[UPDATE] Somerville’s Oatmeal Café Oat Shop Is Now Open in Davis Square
Oat Shop. / Photo provided
UPDATE, January 13, 9 a.m.: Oat Shop got its signage up to code and is back to business slinging bowls in Davis Square.
PREVIOUSLY:
UPDATE, January 11, 8:30 a.m.: Sorry, oatmeal fans—the Oat Shop team learned last night of a “permitting issue,” and the cafe will be closed while they figure it out. Stay tuned for a reopening date.
ORIGINAL STORY:
If you’re in a breakfast rut this year, hop on the next Red Line train. The area’s first oatmeal café has debuted in Davis Square. Oat Shop quietly debuted over the weekend, but shuttered briefly due to a frozen pipe. Beginning Tuesday, January 10, it’s open six days a week for breakfast and lunch—in oatmeal form—with Sunday hours on the horizon, says founder Alan Donovan.
This is Donovan’s first foray into the food world. Formerly in finance, the entrepreneur noticed the busy professionals around him were interested in fast, healthy meal options—and that meant they were eating a lot of Kind Bars. “There’s got to be more out there, and not just doughnuts and pastries, something you feel good about eating every day,” he says.
Always a fan of oatmeal himself, Donovan started experimenting with his own breakfast bowls, trying a drizzle of Sriracha here, a spoonful of apricot jam there. His oatmeal bowls got the attention of his friends, and a light turned on in his head.
“The healthier, customizable thing we’ve seen in the lunch and dinner market, kind of everywhere, hasn’t really gotten to the breakfast market yet,” he says. “The idea really had legs.”
Donovan mainly developed the menu himself, though he consulted with the founders of the Brooklyn Porridge pop-up for some ideas. That’s right—Oat Shop isn’t entirely unique. There are oatmeal-focused cafés in Mesa, Arizona; New York City, and Paris. This past summer, Oat Shop introduced itself to Boston with a pop-up at the Middle Gray in Brookline.
Instant favorites, like the savory Sriracha fried egg, flavored with a little cashew butter and soy sauce; and apricot jam, almond butter, and banana, made the final menu that debuted this weekend. Nine other signature bowls round out the offerings, like Almond Joy, bacon and eggs, and a unique “sushi bowl,” which riffs on those flavors with rice vinegar and lemon-soy sauce, ginger, avocado, and roasted seaweed. Guests can also create their own oatmeal bowls; the savory base is made with vegetable broth, while sweet flavors are anchored with coconut oats. Check out the menu below.
Not up for using a spoon today? Oat Shop is also making a few grab-and-go, no-bake bars, which “err on the side of healthy,” Donovan says, with an oat base and typically nuts, seeds, and raisins. The café will carry some house-made cookies, muffins, and other baked goods, too. Counter Culture is supplying the coffee and espresso program, and Mem Tea is fueling the tea program.
Oat Shop is open Monday-Friday from 7 a.m.-3 p.m., and Saturdays from 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
22A College Ave., Davis Square, Somerville, 617-996-6581, oatshopboston.com.
Banana PB at Oat Shop. / Deer Drifter Photography
Sriracha fried egg at Oat Shop. / Deer Drifter Photography
