CAMBRIDGE — The clouds opened up over Pine Street Community Market just in time to let the sun shine down Friday afternoon for a ribbon-cutting event.
The ribbon-cutting, hosted by the Dorchester Chamber of Commerce, brought together community members and local and state officials to celebrate the opening of the market, a convenience store with a restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner — from eggs and home fries to hamburgers and subs.
For Pine Street Community Market owner Eddie Beasley, the opening of the market has been a long time coming. He’s been working on getting it opened since 2015.
“I just feel like I’ve done something,” he said. “I was in the 10th grade when Pine Street had the fire and burned down all the businesses. And from then until now, there was always this talk about building it back. So this is a great start.”
In 1967, a fire burned much of Pine Street. The fire broke out after activist H. Rap Brown gave a speech in town. Because the Cambridge Rescue Fire Company took hours to arrive on the scene, the fire to spread to much of the street.
Beasley said Pine Street Community Market “is doing the old-fashioned thing,” with plans to add more to the menu.
“The food is old-fashioned,” he said. “We’re making our hamburgers up from scratch.”
People can expect great food, great service and a nice and neat space when they come into the store, Beasley said.
For many Cambridge residents, this is about more than a convenience store. It’s about a thriving community.
Cambridge resident Mercy Pinder said the store will provide a sense of community as well as more jobs for residents.
“It’s amazing because, for those who don’t have transportation, they could walk here,” she said. “And that’s how it used to be here in Cambridge. You really didn’t have to go on (Route) 50 for anything. Everything was walking distance.”
Revitalizing the historic Pine Street neighborhood has been a city goals. In late March, the Cambridge City Council voted to establish a land bank authority. At a January meeting with city officials and state legislators, City Manager Tom Carroll said a land bank authority would allow the city to take an “interventionist approach” to its housing market in the Pine Street neighborhood and throughout the city.
Beasley is hopeful that Pine Street will successfully be revitalized. He said that Habitat for Humanity Choptank, which he is on the board of, is building new houses behind the store.
“As that goes on, and if we can encourage and bring somebody along to put something else up here, we’ll be on our way,” he said about revitalizing the neighborhood.
The store has already been a benefit to Bonita Perry, who lives in the neighborhood. She said the market is easy to walk to, and she likes the food they serve. She said getting a meal there is easier and cheaper than going to the grocery store. Perry’s go-to order is the cheesesteak.
At the ribbon-cutting, Mary Handley from the Maryland Office of the Comptroller presented a citation to Beasley and the market. Robyne Chaconas from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, which helped fund the project, said it’s all about the impact of these projects.
“We’re extremely proud to be partners on this project with you,” she said. “This is going to be a great asset for the community.”
Pinder, who grew up nearby, called the addition of the store a 360 from when she was a kid.
“When I was younger, this was actually a store where you could come in and get your groceries and things of that nature,” she said. “So this is a 360 for me.”
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