Gran Café Marketplace combines coffee shop, Greek grocery store
Gran Café Marketplace, which is part coffee shop and part Greek grocery store, is the newest restaurant in Wethersfield. It opened in June in the building that used to house That Book Store, which closed last autumn as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Owner and cook Maria Matoshi of Wethersfield is a native of the Greek island of Crete. Her first job was in a coffee shop.
“I have always dreamt of having a place like that, a small local coffee shop where people eat their breakfast and hang out and socialize, where everybody knew everybody, where there were regulars,” Matoshi said. “I love seeing my kids’ teachers and all their friends come in.”
Matoshi has brought her Greek heritage and her new life in the United States together in the shop. On her pastry shelf she sells traditional homemade baked goods like Danishes, muffins, croissants and cookies, as well as phyllo-dough based Greek favorites spanakopita, with spinach and feta; tiropita, with feta; bougatsa, filled with custard; and kaseropita, with kasseri cheese.
The starter menu includes hummus and pita, tzatziki and stuffed grape leaves. Matoshi offers special and build-your-own sweet or savory paninis and crepes, salads, ginger shots, smoothies and desserts such as Greek orange pie, oat yogurt tart, rice pudding and walnut cake.
The back wall of the shop is lined with refrigerated cases and shelves carrying a variety of imported Greek groceries: kalamata olives, olive oil, cookies, chocolate, pastries, yogurt, honey, orangeade, barley husks, oregano, jams, coffee, feta, kefalograviera cheese and a variety of desserts and pastries.
Matoshi has lived in the United States for 16 years. She had been learning about it for years before that. “Where I grew up was close to a NATO base where all the ships came. I met lots of Americans. They would tell stories about America, how great it was. So when I got here I kind of knew what to expect,” she said. “I came here to visit and loved it so much I decided to stay.”
She started in the hospitality industry with jobs starting as a busser, then a server, then a manager. She has worked at Tomasso’s in Rocky Hill, Angelo’s in Glastonbury and the Chips-simple Greek chain. “I learned everything about restaurants at those jobs,” she said. In the past Matoshi has owned Pizza House in Bristol and Eagle’s Nest in Wolcott.
Matoshi opened Gran Café Marketplace on June 5. From the beginning, she wanted to welcome others from her adopted hometown of Wethersfield. A table in front of the front door is full of products for sale that are made by local vendors. These include honey from Crossbow Apiaries, soy candles by Alena K, copies of the novel “Deceit” by Diane Sheehan Shovak and bread by Sam Bao Bakery.
“I love connecting the community,” Matoshi said.