Small Market Brings a Wide Range of Local and Organic Produce to Watertown

Behind an unassuming door on a quiet block in East Watertown lies a multitude of fresh produce, dairy and other edible delights. 

Kay's Market on Bigelow Avenue features as much locally grown and organic products as co-owners Vatche Keusseyan and Jennifer Wooliscroft can find.

Keusseyan rises early and heads to the New England Produce Center in Chelsea at 4 a.m. each morning. 

"We have golden beets and bunches of carrots with the leaves on them today," he said. "Every day there is something new."

Kay's brings in items that gourmet eaters look for.

"The higher end stuff appeals to the foodies," Wooliscroft said. "Not everywhere has heirlooms."

The market also features dairy and other products from small, local producers, such as preserves from Moosehill Farms in New Hampshire and ice cream from Shaw's Farm in Dracut and steak tips from Dom's in Malden. They also stock some Armenian delicacies.

"What we are aiming for is people who have been on the Cape and enjoyed a great pie, and then they come here and find it," Woolicroft said.

They try to provide the products without breaking the bank, too.

New Location, Same Store

Kay's has not always been on Bigelow Avenue. It originally opened in Roxbury in the late 1930s, and then it moved to Mt. Auburn Street in the late 1940s. It remained in Coolidge Square for many years, but Keusseyan decided to close in 2007.

"We needed more parking and we needed a facility that could sustain new equipment," he said.

Customers, however, kept bugging Keusseyan.

"I kept running into people who would say you need to reopen, when are you going to reopen," Keusseyan said.

The market also becomes a meeting place for people in the East End of town. 

"It's a community center, especially after the bombings," Wooliscroft said. "People came in here and shared stories about having bullet holes in their walls." 

Keusseyan has visions for expanding Kay's offerings. He wants to bring in a deli, and hopes to have it up and running in the next couple months. 

Kay's Market is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday.