Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | March 2, 2020 | Worcester Business Journal 17 B U S I N E S S L E A D E R S O F T H E Y E A R F O C U S e Hyders have grown on their unique grocery legacy BY LIVIA GERSHON Special to the Worcester Business Journal I n the age of enormous supermar- kets and online specialty markets, running a local family-owned store may seem difficult. en again, running a store during Worcester's more difficult years in the 1980s and '90s might seem hard, too. rough it all, Ed Hyder's Mediter- ranean Marketplace has remained a community institution. Aer the market's founder and name- sake died in 2018, his children Miriam and Gregory and his wife Edna contin- ued his work – and built on it. "We try to think of what he would say if there's a new product or a big change we're thinking about," Miriam said. What Ed oen said, according to Gregory, is "dance with the girl who brought you." In other words, "you keep the traditional things here that made you who you are. But, at the same time, Mir- iam and I have made a point to bring in new products," Gregory said. at approach has turned the market, housed in an old fire station, into a destination for a diverse cross-section of the city. Customers who first visited the store as children now show up with kids of their own. People who work in the area stop by for lunch. College students and gourmets seeking a particular hard- to-find spice mingle in the aisles. When Ed Hyder opened the store at its original location nearby, groceries were already a family business. His fa- ther and uncle had a corner market and butcher shop on the city's east side. "He wanted to do his own thing with imported foods," Miriam said. He began importing food like cheese and olives, offering a taste of his own Lebanese heritage and also catering to his Greek, Armenian, and Middle East- ern neighbors. He took special requests. "If someone needs something but it's not going to fly off the shelves, he would keep it in stock regardless of that it might not be a big money maker," Gregory said. e store has been a constant presence in the lives of many Worcesterites, including Julian Davis Wade, president of Worcester textbook firm Davis Publications. "Some of my first memories are the smell of the spices in that store," Wade said. "ey have a unique product. ey have a unique store. I think also it is the trust and emotional connection that people have to that store." Wade has multiple connections to the store, from playing in jazz band with Gregory in high school and having Edna as a teacher to the fact his assistant's first job was working at the market. "ey're such a tight family, and even those who are not blood family are still family," Wade said. Miriam and Gregory grew up work- ing in the store, along with their sister Alexis, who now lives out of state. "He armed us with so much knowl- edge and years of experience," Miriam said. "He trusted us to really start hand- ing over a lot of responsibility." Edna, who didn't formally work at the store when she was teaching, has now joined in as part of the family business, advising and helping with the books. "She brings a new outlook, holds us more accountable sometimes," Miriam said. "She does keep us on track." With international sections of su- permarkets growing, the Hyders keep moving to provide unique products. "We're always ... on the hunt for new things," Gregory said. "Eight months to a year aer we've been carrying them, you'll see them in bigger stores." Gregory and Miriam use Instagram to get in touch with small farms and unique local companies. ey are proud of the range of unusual wines and olive oils from around the world. "When you look at our olive oil section, it's like looking at a map," Gregory said. e Hyders change with the times, adding new specialties and altering the store's physical layout to better serve its wide range of customers. ey expect to remain a community institution for a long time. Miriam even has plans for the next generation. She and her husband have a 13-month old daughter. "She is a future employee, for sure," she said. Family Business Leaders of the Year Edna, Gregory & Miriam Hyder President; vice president & general manager; secretary & marketing manager Ed Hyder's Mediterranean Marketplace, Inc. Headquarters: Worcester Their birthplaces: Lawrence (Edna) & Worcester (Gregory & Miriam) A career educator: Although Edna always co-owned the store, she only started working in it two years ago after a career teaching 5th grade in Worcester Public Schools. Music man: When Greg isn't at the store, he plays in a cover band called The Flat Five. Secret celebrity: Miriam does voice- over work in her spare time. You may have heard her on the radio and just didn't know it! Edna Hyder W PHOTO/MATT WRIGHT

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