Fresh, locally sourced, chef-crafted meals— at a gas station
Alltown Fresh opens Bolton location: ‘Food is first here’
Guests visiting the new Alltown Fresh location in Bolton say they are often surprised to find what looks like a stylish and quaint cafe inside what from outside appears to be a typical gas station and convenience store.
The store, which opened this month, joins other Connecticut locations in Middlebury, Waterbury, and Hamden, and chef Peter Popowycz has worked in all of them. He said he, too, was surprised when he first entered one of the Alltown Fresh locations.
“The food is first here,” Popowycz said. “That’s where the emphasis is. Gas is secondary, it’s the convenience. The menu itself is pretty amazing. It’s chef-crafted and locally sourced,” Popowycz said.
“It’s just a different vibe. I think when people come in here, it’s the one-on-one attention. It’s the service. We’re getting regulars now, so there’s name recognition,” he said. “So a lot of the employees that work in these stores, they like their work. They don’t just leave. That says something about your business.”
Sous Chef Aaron Bail said he was impressed on his first encounter with Alltown, as well.
“I went to the interview and my fiancé asked, ‘You’re going to be a chef at a gas station?’ ” he said. “I said, ‘Just wait until you walk in and see.’ I used to work in a grocery store chain that was kind of like this. Everything is nice, clean, and shiny. It’s really impressive to walk into a place like this.”
The biggest sellers are the breakfast sandwiches, which are made to order in the open kitchen, and the staff caters to the customers’ individual tastes, allergies and needs.
“The breakfast sandwiches are a staple. We’re just busy straight through breakfast. The products we use are cage-free organic eggs,” Popowycz said. “We try to stay with clean products. We inspect our labels and we try to make sure that everything has the smallest amount of chemicals and preservatives, as much as possible. We don’t have
fryolators, we don’t have microwaves. We sauté everything and cook everything to order.”
People have been responding to it very well, Popwycz said.
“There are so many different ideas of what healthy is,” he said. “We accommodate all of that. We never say no. We make it to order.”
Bail said customers are impressed with the bowls, and special menu items.
“We do a lot of the bowls — the wagyu barbacoa bowl (featuring wagyu beef, salsa, rice, and beans), the teriyaki rice bowl — we do a lot of those,” Bail said. “The prime rib sandwich, the special of the month. We bring in a full prime rib, we roast it off and cook it for four to five hours.”
The location features a corner dedicated mostly to local products, and the café area will expand to outside in warmer months. There is
also an automated fresh coffee area, and staff can prepare café beverages, including cappuccinos and lattes.
Martha Sullivan, a spokesperson for Alltown Fresh, said the concept is for “bringing convenience, market and chefs in the kitchen together under one roof.”
“We are committed to serving the greater Hartford area,” Sullivan said.
Alltown Fresh also offers catering and meal kits.
Samples are offered every day, sometimes even at the gas pumps. Many people come in for candy bars or junk food, but find themselves opting for fresh sandwiches or gourmet coffee beverages. The staff members also have flexibility to create their own specials and get creative according to customers’ requests.
“One of the things I like to see is when moms come in with their kids,” Popowycz said. “It feels good to be able to serve somebody something that is good for them — a better option.”
For more information, visit alltownfresh. com.