Photo: Jeromey Russ/WBZ NewsRadio
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — A new store in Southie is putting a unique spin on the grocery store experience.
Sophie Dunn is the owner of Hamersley's Pantry in the South Boston. She said owning a grocery market is a lifelong dream.
"I created my own little shop in our house when I was little with a cardboard register and made my parents play for like ten hours a day on their off days. I had my dog as my general manager," Dunn said.
The shop doesn't have long mazes of aisles like most grocery stores, just a handful of shelves that are stocked with new and local brands.
"It's a market featuring snacks, sweet treats, sauces, grab-and-go items from really small emerging brands," Dunn said. "So, the goal is when someone comes in here, they're not going to find everything that they find at a regular grocery store."
"A lot of these brands are brand new to the shelves, and I've had a lot of people come in saying 'I've never even heard of any of these,'" she added.
Dunn said she was inspired by her parents, who once owned Hamersley's Bistro in the South End.
"I saw how hard they worked, but also just how much of a community that they built, and that is something that I really gravitated towards," Dunn said.
Her business is small now, but if things go well, she said she may open more stores around the state.
"Who knows, maybe one day I'll get back to slinging roast chicken like my father did, but for right now I'm going to let him kind of keep that honor," Dunn said.
WBZ NewsRadio's Jeromey Russ (@JeromeyRuss) reports.