New Markets by Ken Winston

As Kendall Square continues its dramatic transformation, one of the most welcome of recent developments is the appearance of grocery stores, fulfilling a long-standing need of the neighborhood. In November, many of us were delighted by the opening of the Brothers Marketplace, a mid-size (12,000 square foot) store with most of what a modern-day supermarket has to offer: fresh produce, baked goods, dairy items, meat and fish, and flowers, as well as household supplies. It also has a large selection of prepared foods (made in-store), a sandwich counter, a salad bar (with a make-your-own salad dressing station), a sushi display, and a small cafe. They also deliver.

Brothers Marketplace is part of a large, mixed-use complex at One Broadway, owned by MIT. The university played a crucial role in enticing Roche Brothers to this site, one of the many establishments they run in the Greater Boston area. Headquartered in Wellesley, Roche Brothers is known for providing employment opportunities for local residents, and such efforts are evident at the Kendall Square store. In pre-opening announcements, they also mentioned the idea of having an “innovation station” for testing and presenting new food items by local inventors. I don’t have a clear sense yet whether they have, or plan to have, such a space. The larger question is: To what extent does Brothers Marketplace see itself as an integral part of the neighborhood? I’d say the signs are very promising so far.

Since the store is only a ten-minute walk for Esplanade residents, the convenience cannot be matched. It will be interesting to see whether the proximity proves sufficient to undo old habits. Some of us still drive to Whole Foods, whether on River Street or at Fresh Pond, or the Star Markets on McGrath Highway and Mt. Auburn Street. Other residents, I know, will not compromise their fierce loyalty to the Market Basket in Somerville. And people with special tastes will find they still need HMart in Central Square for Asian foods or Savenor’s (over the Longfellow Bridge) for wild boar and other favorites. For myself, I can report that I’m driving less often to Wilson Farms in Lexington, but the crucial test will come during harvest time in late summer and early fall.

Another very welcome addition to the area is Formaggio Kitchen at 94 Hampshire Street, a few blocks from Oleana (which remains my favorite restaurant in Cambridge). This store involves more of a walk – about 25 minutes, on a route that takes you past the Kendall Square Theater. It’s much smaller and more upscale than Brothers Marketplace, but it has much to offer. The store actually opened about a year ago, without a great splash, and has become known only gradually. That’s partly because its main function is not retail but catering, a side-line that became so much a part of the business of the original Formaggio on Huron Avenue that they needed a larger kitchen. Nonetheless, the Hampshire Street store offers an ample selection of artisanal cheeses (their main focus) as well as specialty grocery items such as olive oils, pastas, cured meats, and condiments. They also create personalized gift baskets – consisting of any item in the store – and have a fine selection of good breads.

A note about bread: In addition to the usual supermarket fare, Brothers Marketplace carries bread from (Cambridge-based) Iggy’s and (Maine-based) When Pigs Fly. But for some reason all the loaves they get are pre-sliced, which undercuts freshness. The selection at Formaggio Kitchen includes whole breads and is generally of better quality, although the range is not as extensive at this store as at Huron Avenue. In a future column of “What’s Cooking,” I plan to write about my personal pursuit of good bread in the Boston area. I’m sure some of you find the best bread by baking your own. And some of you may be on bread-free diets, and so avoid it altogether. But for those of us who don’t make it ourselves, and still crave a good loaf, the pursuit is a story in itself.