Pemberton Farms Marketplace - Cambridge, MA

Pemberton Farms Marketplace
Opened: 1930 originally; late 1990s in this location

Owner: Tom Saidnawey

Previous Tenants: none

Cooperative: none

Location: 2225 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA

Photographed: July 21, 2019

Welcome to Pemberton Farms! In the urban area of Cambridge, it might not feel like the prime spot for a farmstand. But Pemberton Farms is part farmstand, part gourmet grocer, part garden center. It's not an unusual format for a store -- we've seen several like it before -- but they're rarely in cities the way Pemberton Farms is. Pemberton Farms has been here in Cambridge since 1930 (although only in this building since the late 1990s), so it's definitely well-established in this area.

The store is L-shaped, with more display area outside. The grand aisle is up in the front, with produce right at the front of the store and deli/bakery along the right-side wall. On the left side is meat along with a few short grocery aisles and the beer/wine department. The rest of the grocery store is in the back of the building, with the grocery aisles, dairy, and frozen departments behind the rest of the store.

The front part of this building -- which feels like a farmhouse because of the vaulted ceilings and wooden beams -- was constructed between 1995 and 2001, although the rear part of the building is older. Pemberton moved from a smaller grocery storefront in Cambridge around that time.

The selection is higher-end and specialty, which makes sense because there's a number of mainstream supermarkets within a short distance of this store. We're a couple blocks southwest of Davis Square, where we'll be off to tomorrow.

Moving towards the back of the store, we enter the grocery aisles. They certainly feel less farmhouse-like than the grand aisle at the front, but the selection still angles towards specialty and local products.

Even here in cleaning products, you can see brands like Mrs. Meyer's, Seventh Generation, and Method dominate. You can also spot a Field Day product or two from UNFI.

Dairy and frozen are also in this rear section of the store.

But the rear section also holds a surprise for retail enthusiasts such as myself...

Check out those aisle markers! Don't recognize them? I didn't at first. I was pretty sure they weren't originally from this store but...

...they're from a QFC Fresh Fare in the Pacific Northwest! A very cursory search -- someone from the west coast, please tell me more -- suggests that there aren't any stores currently branded QFC Fresh Fare, but the Fresh Fare initiative was a chainwide brand originating in Ralphs (owned by Fred Meyer at the time, which Kroger later acquired). QFC was also owned by Fred Meyer at the time. How these aisle markers ended up in an independent in Massachusetts is certainly a big question, but there was likely a fixture auction at a closed store at some point.

They are similar enough that they match pretty well!

Back up to the front of the supermarket...

Meat, beverages, and beer/wine are on the left side at the front.

Notice that the shelving is different here (and less like a typical supermarket's aisles).

Cheese and olives are opposite the deli on the left side of the store.

As you can see, this is a beautiful store that (like other similar stores) bridges several classifications. There's a lot of specialty items here, but also plenty of the staples.

And the liquor store is our final stop before we leave Pemberton Farms...

Tomorrow we're going to check out two stores up at Davis Square. Come back to see them!