The owners of Mary Ann’s Gourmet Market, a new gourmet deli that officially opened in the Ramapo Centre this weekend, say the shop is exactly what they imagined it would be. With a deli, salad bar, prepared foods, eat-in tables, take-out options, a marketplace filled with local foods, and a bakery, Mahwah residents and owners Michael and Maria Flynn say they are excited for locals to come in and get to know the new shop.“So far, so good,” Maria Flynn said of how business has picked up since the market’s soft opening on April 26. “The community seems to be slowly learning about us, and we have the support of our family and friends, which means so much.”
Mary Ann’s is a first for the Flynns. Michael, who says his family has lived in the township for 12 years, spent the last decade of his 22-year career as the sous chef at the Indian Trail Club in Franklin Lakes. The family decided to open the market last year, when Mahwah Bagels and Gourmet went out of business. They had always been interested in owning a business, and Maria said as a local resident, she feels Mary Ann’s fills a need.
“I think people are still used to [Mahwah Bagels and Gourmet], but we are doing a lot of things differently,” she said. “Like, every weekday we are open until 8 p.m. So, when families are running to pick the kids up or finally getting home from somewhere, they can stop in to pick up dinner. I think we have a lot of convenient options like that that people are just starting to find out about.”
As a way to introduce the new business to its surroundings, Mary Ann’s held a Grand Opening ceremony Saturday. Mayor Bill Laforet and members of the Mahwah Regional Chamber of Commerce joined the Flynn family, friends and local neighbors to cut the ceremonial ribbon, big scissors and all.
The Grand Opening was complete with face painting and goodies for kids, a honey tasting of the line of locally-produced honey that the shop sells, and samples of pastry chef Amy Lung’s best recipes, like the Thunderbird Brownie.
“Of course, we named it for our Mahwah pride,” Maria Flynn said. “It’s an iced brownie that is just really good and delicious.”
The owners are also looking forward to adding some unique flair to the business, like a monthly art exhibit hanging on the walls inside the shop. This month, the work of Ridgewood painter Laura Marcusa is featured. Each month, the owners plan to choose a new artist to showcase, and will likely host artist receptions as kick offs.
For now, the owners say they are happy to meet new customers and become an important part of Mahwah.
“We just want to make sure that we serve the community really well,” Maria said. “We are really excited to be here.”
