Newton's Walnut Street Market: An International Food Destination

If you are looking for that unusual food item you couldn’t get enough of on your European vacation or a particular beer or wine you can’t get anywhere else, chances are you will find it at the in Newton Highlands.

And that’s just what Moe Khalaj, the owner, wants to bring to you.

Well, that and an extensive collection of Persian rugs.

“This is the only place that has it all,” Khalaj explains. “I wanted to bring in all of this exotic food, boutique beer and wine and handmade Persian rugs, all under one roof. Nobody has ever done that, as far as I know, in America.”

Khalaj’s family has long been involved with both the selling of genuine Persian rugs from his native Iran and in the making of food. In fact, he himself has had a fascination with cooking from an early age.

“When I was a kid, eight or nine, I would stand by my mother’s [behind] and see what she was doing,” he says with a smile. “She would tell me, ‘Go outside and play, go with the other boys. The kitchen isn’t for boys!’ But I loved food and wanted to learn, so she finally said, ‘Fine, you want to learn, I will show you how to cook.’”

Khalaj says that it was actually his father who was the original chef in the family and the one who taught his mother how to cook. This explains why, of the three brothers and three sisters in their family, the men are more passionate about food.

“As my brother said, we (men) take joy in cooking,” says Khalaj. “For them (the women), it is a job. For us, it’s in our heart. We take our time, because we are enjoying it.”

When he first came to North America from Iran at the age of 19, Khalaj studied Economics at Concordia University in Montreal. For many years after graduation he worked at other jobs before following his dream in 2004 and buying what was then the Walnut Food Shop.

Initially more focused on the convenience store side of the business, Khalaj took about a year before shaping Walnut Market into the multinational food and wine business it is today.

And while he does still sell lottery tickets, gum and other impulse items, it is the variety of goods that he imports from 15 to 20 countries and five continents that form the bulk of his business.

Some of the items of which he is most proud are the Montreal smoked meats from Lester’s (“It’s a mix of pastrami and corned beef, and is so tender it melts in your mouth!” Khalaj says) and the Montreal breads, particularly the bagels.

Khalaj explains that what sets Montreal bagels apart from their famous New York counterpart is that they are all natural, handmade and baked in wood ovens. They are also much lighter, containing about one-third the calories of a bagel made here in the US.

The specialty European and South African products also get a lot of attention from his devoted customers, 80 percent of whom -- according to Khalaj -- travel half an hour or more to come to his shop to find their favorite delicacies.

Khalaj is very excited about the upcoming Newton Highlands Village Day when, on June 10, many of his vendors will join him in providing free samples to the neighborhood.

But even without a special event to focus on, Khalaj’s mission remains the same.

“I want this to be a destination, I want to bring in people in this area and bring them the stuff they cannot find anywhere else.”