Moody’s Charcuterie Production Set To Grow Tenfold Next Year

A selection of New England Charcuterie from Moody’s Delicatessen, Photo via Facebook

In the wake of yesterday’s news that Gordon’s Fine Wine & Liquors is opening a new shop in Downtown Crossing with a Moody’s Delicatessen & Provisions case inside, Boston caught up with chef Joshua Smith to talk about what this means for his salt-cured empire.

His Waltham storefront, which opened about two years ago, also houses Massachusetts’ first licensed facility for curing and selling aged meats. His wholesale brand New England Charcuterie has been building clients locally and regionally; he told Boston last year the shop was always going to be a “testing facility,” and he had signed on to open a production facility a couple miles from Moody Street that will vastly increase his production capabilities.

That growth is nigh—aside from the 50-seat wine bar Smith opened up this past spring behind Moody’s, the Backroom—and it’s where the partnership with Gordon’s comes into play.

Construction starts on the 10,000-plus square foot production facility on November 1, Smith said. A giant, custom-made, Mauting smoking chamber, currently on its way to Waltham, will be able to accommodate 3,000 pounds of meat—Moody’s current operation maxes out at 300 pounds. Come April, Smith anticipates the new facility will be fully operational.

A rendering of Moody’s custom-built Mauting meat smoking oven, Provided

“If we’re going to increase capacity, we have to increase availability as well,” Smith said. Knowing his product line has the potential for tenfold growth in the coming months, he’s been “aggressively looking for new locations.” The Bedford/Burlington area is one spot Smith is considering for a deli, and so is Downtown Boston.

Over a glass of wine one night, Smith was talking about the future with fellow Waltham-based business owner, friend, and frequent collaborator, David Gordon, and they decided to join forces in Downtown Crossing.

“It’s a great story: Two Waltham families expanding into the big city,” Smith said. 

Essentially “popping up” inside Gordon’s gets Moody’s into the neighborhood to see how it is received. “Luckily, there are [other] spaces available down there, so if it starts to work, we can think about how to scale it. Our hope is that it’s well received, and that will obviously force our hands to create a bigger amenity down there.”

A limited supply of pre-made, Moody’s signatures like Smith’s take on the Vietnamese bahn mi; the over-the-top meatscape that is Revers’ Ultimate Italian; Foraged, the meat master’s decadent vegetarian offering with fire-roasted portobello mushroom and much more; will be trucked downtown daily, along with packaged provisions Smith thinks could appeal to the burgeoning residential population there. But as for a full-fledged deli counter, “it’s a wait-and-see,” Smith said. “We’re going to see how the neighborhood reacts to it, and we’re going to act accordingly.”

Our guess? We think you’ll like it, Downtown Crossing. And with more production so visible on the horizon, it sounds like this is only the beginning.

Moody’s Delicatessen & Provisions, 468 Moody St., Waltham; 781-216-8732 or moodyswaltham.com.