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New Ownership At Downtown Market

Tuesday April 25, 2006

By Ed Barna

Some things change, and some things stay the same, and sometimes it happens in the same place.

The combination convenience store and deli at the southern edge of the downtown business district, known in the past as Lyon's Place, Baba's, and the Blue Hen, is about to become the Middlebury Market & Deli. But behind this change for 54 College Street/Route 125 is someone who got a taste of the restaurant trade while a high school student, working at Baba's: Usamah Hayyat.

If that name looks familiar, maybe you should go see his father, and brother who are local opticians and good at correcting vision. Usamah is a highly personable young man who graduated from Middlebury Union High School before he earned his culinary arts degree at Johnson & Wales College,  whose parents still live in Middlebury, and whose father Mahmoud is a respected member of the local professional and business community--as well as the state's Islamic Society.

Usamah said that he started at the bottom at Baba's, sweeping up and working as creemee boy. Maybe that had something to do with his decision to make the creemee business, if not the patio window, a year-round operation.

Staying with the job, he got promoted to the deli, and by the end of his tenure there was helping to manage it. Those who remember Baba's will remember that it featured unusual and intriguing Middle Eastern dishes; and there, too, Usamah will be taking a cue from his previous time at the place  by spicing up its menu.

Not that “American comfort food,” as it's been called, will be neglected. He knows that you give the customers what they want--though in this case, he said, he will probably add his own twists to the recipes.

Pizza enthusiasts will be glad that he's keeping one of the Blue Hen's strongest additions to the place: a wood-fired oven. Usamah will keep those fires burning, though he said it not only takes two cords of wood a month, it requires that the wood be very dry and the right length and burn hot enough quickly enough.

But beyond that, expect hummus and falafel and other Mediterranean dishes. He's well aware that Middlebury College is within walking distance, and that many members of its strongly international student body, staff and faculty have developed tastes for unusual kinds of food.

With help from local builder Joe Wollum, Adams Electric, and Dundon Plumbing (“I'm a local businessman and I believe in supporting local businesses,” he said) Hayyat is expanding the sit-down part of the deli area (“Closed For Renovations” said the sign). That means adding a bathroom to meet regulations prior to adding more seats.

There may be a critical mass of business people who want to stop by for coffee after the 5 p.m. closing time, he said. A Sunday buffet brunch might appeal to those coming from religious services.

One way or another, Hayyat wants the Middlebury Market & Deli to be a meeting ground for town and gown. That's one reason why he doesn't want to abandon the convenience store side of the place:  and he wants to  make sure the essentials are there are for his customers.

Another part of the business that will touch on both college and community is catering, which he hopes to expand. (Previous owners have a record of helping to meet the needs of college functions.)

The renovations are well under way, and Hayyat said he expects to have a “soft opening” sometime in April. There will be a Grand Opening as well, he said.

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