ROOTED: Armory Cafe & Farmstand at the Center for Arts at the Armory is now open and offering fresh produce and other food items on a daily basis.

By Isabel Sami

The Center for Arts at the Armory (CAA) has been closed since March 13, but opened last week on July 21 with a fresh look for its cafe, ROOTED: Armory Cafe & Farmstand. Now the Armory introduces a new menu of sandwiches, coffee, pastries, and more, using products from local farms and small businesses including Boston Smoked Fish Co., Doris’ Peruvian Pastries, Beverly Bees honey, and Red Fire Farm. Only eight people are allowed to occupy the space at a time, but staff set up outdoor seating for up to 20 people and distanced tables to follow guidelines.

Providing the community with access to farm fresh produce was a priority of CAA executive director Stephanie Scherpf when reopening the cafe. “I think people are valuing more than ever buying local, buying organic, and supporting the local economy, so all of those were incorporated,” she said.

After working with the Somerville Winter’s Farmers market, Scherpf, who has been in this role for a year, wanted to support farmers market vendors during the pandemic while also continuing to make fresh and local products available to the public. While the Armory was closed, she built more on this idea and decided to start ROOTED as a way to pivot after the economic shutdown, keeping 13 staff members employed and making revenue for the CAA while the usual Armory events are cancelled.

The new menu, designed by Scherpf, includes sandwiches, salads, breakfast items, quesadillas, burrito bowls, fresh juice, smoothies, and more. To-go items, meal kits, and vegan and gluten-free options are also all available. At the ROOTED farmstand, all kinds of produce and products from local farms are available.

“I think people are valuing more than ever buying local, buying organic, and supporting the local economy, so all of those were incorporated,” Scherpf said. Overall, the cafe and farmstand are a resource for the Somerville community. Soon online ordering will be available at the cafe, and, following suit of Somerville farmers markets, food stamps (SNAP) will be accepted at ROOTED as well.

Scherpf’s background is in arts management, so she says she never imagined her career would someday include opening a cafe-slash-marketplace. “It’s really a sign of the times, in terms of what I felt we needed to do as an organization to survive,” she said.

But ROOTED is more than a cafe and farmstand. It is currently the only way the CAA is staying afloat. Scherpf says without events at the Armory, finances are weakened, as the CAA relies on holding events and selling concessions for revenue. All the income from ROOTED goes to the Armory and staff, but it isn’t enough. A fundraising gala is being held on Thursday night to provide additional help, and more information can be found on the CAA’s website.

ROOTED Cafe and Farmstand is open every day from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. The Center for Arts at the Armory is located at 191 Highland Avenue, Somerville, MA 02143. To learn more, please visit https://artsatthearmory.org/rooted-cafe/.