History, Variety Keep Local Spot Tony’s Market Booming All Year Long
by Chaiel Schaffel
Forget summer, winter, spring and fall. There are exactly two seasons that matter on this island: On Season, and Off-Season. The seasonal tourists mirror a tidal flow. The constant change causes business on-island to behave somewhat like pebbles on a beach, swept away by an outgoing wave of tourism each fall. Only the largest and most entrenched venues survive the visitors draining back into the sea. Among the shifting pebbles sits an absolute boulder in the form of Tony’s Market. The market is immune to the ebb and flow and has remained a local bulwark for more than a century. Tony’s was founded in 1877 and is still going strong. But what enables this proud veteran to keep its storied doors open year-round? The answer lies in a simple two-step process: faithful island locals, and enough variety to satisfy everyone from the helpless tourist to the year-round Vineyarder.
The rapport between customers and employees is obvious to the naked eye. The atmosphere in the market fits the stereotype of a little-America general store to a perfect T. “We get all kinds. Summer people, Islanders, people who don’t want to deal with the traffic,” said Manager Nancy Gibson. A veteran herself, Gibson has worked at Tony’s for a decade and a half. “It gets to the point where they walk in and you just know what they want,” she continued. It is this level of familiarity and loyalty that sends the local customers scurrying back, while intriguing island visitors. The familial feel of Tony’s is almost like accidentally walking into another universe, and then being invited to stay.
But why Tony’s Market? The storefront is far from being a simple, one-track convenience store. Tony’s has flourished by peddling a huge variety of items, thanks in large part to owners Dave and Ellen Richardson, who took over the store in 1992 and never looked back. From a six-pack of Heineken and a huge wine selection to hot prepared sandwiches, milk, eggs, and produce, Tony’s has it all. Particularly notable are the store’s prepared foods. The store offers a “create your own sandwich” route for those who like options, with turkey, ham, roast beef, chicken salad, tuna, and more other options than can be feasibly put to paper in a 400-word article. Unlike the menu at Tony’s, we have limits here. In fact, the number of words in the menu outnumber words in this article by more than 2:1. That’s a college term paper’s worth of choices staring down your gullet, just waiting to make your day a little brighter. Tony’s also offers desserts, chicken in its various incarnations, and breakfast all day, including sumptuous breakfast burritos stuffed with egg and melty cheddar cheese, and accompanied with juicy sausage, peppers, and onions. In addition, the store specializes in hot sandwiches, including the admittedly intimidating Tony’s Steak and Cheese Bomb. There is so much cheese and steak in one place that the sandwich was literally christened after a deadly weapon. Think about that. This goes hand in hand with many of the other choices on the menu, like the Sirloin Burgers, the crispy Chicken Tenders, and a wide variety of salads, all prepared fresh daily.
Tony’s Market is more than a staple. The market has the comforting consistency of home, and the variety of a vacation, all wrapped into one storefront. It is an icon, a symbolic reminder of the fact that, while they may change, some things never really disappear. The sun will always rise in the east. The Vineyard will always evolve forward. And Tony’s will always be the immovable, reliable boulder at the corner of South Circuit and Dukes County Ave, with doors wide open at 6:30 in the morning, waiting patiently for you to stroll in and say hello.
MORE INFO
119 Dukes County Ave
Oak Bluffs
(508) 693-4799
www.tonysmarketmv.com
