Maura Barrett
BU News Service
Home to over 35,000 people, South Boston has only two major grocery stores.
Esther Medina, a 12 year resident of Southie, has trouble finding an affordable and convenient option for groceries to feed her family.
“There’s not a lot of options around here except for the Stop and Shop in east side. There is a new [Whole Foods] three or four blocks down. The only other option is Shaws, where you have to take a bus or a train,” said Medina. “Here in South Boston it’s very pricey. Milk is usually a bit more than three dollars, but here it’s almost four. This Stop and Shop is pricier than other ones around city.”
The Stop and Shop on East Broadway is small but it does provide essentials when it comes to produce, meat and dairy. Whole Foods is traditionally pricier, leaving a handful of residents I spoke with loyal to their Stop and Shop. A few people complained that they needed to take a bus, train, or drive to a different neighborhood to get better prices and more options than they could find in Southie.
Taking a quick look at prices at the central Stop and Shop location: a pound of apples runs at $1.99/lb (on sale), a gallon of milk ranges from $3.59 to $4.39, and a loaf of generically branded bread is $2.49.
With limited parking in the neighborhood, it’s not a surprise that public transportation is a more common way to get to the grocery store. However, the T Red Line only services the West End of South Boston with the Andrew and Broadway stops.
Local librarian, Francy Francis, drives to Quincy with her husband weekly to get their groceries. This is about a thirty minute drive, but she says the variety of foods – and prices – are a worthy tradeoff for them.
For fresh produce, the South Boston Farmers Market may be a good local option within walking distance. The Farmer’s Market runs June 1 to Oct. 26, on Mondays from 12-6 p.m., right off of West Broadway. The market also features live music on the first Monday of each month.
And when residents don’t feel like cooking at home, Broadway Street is the place to go. Restaurants like The Playwright, the Patriot, and the Boston Beer Garden are just some of the heavily frequented eateries in the center of town.
Broadway is just Broadway, East or West, not Broadway Street. The Patriot was a bar on West Broadway that has been closed for months. Restaurants there are The Lincoln and Loco, also Shenanigans and Stats.