The team at Lemon Press delivers home cooking directly to your door.
Before the coronavirus pandemic descended on Nantucket, Lemon Press was scheduled to reopen for the season on March 16th. That same day, Governor Charlie Baker announced the statewide closing of restaurants, bars and other dine-in eateries due to the coronavirus. While many in the hospitality industry scrambled to create more robust take-out services, Rachel Afshari, Darya Gault, Taylor Minore, Chef Anna Montgomery and their team at Lemon Press leaned into another dimension of their business that they’d established years earlier.
“We’d done Lemon@Home before, so we already had the process in place and were planning on offering it year-round,” Afshari said of Lemon Press’s at-home cooking kits. “It wasn’t our response to the coronavirus, but it was clutch that we had it in our pocket.”
Modeled after popular meal kit delivery services like Blue Apron and Purple Carrot, Lemon@Home provides folks with all the ingredients they need to prepare delicious dinners in the comfort of their own kitchens. Except unlike Blue Apron, Lemon Press’s ingredients have all been freshly prepared that day. “We do all the planning, prepping, shopping and chopping,” Afshari says. “All you have to do is cook it and eat.” Most meals take about twenty minutes to prepare. With each of the ingredients measured out to satisfy the number of people dining, nothing goes to waste—neither food nor money.
In keeping with the health-focused ethos that helped make their Main Street location an overnight institution, Lemon@Home offers guilt-free, good-for-you meals Tuesday through Friday. At press time, there was Wednesday’s sweet pepper lemongrass glazed pork served over garlicky basmati rice with a cool cucumber salad. Thursday boasted their Mediterranean flatbread complete with arugula pesto, feta, roasted sumac eggplant and caramelized onions with balsamic glaze. They then capped off the week with Friday’s buffalo-glazed salmon with blue cheese scallion kale salad and roasted carrots.
Lemon@Home also offers kits for baked goods, smoothies, soups, salads and small bites. “All ingredients are sourced as locally and organic as possible,” says Taylor Minore, Lemon Press’s manager. “There’s no muss, no fuss.” Each of the items are prepared and delivered with the highest level of care and safety. At press time, Lemon@ Home was beginning alcohol delivery as well.
Yet of all their offerings, Lemon@Home’s tacos might just be the most popular—and not simply because they’re finger-licking good. Yes, Chef Montgomery’s crispy sheet pan tacos with roasted cumin tomatoes and adobo-marinated chicken thighs or chickpeas alone make them a crowd favorite. But the meal also connects to a broader community initiative called ACKtogether that Lemon Press and their fellow restaurateurs started to keep people on the island connected. “On TACKo Tuesday we have a virtual party,” Afshari explains. “People livestream themselves making tacos on the island, and it lets us reconnect with one another.”
And that’s what has always been the main ingredient to Lemon Press’s recipe for success: community. Since they started on Centre Street five years ago, Lemon Press has always been a place where people love to gather. The team radiates positive energy that leaves diners feeling fulfilled and refreshed. While they wait to welcome people back to their bright location on Main Street, Lemon Press is still serving up a delicious sense of community— that can now be delivered directly to your door.
To place an order for your Lemon@Home meal, visit orderlemonpressmarket.com. Learn more about Lemon Press at lemonpressnantucket.com and follow them on Instagram and Facebook (@LemonpressNantucket) for updated specials and menus.
