Mayor Katchana Ballantyne and the Somerville Arts Council invite the community to NibbleFest, celebrating the fifth anniversary of Nibble Kitchen at Bow Market, on Sunday, June 30th from 12pm to 4pm at Bow Market (entrance at 345 Somerville Road).
To celebrate five incredible years, Nibble Kitchen will host pop-ups from some of your favorite chefs, past and present. In addition to delicious food, you can also enjoy live music by Juan Carlos Ruiz, activities like the “Test Your Nose!” game, face painting and more.
NibbleFest culinary pop-ups will include:
- Boucannen Afro-Haitian cuisine
- Brazil Green (serves vegetarian and vegan dishes)
- Elena's Bakeshop (Colombian baked goods and sandwiches)
- BanglaAdda Bengali cuisine
- Petra Jordanian Cuisine
- Ritthi's Kulfi Ice Cream
- Taximoto Tacos
- Nagomi bento
- Carocious Gourmet
Upcoming Nibble Events
Current – October 26th: Nibble Kitchen takes place every other week at the Union Square Farmers Market (66-70 Union Square Plaza, 9am-1pm). Nibble Kitchen features two vendors every other week.
June 27: Nibbles alumnus Edwin Orellana will be selling gourmet Salvadoran pupusas at the Somerville Fireworks Independence Day Celebration, Tramfield, 6:30-10 p.m. Edwin developed his Dos Manos pupusa business during his time in the Nibbles program.
July 13: Nibble Kitchen will be at one of the biggest festivals of the season, ArtBeat (Davis Square, 11:00am-10:00pm). Nibble staff and chefs will be at the heart of the festival, which takes place on the main traffic island known as Nibble Island.
Somerville Arts Council and the launch of Nibbles
Nibble launched 10 years ago as part of the Somerville Arts Council's ArtsUnion initiative, which has been transforming Somerville's Union Square through innovative cultural and economic development work. Nibble started with international market tours of Union Square, then a blog, then a book. Then we added cooking classes and a culinary entrepreneurship program. Then we had Nibble Kitchen, located in the heart of Union Square, where it all began.
About Nibble Kitchen – Global Cuisine by Locals
Nibble is a Somerville Arts Council and City of Somerville initiative that celebrates cultural diversity and promotes economic development through food. Five years ago, Nibble expanded to launch Nibble Kitchen, a brick-and-mortar restaurant and business incubator that regularly serves international cuisine prepared by chefs from Somerville's diverse community.
Nibble Kitchen also offers cooking classes to the public and serves as a home for Nibble chefs who sell at the Union Square Farmers Market and the Somerville Arts Council Festival. All Nibble Kitchen chefs are graduates of the Nibble Entrepreneur Program. For restaurant schedules, entrepreneur profiles and other program information, visit www.nibblesomerville.com.
Nibble and economic development
Since the Nibble program began 10 years ago, Nibble graduates have opened a total of six restaurants, including three in Bow Market – Carolicious Gourmet, Taquisimo and Nagomi's Bento (opening in the next two months) – as well as 10 other food businesses. These restaurants and food businesses employ more than 30 people and form an economic ecosystem that supports Somerville's diverse population.
Nibbles participants, past and present, earn income from selling in the Nibbles Kitchen, selling at festivals and farmers markets, teaching cooking classes, etc. Nibbles also plays an important role in placemaking by promoting culinary tourism and ensuring Somerville remains diverse and delicious.
