The Market Report

There's nothing like some fantastic Italian imported cheeses or salami, and that's just what the Salumeria Italiana in Boston's North End has to offer (pictured above). But while we've been here in the West End and North End, we've seen a couple other stores, including some great historical ones and a brand-new Star Market . Check them all out in this map below. Note that there's one store in gray on the map, the DeLuca's Market on Charles Street , a small gourmet grocer that I haven't visited. There's another DeLuca's that we'll see shortly! Coming Up Next Because this is Boston, the North End is not actually the northernmost neighborhood of the city, in the same way that neither the South End nor South Boston are actually in the southern parts of the city. The northernmost neighborhood is *checks notes, sighs* East Boston, which I suppose is east of most of the city, so that gets a pass. Because of some annexations over time , these neig...

The best way to see the North End is just to stroll around the neighborhood's winding, narrow streets and enjoy the brick buildings, small shops, and countless restaurants. And the best way to see the grocers of the North End is in an Independent Edition post! In fact, there's no supermarket in the North End (although the Star Market at North Station is right on the border of the neighborhood), but there are several independent grocers. Let's start just to the west with a look at Beacon Hill, then we'll spend the rest of our time today in the North End. Beacon Hill Savenor's Market Open: 1986 - June 2024 Owner:  Ronald Savenor Previous Tenants:  unknown Cooperative:  none Location:  160 Charles St, Boston, MA Photographed:  July 21, 2019 Dating back to 1986, the small Savenor's Market, a gourmet butcher and grocer, closed very recently in the West End (or perhaps this area is more accurately called Beacon Hill). The store specialized in hard-to-find meats, suc...

Star Market Opened: September 2019 Owner:  Albertsons Companies Previous Tenants:  none Cooperative:  none Location:  50-150 Causeway St, Boston, MA Photographed:  August 13, 2019; February 22, 2020; and May 14, 2022 Welcome to the newest Star Market! This store, spanning roughly 60,000 square feet on two floors, opened in September 2019 in a new-build development on top of North Station, one of Boston's two main train stations, and immediately next to TD Garden, a large arena. The first pictures I have are from August 2019, just a month before it opened, and then my interior pictures are a combination of February 2020 and a few from May 2022. I wasn't aware that the supermarket would be mostly in the building's basement, so I thought this would be the storefront. It's not. It's now a few other smaller storefronts , and the entrance to Star Market is around the corner, visible in the above photo. You can see the entrances to both North Station and the TD Garden...

Whole Foods Market Opened:  September 2005 Owner:  Amazon Previous Tenants:  Stop & Shop (opened late 1960s, closed between 2002 and 2005) Cooperative:  none Location:  181 Cambridge St, Boston, MA Photographed:  July 21, 2019 One thing that's clear about Whole Foods' Boston-area stores is that the chain is okay with somewhat nontraditional locations. Elsewhere, I see mostly straightforward stores, strip mall stores with parking lots in a standard setup, but here in the Boston area they're much more...creative. Their store in the Charles River Plaza in Boston's West End isn't exactly nontraditional (don't worry, we'll see some much  stranger Whole Foods in the area) but it's located in the back of this complex that's one part strip mall, one part corporate offices, one part Mass General Hospital space, and one part hotel. From my best estimation, the store is around 30,000 square feet and was originally built in the late 1960s as a Stop & Sh...