Turkey Day Brings Business to Savenor's

Someone has misplaced a 35-pound turkey, and Ron Savenor is getting a little nervous.

The owner of Savenor's Market in Boston, a renowned gourmet shop, Savenor estimates he will ship or sell about 1,200 turkeys this holiday season.

He is at the helm of his simple shop as it bustles with activity two days before Thanksgiving, with customers popping in to pick up their holiday bird and employees unloading a truck and weighing turkeys in the back of the store.

Maxine Stanley, a long-time customer, waits for her bird at the counter and remembers why she began shopping at Savenor's.

"[Savenor's] father used to sell to Julia Child. She used to buy all her meat at Savenor's in Cambridge," Stanley says, referring to the store's 52-year stint at 92 Kirkland St. in Cambridge.

The store has been a family-run operation since its beginnings. When it opened in Cambridge in 1940, it was operated by Ron Savenor's grandfather, Abraham. Abraham started the store after fleeing Lithuania, where he and his wife "had a small food store," according to Ron Savenor.

"Like everyone else, they were running from Hitler," Savenor says of his grandparents' immigration.

According to the Boston Herald, Abraham's son Jack took over the shop when Abraham died a year after the shop's opening, dropping out of a college pre-med program to become a butcher.

Ron took over in 1989 upon his father's retirement. When a fire destroyed the Cambridge store in 1992, Savenor's reopened at its present location.

But not all customers who come to Savenor's know of its history or its prominent clientele, which has included not only Child but also "Roosevelts and Rockefellers," according to the Herald.

Stanley is quick to point out the shop's appeal as a neighborhood store.

"You have to be a dope not to see how beautiful this stuff is," she says, motioning towards the store's shelves, which overflow with gourmet products ranging from rare coffee blends to assorted breads and pastas.

Stanley is so satisfied with the store that she all but brings it with her when she vacations.

"I bring the meat with me to grill in the summertime" in the Hamptons, she says. And she always returns to Savenor's in the holiday season to pick up filet mignon for Christmas and, of course, turkey for Thanksgiving.

Popular Poultry

Customers have it easy, though, considering what Savenor's goes through to prepare for the holiday rush.

The turkeys arrive at Savenor's in wooden crates packed with ice, according to Clint J. Moreau, a meat-cutter who has worked at Savenor's for five years.

When the birds arrive at Savenor's, they have already been cleaned at a processing plant.

"We used to have to cut off the neck, cut off the legs. Those days are gone, thank God," Moreau says, adding that all he has to do now is "bag it, weigh it, and hand it to the customer."

The process of getting a turkey from Savenor's begins much earlier, however, since the store begins taking bird orders as early as the end of September.

Savenor's employees help customers decide which bird best suits their holiday needs. "When [customers] call, I always ask how many people will be eating so that I can recommend a proper size," Moreau says.

The most popular size, according to Moreau, is a 16-pound bird, which feeds about eight people with plenty of leftovers.

The largest turkey Moreau remembers selling was a 37-pound turkey, which he estimates would feed 18 people. The smallest turkeys he sells are in the eight-pound range.

Though Savenor's starts taking orders early, there is hope for procrastinators.

Savenor says he "always brings in extras" just in case customers forget to make arrangements beforehand.

But Moreau cautions that last-minute purchasers may not get the best turkey.

"The funny thing is [usually] it's just for a couple of people, and they end up having to buy an 18-pound turkey," Moreau says.

Savenor's also provides its customers with recipes and turkey-roasting guides, since roasting times vary for differently sized birds as well as for wild turkeys.

Only the Best for Mom

Besides selling turkeys in the Boston area, Savenor's also ships birds around the country, according to Savenor.

Though he is a vegetarian, Kevin Musumano says his mother will be enjoying Savenor's turkey this Thanksgiving.

" I'm actually bringing it to Atlanta with me," says Musumano after justifying his purchase by saying it's for his "mommy."

Musumano, a first-time shopper, settled on Savenor's as his poultry store of choice because of its glowing reviews.

"I know it has a reputation for having good meat," he says, balancing a medium-sized turkey and small containers of gravy and side dishes in his left arm. "I knew they would do a good job."

After Savenor's has taken care of dinner by providing the turkey and homemade side dishes like stuffing and garlic mashed potatoes, all customers have to do is to enjoy the meal and take a nap.

"There's something in the turkey, plus a good football game and a full meal" that necessitates a Thanksgiving nap, Moreau says.

After a Savenor's dinner, he adds, "there's nothing better than sacking out on the couch."

Except for waking up to delicious leftovers, perhaps.

Savenor's is located at 160 Charles St. in Boston near the Charles/MGH T stop.