If you were to ask any Tufts student where to find Ball Square, they probably wouldn’t have much luck locating your elusive destination. Ask a Tufts student where Sound Bites is, however, and you’ll be in the center of Ball Square in no time. A sleepy area that is almost entirely encompassed by the city of Somerville, Ball Square — which is on the more docile side of Broadway — is, quite frankly, not known for much. It contains an unassuming local dance studio, a small place to purchase fine wines and liquor and a Tufts convenience store (which is anything but convenient for Tufts students).
A proverbial ghost town during the week, Ball Square stirs itself into a frenzy on weekend mornings because of the rush for the perfect breakfast or brunch. That’s right, Ball Square is the premier destination for the first meal of the day and restaurants like Sound Bites provide hungry costumers with gourmet menu items and quick service.
The culture of Ball Square is one that has become defined by the breakfast and brunch crowds, with many restaurants and businesses pandering to the needs of their early morning patrons. For some business, the breakfast rush is both a blessing and a curse. In this feature on Ball Square, the Daily has chosen to focus on three sites of business, all independently owned and founded; True Grounds, Ball Square Caf? and Sound Bites.
True Grounds Caf? and Coffee House, founded and run by owner Rhett Richard since 1994, is primarily a coffee shop on the opposite side of Broadway from Sound Bites and the Ball Square Caf?. With a hipster vibe and great burritos, True Grounds is not a classical outlet for breakfast foods in Ball Square. However, Richard was determined to make sure that the business that Ball Square received through the breakfast and brunch crowds became his business as well.
“Ball Square has really grown in the nine years we’ve been here. Even back then, people didn’t realize that Ball Square existed, but they knew that this is where you went to get breakfast,” said Richard. “At first, we had no interest in delving into breakfast, but because you get lines 50 people deep for a couple of hours on the weekend, we had to expand our breakfast menu significantly.”
True Grounds has branded itself as the on-the-go type of breakfast experience, with various egg sandwiches and breakfast burritos that are portable, nutritious and delicious.
However, True Grounds is not the only business in Ball attempting to entice potential breakfast goers. Ball Square Caf? is almost a Frankenstein of some Ball Square standbys. Founded in 2007 — making it a relative late-comer into the breakfast game — Ball Square Caf? was founded by Mike Moccia of Victor’s Deli, a small delicatessen immediately next door to the smaller Ball Square Caf?. Furthermore, Moccia teamed up with Omar Djebbouri, a chef from Sound Bites. This pairing helps to explain the similarities between Ball Square Caf? and its two parent businesses. Ball Square Caf? has the aesthetics of Victor’s Deli with a very similar menu to Sound Bites. Furthermore, Ball Square Caf? is only open for breakfast and for lunch, opening at 6:30 a.m. — 3:00 p.m. daily. Their website boasts that they are “Your breakfast hot spot,” again highlighting the prevalence of the breakfast market and the importance that Ball Square Caf? and other restaurants in Ball Square place on carving out a loyal breakfast time following.
Why would Ball Square Caf? be so desperate to mimic Sound Bites? Well, it’s simple. Sound Bites is perhaps the most well-known and adored breakfast place in Ball Square. On weekend mornings, it is not uncommon to wait for a half hour or more trying to get a table at Sound Bites. The cult mentality surrounding Sound Bites began almost immediately after it was established in 1996, according to owner and founder Yasser Mirza.
“We have always had very busy weekends. People line up out of the door,” he said.
Sound Bites offers a varied array of breakfast items, and are most known for their variations of stuffed French toast, eggs Benedict and omelets. Furthermore, Sound Bites — just like Ball Square Caf? and True Grounds — serves breakfast all day. Regarding its popularity, Mirza offered this explanation:
“Fresh food is what people want and that is what we serve,” he said simply. Lining the walls of Sound Bites are countless newspaper articles and magazine awards lauding and recognizing the restaurant’s high quality food and service. Most recently, Sound Bites was recognized as one of Boston’s best restaurants with a Best of Boston award in 2011 by Boston Magazine. This success is easy to envy yet not easy to emulate, so many local eateries find themselves playing second fiddle to Sound Bites during the weekends, while other business are more than content to absorb the extra business that Sound Bite brings in.
For many businesses in Ball Square, however, there are some major drawbacks to the breakfast mentality that defines the area.
“People just assume that True Grounds is a breakfast place. Granted, 75% to 80% of our business is done before one o’clock,” said Richard, owner and co-founder of True Grounds.
“My goal for True Grounds is that it will be an afternoon, early evening kind of spot. For us in Ball Square, after four o’clock there is really no reason for us to be open. Our closing time used to be nine o’clock at night and we’ve had to move that up to six o’clock. It’s not ideal.”
Even for Sound Bites, the mainstay and rock of Ball Square, the early morning mentality is forcing Mirza to create incentives for late afternoon and evening customers.12
