Eastside Marketplace keeps its hard-earned reputation

Scott Laurans and Brian Pacheco promise no changes

Scott Laurans, left, and Brian Pacheco in the produce department of the Eastside Marketplace.You’ve been looking forward to an uneventful weekend during which you could pretend you’re having a “staycation.” A call from a faraway relative threatens the beckoning indolence – you now have to retreat to the kitchen for some unwanted baking, boiling and broiling. No need to steam, though – Eastside Marketplace is just a ride away. Your secret is safe with us – don’t worry. Your uncle will have no doubt that you, the great chef, have prepared the feast in honor of his arrival.

So, go ahead, offer him some brisket to go with the mashed potatoes – its recipe is a special treat created by Monica, the wife of the store’s president, Scott Laurans. In the morning, you can continue the charade by unveiling the lox-and-chive cream cheese to spread on the bagels. Is the beloved curmudgeon staying through lunch? Don’t despair – serve him some chopped liver to accompany such fare as knishes, kugel and whitefish.

By now, you’re probably hoping that Uncle Shmuel heals from his surgery soon so he could visit, but there are other reasons to wish him a fast recovery, as well as to shop at the market. Despite the Eastside Marketplace’s sale, the fresh produce and the prepared foods, for which the store is known, will remain the focus. Ahold USA, the corporation that bought the store in July, is not planning to change the way it operates, Laurans emphasizes. He says that the new owners are not about to start fiddling with what clearly works.

Laurans is a great believer in consistency, “You’re as good as your last meal.” Hence, the store’s famous spit-roasted chickens are always four pounds – double the size of the birds sold at other stores, he maintains. Shoppers have caught on, scooping up 400 of them per week, says Brian Pacheco, the store’s general manager. Laurans knows that the customers expect the foods to have the same great taste that brings them back to the store, and he refuses to disappoint them.

To keep shoppers happy, Laurans, along with Pacheco and Deb Miller, the head chef, invents new recipes and concepts to try out. Some, including pasta night, are clear winners, he says. Others, such as Asian stir-fry, aren’t as successful, Laurans admits. Currently, the store is testing rice bowls that feature a protein and vegetables. So far, they’ve proven popular – a point of pride for Laurans, whose wife devised the recipe, among many others. To uphold the reputation for excellent food, the store is constantly refining its recipes, many of which came courtesy of Nancy Starziano, past general manager whose food expertise was paramount in expanding the market’s menu.

Laurans sees the store’s acquisition in the same vein – as a refinement rather than a change. He has no doubt that Ahold USA will maintain not only the integrity of the market, but also the offerings its customers have grown to love. Laurans, who is nearing 70, explains that the idea to sell emerged after he realized he was “too old” to sign a 20-year lease. Concerned about the community and the employees, he was appeased after meeting James McCann, CEO of Ahold, and Jim Sylvia, vice president of real estate for Ahold. Their proposal was a pleasant surprise – Laurans was thrilled that the corporation was planning to keep the name, the operation and the employees. Moreover, Ahold agreed to continue the market’s tradition of supporting community. Laurans says, “I couldn’t think of a better outcome. It’s always about money, but this wasn’t about money.” To him, the store was always “more of an avocation than a vocation.” Laurans has great confidence in Ahold, stating, “Any organization that runs 800 stores has to know something about running supermarkets. We can learn from them as well as vice versa.”

As someone who’s owned the market since 1981, Laurans is not being bold in his assertion that he can teach the giant Ahold a thing or two. He acknowledges that the store has had to use the trial-and-error method to achieve respect. “Most supermarkets are pretty boring,” he claims. Laurans thinks that the problem is in the way they’re run – by efficiency experts rather than by great merchants selling worthy products. “It’s really about the food,” he declares.

Laurans knows that today’s customer is educated more extensively about food than the customer of 20 years ago. That’s one of the reasons the store offers deli meats and cheeses from all over the world, selling four times as much cheese as a similarly sized supermarket. Continually evolving since its opening, the market has grown by 10,000 square feet and by 40 percent in new products. To discover novel offerings, Pacheco, Laurans and department managers visit stores locally and nationally, try vendors’ suggestions and attend exhibit shows.

In addition, the consumer often acts as the change agent. Laurans says that the shoppers are much more health-conscious now. He has the figures to substantiate the claim – the percentage of sales in produce has doubled since the store’s opening. One of the draws of the market is its insistence on offering organic produce at the same price as traditional one. What originally started as a promotion to compete with Whole Foods, the store that moved into the neighborhood in 2004, became so successful that the gimmick became Eastside Marketplace’s trademark.

Laurans sees Whole Foods as a great competitor that presents a fun challenge and allows for a smarter, more informed customer. He thinks that the market’s “job is to allow the customer to make a choice,” an opportunity made easy by being able to select traditional, as well as whole foods. Laurans says that loyal patrons have been very supportive upon finding out about the sale of the store. He explains that one set of their shoppers is relieved that the store’s staying the same, while another set is skeptical that it will. Laurans jokes, “The Ahold executives are more concerned about keeping everything the same than we are.”

Pacheco promises to continue the charitable donation, the discount program for students and seniors and, of course, the kosher meat operation on Thursdays.