My wife and I live near Kendall Square which has undergone significant change over the past 5-10 years, especially since we moved here last October. The influx of tech businesses (Google, Microsoft, Biogen, etc) and residential towers has made it a very dynamic live/work neighborhood which attracts a diverse range of professionals and families. Our little slice of the world between Kendall and Lechmere is incredible with the exception of it's void of a market to get fresh fruits, vegetables, milk, or even beer. We have incredible amenities such as Voltage, a plethora of fine dining (Za, Abigail's, Firebrand), fitness & health offices (JV, Bosse), yet no real market. Sure we have Kendall Market & Deli but their focus is on prepared foods making them more of a Bodega than a place to get your essentials. Yes we could walk to Cambridge st and go to Shaws or get a Zipcar to go to Whole Foods in Cambridgeport or Stop & Shop in Sommerville. Why can't we start something here?
Even our local government identified a grocery store as one of our top priorities for economic development. Why can't we have a locally owned and supported shop that sells eggs, bread, and a wide selection of craft beers and wine? It should be easy enough to raise awareness through the interwebs and social media. It would also be easy enough to seed through a crowdfunding site such as Kickstarter thanks to the Jobs Act (not a politically charged statement but Congress actually did something?). I'm sure a local law firm would be willing to draft the legal documents probono for the publicity; businesses such as the CIC, Microsoft, and Google should be willing to encourage their employees to help fund it; and there are plenty of people looking for a job in this economy to run/staff it. We confess there's no business model, pitch, founding team, and the potential downside is unknown but hopefully we can spark the community to create something great.
Chris and Peg Mutty
You must be the change you want to see in the world.” -Gandhi
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