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DEVENS – The village of Devens is not short on a number of employees looking for a quick bite to eat. But oftentimes quality takes a back seat to fitting the process of getting a meal into a break schedule.
Luckily, since the pandemic, there has been an option in Devens that pairs fresh top quality ingredients for those on the move. Marty’s Corner Cafe & Deli at 176 Jackson Road features elite staff, great customer service, and some highly delectable bites.
“I knew that the area needed a restaurant with a quick push-out for sandwiches because customers don’t have much time,” Marty’s Corner Cafe owner Marty Twomey said. “I wanted to create a menu that had fresh ingredients, but be able to serve those on the move. When you walk in it’s instantly fun, it’s an inviting environment, we have fresh ingredients, and it’s affordable. Our staff is amazing.”
Serving both breakfast and lunch, with hours of 7:00a.m. to 3:00p.m. on weekdays and 8:00a.m. to 2:00p.m. on weekends, there is a little something for every patron on the menu. Those looking for healthy and sweet can indulge in the acai bowl, yogurt parfait, or fruit cup. There are many options for bagels and bagel sandwiches. For those looking for a bit of a kick to start the morning, there are the highly sought breakfast burrito, burrito bowl, burrito bomb, and breakfast tacos. For those opting to satisfy a sweet tooth, there are the sugar waffles and s’mores sugar waffles.
“All of our ingredients are fresh and we get them home delivered the day of,” Twomey said. “The same goes for all our bread and produce. We do these breakfast tacos that are amazing, that’s our most popular breakfast item, and the burrito bomb is popular too. The tacos have chorizo and a secret sauce. The burrito bomb we make has a hash brown inside there and a sriracha-maple syrup inside.”
For lunch options the menu breaks down into three categories; salads, sandwiches, and pressed. Salads range from the garden, Caesar, harvest, greek, southwest, Marty’s cobb, mandarin bowl, and the DragonFly Poke Bowl, a popular eat with teriyaki Ahi tuna, quinoa, garbanzo, kale, edamame, smashed avocado, cucumber, sesame, and Wasabi cucumber.
Sandwich offerings include chicken Caesar, chicken salad, greek goddess, buffalo chicken, cordon bleu, BLAT, roast beef, triple decker, and pulled pork among others. There are also Marty’s Italian, Big Nana’s meatball sub, a nature wrap, a black bean burrito, and a mandarin chicken wrap. Marty’s sandwiches also come with the option to build your own.
On the pressed side, served on sourdough unless otherwise requested, there’s the turkey Rachel, the Cubano, pesto caprese, steak and cheese, pork melt, southwest chicken, barbecue chicken, grilled cheese, and turkey and apple.
“For lunch I’d say our most popular items are our southwest panini,” Twomey said. “We have a turkey apple panini with freshly sliced turkey, fresh apples, bacon and different types of cheeses and that’s pressed on a multi-grain bread, it’s delicious with a honey dijon sauce inside.”
Marty’s Corner Cafe, a small woman-owned business, opened right after the height of the pandemic in June of 2021. It was almost perfect timing to launch the business, in spite of the difficult times, as Marty’s opened up the week after the most challenging of the restrictions were being lifted.
The restaurant also offers catering to numerous nearby businesses which can be set up through the restaurant’s website martyscornercafe.com or calling 978-796-5181. For those crunched for time looking to shave a few seconds off their stay the website does feature an order ahead capability. Marty’s also offers a food truck, with Marty’s on The Move.
“We have a ton of returning customers,” Twomey said. “A lot of people work in Devens, and we do get new customers, people still figuring out that we’re here. We do online ordering, so it’s helpful for people that are crunched for time that can come in and grab their order.”
From humbling and uncertain times during the pandemic, Marty’s Corner Cafe has seen steady growth over the last few years, and many friendly familiar faces on a daily basis.
“We’re growing every year,” Twomey said. “Every month I see an increase in sales whether it’s catering or just new customers. It’s been amazing. It’s an everyone knows your name type restaurant and all the employees we’ve worked together in other places and have all known each other for at least 15 years.”
Existing college as a business major, Twomey knew that at some point her goal in life was to start a small business of her own. With over a decade of experience in the restaurant industry, fusing her two passions seemed like a perfect fit.
“I always knew that I wanted to open my own business, and I didn’t know what it was going to be, if it was going to be in the food industry or something else,” Twomey said. “This opportunity came with the space, and I kind of just went for it.”