Fresh Pond Market - Cambridge, MA

Fresh Pond Market
Open: 1922-2019

Owner: Crosby & Marc Najarian

Previous Tenants: none

Cooperative: none

Location: 360 Huron Ave, Cambridge, MA

Photographed: July 27, 2019

This was one of those stores I just knew I had to visit when I lived in Boston. The Fresh Pond Market opened all the way back in 1922 here on Huron Avenue in a space of just about 3000 square feet (it may have been smaller originally) and was still chugging along selling groceries by the summer of 2019 when I visited. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and the independent grocer closed just months after I was there.

The store had a small liquor department just inside the entrance to the left -- to the left of the shopping carts in the above picture -- with meat and deli items in the first aisle, and a butcher/deli counter behind that. Dairy and produce were at the back of the store, with frozen foods in the last aisle.

As the CBS article notes, the owners at the time of closing were Crosby and Marc Najarian, brothers -- Marc started working in the store in the late 1950s and Crosby started in 1965. So after all that time, they certainly deserve a pleasant retirement!

The store was small but complete, with several aisles of grocery items and the basics on the perimeter. It was far from a convenience store, selling fresh meat and produce right up until the end.

Notice the cereal boxes stacked on their backs in the picture above! I've seen only a handful of stores display cereal that way.

Even though Fresh Pond Market closed here, there's still a happy ending. In around 2021, gourmet grocer Formaggio Kitchen (previously located across the street) extensively renovated and moved into the space. I recently got the chance to visit the new Formaggio Kitchen, and it's quite beautiful. Tour it here. Obviously, Formaggio Kitchen is a thoroughly different shopping experience from the old-school Fresh Pond Market, but it's nice to see the space remain a grocery store.

Looking across the front-end towards the liquor department. Notice that Formaggio Kitchen actually kept the liquor store in the same spot.

Even though a grocer is still in this spot, it's sad to see a historical grocery store like this disappear. See the new Formaggio Kitchen here. Now, tomorrow is also a double-tour day: we're headed up to the Alewife/Fresh Pond area to check out two chain stores across the street from each other!