Boston’s Favorite Deli Is Coming to Napa, With East Coast Bagels in Tow

Moody's Delicatessen & Provisions, an ultra-popular Massachusetts deli with top-quality charcuterie and an all-day restaurant, has secured a location for its westward expansion: 1201 Main Street in Napa, near the Oxbow Market. The project is still in the early stages, but Moody’s chef/owner Joshua Smith, who was Eater Boston’s 2014 chef of the year, has already shipped out his smoker to introduce himself to the area with pop-ups. Smith is currently busy on the East Coast, adding a Moody’s location to Boston’s Copley Square.

Moody’s in Napa will be about half restaurant, with a space akin to The Backroom, a full-service, all-day restaurant in the back of its Boston location — the menu there ranges from charcuterie plates and shrimp and grits to steak frites, plus wine and beer.

As for the deli side, Moody’s is the retail arm of Smith’s New England Charcuterie Company, stocking 180 different meats at a time in its case. “We call it Moody’s deli, but it’s really a charcuterie, in the sense of what you’d see in France, or a Salumeria in Italy,” Smith clarifies.

New England Charcuterie will sell items wholesale in California, though here they’ll be made with local ingredients and livestock based on his already strong relationships with producers from Northern California. “Half the stuff in my walk-in in Waltham is from your backyard,” he jokes.

And while Smith acknowledges there’s no lack of cured meat to be found in the Bay — storied purveyors like the Fatted Calf and Fra’mani have deep roots in the area — he hopes his French culinary background will stand out among the area’s concentration of Italian-style cured meats. One major innovation Moody’s could bring to Napa: much-needed East Coast bagels and even housemade smoked fish. “The only thing we won’t be doing is the cream cheese,” he said.

Recently, the chef has turned his attention west, fundraising for Wine Country fire relief all the way from his East Coast restaurant, and sending cured meat to feed hungry firefighters “Any little thing we can do to participate is important to us,” Smith tells Eater SF. Stay tuned for more details as Moody’s takes shape.

• Acclaimed Moody’s Delicatessen Expands to Boston Next Month, and That’s Not All [Eater Boston]
• New England Charcuterie [Official]