhood hadn’t had a bona fide grocery since 2010.
That changed in April, with the opening of Market Street Grocery — a market in Market Square. It’s the only place Downtown well stocked with fresh produce and fresh meats, plus staples. The bread, milk, lamb, chicken and sausage are locally sourced, and organic offerings include the spice rack. The feel is boutique, with imported and domestic cheeses, gourmet pasta and specialty items like wild-boar salami. There’s even a coffee bar and a small satellite location of Gaby et Jules patisserie, serving French sweets.
While there are no paper towels for sale, you can get six-packs of craft beer, and imported Abruzzi wine by the bottle or glass in the Wine Bar Shop (which is open till 11 p.m. on weekdays — even later than the grocery, open until 9 p.m.)
Co-owner Julian Vallozzi says prepared foods for the office crowd are the store’s biggest source of income, with a hot-and-cold deli counter, hot soup and fresh sandwiches to go. Outdoors, the brand-new mobile lunch cart offers a mixed grill dish, a Cuban sandwich and more.
Still, Vallozzi adds, produce sales are higher than expected, and Downtown residents are using the store as a “day-to-day pantry.”
“It’s wonderful,” he says. “It’s a neighborhood grocery.”
