Tucked in a small neighborhood in Marblehead sits, quite literally, a little store where locals can bring their wine and sit down for a freshly made plate of pasta.
The Little Store on Green Street was once a convenience store mainly selling subs and other goods. In January 2020, The Little Store that Marblehead locals know today opened its doors introducing a new version of the longstanding convenience store.
The previous owners of The Little Store were extremely happy to pass on the name and keep it alive for the locals.
New owners Matthew and Tyler Gateman operate the 650-square-foot Italian restaurant that has only 24 seats. Although it is a small space it gives the close, homey feel most Italians are all too familiar with.
According to Matthew Gateman among all the items on the menu, customers frequently order chicken parmesan or chicken ziti broccoli. Gateman emphasized all of their food is made fresh daily and each dish is cooked to order.
Gateman said, “Everything’s homemade. We make the sauce every day, marinara sauce, and then we have fresh made pasta every day.”
Something different that the restaurant does is BYOB, bring your beer or wine. Since the restaurant is so small, when the Gatemans realized its size, they knew there was no room for a bar.
Despite not having a bar, Gateman said it hasn’t deterred any of the customers that continue to come through their doors. He said it was beneficial to a lot of their customers considering the price of a bottle of wine can be quite expensive.
Gateman explained, “People make a night out of it. You go to the local liquor store and can get a bottle of wine or some beer and come on down. You can get homemade Italian food without having to buy a bottle of wine, it’s a cheap night out as well.”
After opening just months before COVID-19 shut down the world, Gateman expressed his appreciation to the community as they still celebrated the opening of The Little Store.
Gateman also shared the restaurant was supporting local schools and nurses during the pandemic by donating food. They were able to make meals for the nurses at the time since they were still working and on the frontlines of the illness.
The local charter schools were doing “takeout Tuesday” where the schools would support local businesses by offering parents to order takeout from whatever business was featured that day.
With the restaurant only being four years old, there is so much hope and potential for the future. Gateman talked about the opportunity for cooking classes in the future but ultimately wants to keep the restaurant exactly how it is.
Gateman said, “We just want to keep it the same. We just want to be able to serve Marblehead.”
