Joseph's Market: Community Servings
by Michelle Troutman

A full service meat store, part neighborhood deli and produce shop and part convenience store, Joseph's Market appeals to shoppers looking for fresh food and for personal service outside of chain stores. "People are able to ask us questions, and we're able to communicate with them to find out what their needs are," says owner Kevin P. Joseph. Customers frequently tell Joseph and his staff that compared to chain stores "no matter how much they try, they can't seem to get the same quality of meat and service that they get from us."

Joseph is Lebanese, one of the descendants of immigrants who settled in Waterville in the late 1800s and early 1900s, many working in the textile and paper mills. "It doesn't make a difference what your last name really is -- we all seem to be family. We are there for each other; we help each other, whatever it takes. We're a close-knit community."

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the country that is now Lebanon was part of the Ottoman Empire, and until 1918, its people held Turkish citizenship. They spoke Arabic, and referred to themselves as Syrians. Immigrants from that region had Turkish passports, and were identified as Turkish by U.S. immigration officials until 1899, when they began to categorize them as Syrians. The majority came from what is now Lebanon, but the term "Lebanese" wasn't generally accepted until the 1930s. Despite this, some Lebanese continued to call themselves Syrians, and some people from what is now Syria began to call themselves Lebanese.

The Syrian/Lebanese maintained close family ties. It wasn't unusual for the whole family to work together for the family's financial well-being. Trading was part of a tradition in their home country; some Syrian immigrants became traveling peddlers, others opened restaurants, worked in factories, or started their own businesses. By World War I, many Syrian peddlers had become shopkeepers, having opened dry-goods or grocery stores.*

Kevin's grandfather, John R. Joseph, Sr., arrived with his family at Ellis Island. He worked at the Wyandotte Mill in Waterville, and in 1925, opened Joseph's Market a little further up Front Street from where the store is now. It was a small store, much like a general store or a convenience store, where he and his family sold cigarettes, beer, and other items, such as produce, but no meat. The store later moved to its current location.

John's son Peter, and Peter's sister, Sadie, would look after the store while their father worked at the mill. Kevin recalls his Uncle Peter telling him that back then, people couldn't afford packs of cigarettes. Mill workers "would come in and buy two cigarettes at a time, and they'd pay like a penny a piece, or two pennies a piece, put them behind each ear, and then they'd go to work, smoke them on their break, and then they'd get out of work, and buy another one after that."

In the late 1930s, the Josephs started getting into the grocery and meat business. After World War II ended, and he was discharged from the military, Kevin's father, Roy, had planned to work at the family car dealership owned by his older brother, Elias, the Joseph Motor Company. But, another of Roy's brothers, John, Jr., who was then running the market, became ill and passed away. John Sr. asked Roy and his brother, Peter, to take over ownership of the store, which they ran until 1985, when Peter retired. Roy died this past February at age 91; he didn't officially retire until he was 87. Uncle Peter still works, coming in a few times a day for an hour at a time.

While growing up, Kevin and his four siblings, along with six cousins, worked at the market. Kevin stuck around, while his relatives found work outside the family business. He also worked part-time for a friend who ran a store. "My Dad kept saying, 'Kevin, hold on, hold on. It's a good business. It's going to supply you with a good living.' I said, 'All right, all right.' And, I did -- I held on, and it has. It's put a lot of food on my table, and it's put my two kids through very good schools."

Joseph's daughter Kati, 24, graduated last year from Bowdoin College with a degree in neuroscience, and would like to attend graduate school to study genetic counseling. She's now working at a non-profit in Portland, and has published a paper, Navigating the Real World, aimed at guiding high school seniors and college students through life after graduation. It's distributed to all Maine high schools. Kevin's son, Kyle, 23, graduated this year from St. Joseph's College in Standish with a criminal justice degree, and plans to work in law enforcement. He's currently working at a sporting goods company REI in Massachusetts. Joseph himself graduated from Thomas College in 1977 with a degree in Business Administration.

Kevin's wife, Diane, does the bookkeeping; "She's what keeps this place running straight." They just celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary this year. He met Diane in 1983 at a 26th birthday party a cousin threw for him. "We ended up dating, and next thing we know, we realized that it was meant to be, so two years later, we ended up getting married."

Joseph wears a dark cap, wears a white smock like his fellow employees, his dark hair peppered with occasional flecks of gray; he comes across as down-to-earth, friendly, and comfortable around the people he serves.

"One thing I found about business -- it's very important -- is that you have to give back to the community. Being in business is not a license to just take, take, take. Some people will say, 'I can't afford it.' To that I say, 'You can't afford not to do it.' Well, you know what? Five dollars works just as well for some people, and there are a lot of worthwhile organizations out there. Nobody knows better than me how many times a week you can get approached for donations." Joseph emphasizes that donations don't always have to be financial; they can also be in goods or in time.

Joseph likes to practice what he preaches. He is Vice Chair on the Board of Directors for the Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter. In the 1990s, he was Chair of the Board of the United Way. He is currently on the Campaign Cabinet for the United Way, Small Business Division. This past July, Joseph hosted his Fourth Annual 50th Birthday Bash to benefit the homeless shelter, which raised over $12,000. The all-day event began with a horseshoe tournament, prizes and raffles, was followed by a chicken barbecue and all the fixins, music by the local band Fallen Angel, and ended with a bonfire.

Besides the homeless shelter, Joseph donates food to area food banks. "It helps the community. I guess it's a way to pay back, for the community supporting me and my family for 85 years."

This year, Joseph's Market has undergone renovations. They replaced all of the old coolers and meat cases; they now have new dairy, produce, and fish cases, along with a 24 foot double-decker meat case, and a new, energy efficient freezer. Joseph adds that they're still expanding, and he plans to add a large, walk-in meat cooler in the future to accommodate the increased volume of business.

Another notable change is the business logo painted on the left side of the building, done by a former homeless man, Martin Williams, whom Joseph met at the shelter. During his stay there after losing his job, Williams lent his carpentry, painting, and plumbing talents to the shelter. He later found a part-time job as a cook. "He's got to the point now where he's able to buy worker's insurance," says Joseph. "If somebody hires him, he's all protected that way. So, little by little, he's getting on his feet."

What Joseph likes most about the business is talking to people one-on-one and being able to help them. "It's amazing. They come in, and the things we hear a lot from people are, 'I'm so tired of cooking. Why don't they invent a new animal?' So, I say, 'You know what? The animals are what they are. What you need to do is find different ways to cook what you would normally buy.' One of Joseph's employees was a chef, and another loves to cook, and they like to pass along their favorite recipes to customers. Recipes are available at their Web site.

"A lot of people don't like pork because they don't know how to cook it," adds Joseph. "They cook it like their mothers used to cook it, which again, brings back horrible memories of how tough and chewy it could be."

In response to that, Joseph and his staff offer a four-week meat prep/cooking class for which they charge $65.00 per person. In the first week, they cover the proper way to debone, handle, and cook chicken. The second week includes a demonstration on the proper way to fry pork, showing how the inside turns out when it is overdone (dry and chewy), and when it's cooked to moistness. "That's one of the secrets." They also feature boneless pork, which they filet and stuff with homemade sausage or baby spinach and goat cheese, and top with a garlic and herb marinade.

The third week, they teach the inexpensive cuts of beef, among them flat iron steaks and blade steaks. They give each student his or her own piece, which they can use to make their own flat irons at home. The fourth week they teach the expensive cuts: prime rib, filet mignon, porter house, and sirloin strips. Joseph will choose a local restaurant they do business with, which will serve a meat dish for the students. The students bring in the side dishes, and they all eat a meal together. Joseph plans to offer one class in the fall, and two classes in the spring (mid-January or early March).

Joseph sponsors Cooking with Lori Dumont on local public access, and supplies her with all the meat she uses on the show, which airs every other week. Dumont also offers cooking classes out of her home. "She is just phenomenal . She's got a great personality." Joseph and Dumont are working on collaborating with Unity College to host a cooking show there as a fundraiser for the Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter. They plan to offer tickets at $15.00 or $20.00, and let patrons eat a meal afterward, with the possibility that they can attend a play following the meal.

Overall, dedication to the community and to customers runs in Kevin Joseph's blood. "My father and uncles always taught me that you have to give the people a good, quality product, at a fair price. And, he said, 'Don't ever vary from the philosophy, even if the price of beef goes high, or the price of anything goes high.' He stressed, 'Don't ever cheapen your quality just for the sake of saving a few pennies, because it will come back to haunt you." Following that philosophy has kept the Joseph family in business for 85 years.

Joseph's Market at 74 Front Street is open Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 6:00pm, and on Saturdays from 8:00am to 5:30pm: (207) 873-3364. Web site: www.josephmkt.com .

*Parrillo, Vincent N. Strangers to these Shores, 8th ed. Chapter 9: Other Asian and Middle Eastern Americans: The Syrian/Lebanese. New York: Pearson, 2006.

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