Wayside Market, which has been a staple in Waterbury for decades, is closing as the business owners, Rina and Carlos Goncalves, are retiring.
Saturday will be the final day the kitchen and meat shop will be open at 2742 South Main St. The store will remain open the following week as the owners will liquidate the remaining stock and equipment.
The Goncalves were hoping to sell the business to keep the Wayside Market name going, but on Wednesday, the owners said there aren’t any immediate prospects.
“We don’t take our time here for granted for all of the years they were loyal to us,” Rina Goncalves said. “This would have only continued as long as we did if it was for the support the customers have given us. We were welcomed. There was that warm acceptance. They were more than customers, they were family. We’re going to miss them.”
“People would come in sometimes thinking this was a circus with the way we would joke around back and forth with the customers,” Carlos Goncalves said. “They would make fun of me and I would make fun of them and that interaction with customers was great. It was relaxed and friendly. The atmosphere is very friendly and welcoming, and it was like that for 11 years.”
The Goncalves have owned the market, which specialized in a variety of goods from Portugal, Cape Verde, Brazil and Italy, since November 2014. During that time, they became close to employees and customers. Many of the customers stopped in three or four times a week for a made-to-order meal or imported meats or groceries.
Rina Goncalves said the market has been open for more than 50 years overall. Joaquim G. Baltasar was the original owner. He sold the market to Maria Alves in 2000, and Alves sold the Goncalves family nearly 11 years ago.
“All of our customers let us know about our customers passing away,” Rina Goncalves said. “That’s how close we know. The next time you see their family come in you are giving them their condolences right away. We are not ignoring something that has happened to them. Their loss is our loss and sometimes we find out before their families do. We have that connection.”
The husband and wife each immigrated to Waterbury at a young age. Carlos Goncalves is originally from Portugal and spent much of his youth in Africa before coming to Waterbury at 11 years old. Rina Goncalves came from Italy at about the same age. They first met in 1979 and have two daughters and four grandchildren.
Rina Goncalves said the couple wanted to keep the tradition going at the market when taking it over and wanted to continue that standard through the years.
“We know the value and the pressure that was put on us and we tried to keep this going and we didn’t take that lightly, but the decision was made, and it will benefit us for our time,” she said.
Part of the reason they are stepping away from the market is to retire and also Carlos Goncalves’ health. He works long shifts in the meat market and said he is always in pain having endured multiple leg injuries over the years.
“This wasn’t an easy decision, but it was a decision that needed to be made,” he said.
The core customers of the market are of Portuguese descent. The market is right on the border of Waterbury and Naugatuck and both Portuguese clubs are not far away. There is also a Portuguese church nearby and Rina Goncalves said the area is a “little hub.”
“A lot of surrounding towns have been closing their smaller markets in the last five years, so we have people coming from further away coming here. We’ve had customers from Hartford, Danbury, Brookfield, West Hartford, New London, Madison and we also have some from New York,” Rina Goncalves said. “When they come, they said we have more of the products they are looking for. Once they get in, they are pleased by the family atmosphere.”
“We are the biggest Portuguese grocery store in the state,” Carlos Goncalves added.
Carlos Goncalves said many of the products over the years started with customer requests. Portuguese rolls and olive oil are popular selections in the market. Salted cod, which is imported from Norway, is among the regular favorites. The meats are cut to order on site including steaks, beef rib, short rib, pork ribs and chicken. Carlos Goncalves added that he shreds kale for customers to use to prepare soups.
Other offerings include pig feet, pig ears, pig tails, frozen rabbits, quails, frozen sardines, black swordfish and octopus, many of which mainly come from Europe.
“For many of their customers, they have been gone so long, their only connection to Portugal is when they are eating their food,” Rina Goncalves said. “These dishes that aren’t even made in Portugal because they are old dishes. Here they are making them more often because it’s their feeling of being at home. … Their connection to their country is the food that they are still able to make.”
She said many traditional Portuguese customers ask for octopus in December and goat for Christmas or Easter. Carlos Goncalves said customers of Albanian descent order large amounts of veal around the holidays
“When people come here, they are going to get fresh,” Rina Goncalves said. “Our Portuguese sausages are in demand and our sliced presunto is great. We try to have the freshest quality otherwise they can go somewhere else.”
Rina Goncalves said she would love for someone to take over the business and they would be willing to help potential new owners adjust to their new role. Otherwise the Wayside name may officially come to an end.
“It’s sad to me to see this closing. I’ve seen customers crying,” said Alves, the previous owner. “This is something we have grown up with. It’s always been here. People come here for tradition and what they are brought up with and you can’t find it anywhere else around this area. … It’s sad.”
Stamford resident Christian Neyra grew up in Naugatuck and has been going to the market his entire life. Despite the commute, he remains a regular. So what keeps him coming back?
“The chorizo sausage, their cheeses, their meats,” Neyra said. “It’s almost like shopping at your mom and dad’s house. It’s that good. When I found out they were closing it was such a loss. You can’t find the stuff that they have here everywhere.
“I’ve been stocking up on their chorizo. You can find it at other grocery stores but it’s garbage,” Neyra added. “They make the best, and it’s the only place I will buy chorizo. I’m buying seven right now to freeze because after they close, I will have nowhere else to buy them. My parents love it and everyone asks for it. It’s homemade. It’s not dried up.”
Longtime customer Michael Madgic of Naugatuck said he has stops in three or four times a week for the last five years for the prepared meals.
“I love the food. You can’t beat it,” Madgic said. “I usually got the hot meals and the quality is excellent. It is well-prepared and well-proportioned. What you are getting is well worth the money. It’s a shame it’s closing. I hope whoever takes over has the same passion and the same variety of food. I hate to see a good place go down like this.”
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