Background

With over 35 years of food industry experience, our general manager David knows the ins and outs of our store like the back of his hand. David started working for us when he was 14 years old. He met our founder, Tony Chernalis, who lived down the street from him and was his paper boy. When Tony needed help in store, David started work in our deli department. “My start in this industry really stemmed from my love of food and love of cooking growing up,” David says. “I started working here when I was 14, then also worked in a restaurant to gain experience there.” David learned how to work in every section of the kitchen. He wanted to be able to work in every position to he could expand his knowledge and gain perspective from all aspects of how a business runs. At 18 years old, he began assisting the managers in running Market Basket and started bringing his ideas to life. He has worked in every department from deli, to meat, and even in catering.

Expertise

“Everything is my favorite here,” says David. “If it wasn’t good, we wouldn’t be making it.” At Market Basket, we focus on the staples and what we do best. “It’s about creating things within our wheelhouse.” David has created our deli menus including our wraps, sandwiches and paninis, worked on our soup line by creating recipes from scratch including our Immune Booster and Veggie Detox Soups. Not to mention, our homemade Pizza Rustica is David’s own recipe which he still makes himself from scratch every year for the holidays.

“We have no middle man here, everything in the store goes directly through us.” David explains, “Our fish is hand-picked by our own buyers at the Fulton Fish Market to ensure every catch is as fresh as we can get. Our produce is purchased at the Hunts Point Market as well to ensure we always have the best quality available to our customers that we can find on the market.”

From production to our shelves, everything in store is full circle. “There is no other store like us that truly makes everything themselves, we do,” says David. “You want to go to a store that makes homemade ice cream? We do that too. You want to go to a market that has fresh seafood? We do that too. You want to go to a gourmet chocolate store? We do that too. We truly make everything in our store ourselves and we take pride in that.” From our homemade ice cream, to gourmet chocolates, soups made from scratch, house-made deli salads and meats, marinades, homemade cookies, cakes, donuts, pastries, and breads – “We are a boutique of individual stores where you can find everything under one roof,” says David.

Favorite Part About Working at Market Basket

“Unlike other stores, we focus on customer service and have people behind every counter in an industry that is starting to stray away from that. Working with good people is what keeps our original values in our store. Market Basket is truly unlike any other store, we’re a family.”

“A lot goes on behind the scenes,” David says. When David became general manager over 10 years ago, he started focusing on the details to help curate our menus and streamline our production. “Communication from both the chefs and kitchen to the store is key. I try to keep true to our original values and listen to everyone. I offer help both inside and out of work cause that’s just who I am, I’m not a corporate person, this is truly a family business – we’re a family here and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”