It hardly looks like a cultural battleground, but at Lionette's Market, a tiny, hip South End spot, a sustainable revolution is on.
Owned by two generations of the Lionette (pronounced LY-un-eh-tee) family, and operated in conjunction with the 12-year-old Garden of Eden restaurant next door, Lionette's Market has been selling fresh, locally raised meat and produce for years. Regulars know that the market routinely orders a whole pig and uses its cuts from snout to tail to make charcuterie and other specialties. It's unlikely you'll walk into the small underground butcher and take-out shop and not hear a word or two on the topic of agricultural sustainability from market manager Jamey Lio nette. He likes to tell customers his opinions about carbon footprints and fast food.
Now, he and his brother Robert, Garden of Eden's executive chef, are hoping their devoted customers will stick with them and act as their bankers. Their parents, Robert and Mary, have decided to retire. Hoping to expand the two places into one storefront, the brothers are making an interesting financial proposition to the South End community. They want people to invest in their expansion, support their local market, contribute to the independent flavor of the neighborhood, and be rewarded handsomely with arugula, rutabaga, eggs, pickles, housemade pates, grass-fed steaks, and duck fat. In other words, people who buy shares in the market will see their return in food.
The Lionette brothers are calling the plan Community Supported Market, named for the well-established Community Supported Agriculture program (see related story) in which customers give money to farmers before the growing season and are repaid later in produce. The brothers e-mailed some of their regulars and received four financial commitments in the first 24 hours. They could, concedes Jamey, just go to a bank and ask for the money and expand. But where is the community in that?
Their preliminary plan is that people who invest $10,000 will get a two-year stipend of $125 per week at the store (for a total of $13,000 in food). For $5,000, investors get a $55 weekly stipend for two years; $2,500 gives investors a 10 percent discount on store items for two years.
"I'm hoping this won't just make people feel like they're making a business deal," says Jamey. "I absolutely believe in the concept of community, and I want people instead feeling like they're a part of something."
In many food businesses, people who service the establishments are sometimes paid in specialties of the house. What the Lionettes are doing isn't exactly new. Restaurateurs might barter fish and chips for part of a plumber's fees; some pay for services in meals. The Lionette's are trying to institutionalize something unique about the South End: a largely chain-free landscape and a commitment, not just a pledge, to shop locally.
The same day the Lionettes made their request last week, the South End News ran an editorial about the local business environment. ". . . our vibrant business community is in danger of turning into Fanueil Hall," the editorial stated. "How does this affect you? Well, the factory-issue glazed donuts at
Uzay Tumer, general manager of the new Gaslight on Harrison Avenue, says the restaurant exists largely because the owner of the space courted them, paying for much of the construction. He knew it would add value to the block. "The community here is just getting richer, more bohemian, and self-serving because we want to take care of ourselves. And we're always reaching out to the community," says Tumer.
The sentiment is the same at Myers + Chang, another new establishment, where policies are in place to please local clients. The staff leaves half the dining room tables for walk-ins, which guarantees that a neighbor won't show up and find every seat reserved.
At Lionette's, the clientele includes those who shop there because it's in the neighborhood, and others who come from all over the city and suburbs who want to find unusual provisions brought in from small growers.
Then there are the customers who come for the food. "They say, 'I could care less where it comes from,' " says Jamey Lionette. " 'It just tastes so good.' "
Lionette's Market, 577 Tremont St., South End, 617-778-0360, lionettesmarket.com.
