KitchenArts

Someone get this guy an ear of corn

By TANYA PAI

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Step into the new KitchenArts space on Newbury Street, and the sight of pierced, dreadlocked employees dispensing knife-selection advice over a techno soundtrack might tell you—this isn't your typical kitchen-supply shop. Opened in 1980 as a "hardware store for cooks," that much hasn't changed: Shiny skillets hang from the ceiling, and the shelves are stuffed with strawberry-shaped cookie cutters, a rainbow of dish towels, and all the cheese buttons, honey dippers, snail tongs, clam rams, fruit faucets and potato nails a chef could possibly want. What has changed is the location. KitchenArts moved last month to its new, larger space, just a block down Newbury from the original store.

Though the physical distance is small, the relocation heralds a significant shift for the store. "I find this move to be a breath of fresh air," says owner Owen Mack. "The old store hadn't been remodeled in 29 years. It was my father's store. It's great to be in something newer and fresher. It's changed my whole approach to the business."

For one, Mack's taken the business online: The store's recently launched Facebook page gained nearly 200 fans in just one week, and the KitchenArts website includes a virtual storefront, plus short, quirky videos starring himself and his staff demonstrating tools like the Garlic Zoom or offering giveaways to the first viewer who comes in to test a new product ("BRING US AN EAR OF CORN," one video is titled, "We need to test the CORN ZIPPER").

"Forty percent of our customers are from this zip code, so KitchenArts is even more of a neighborhood store than I thought it was," explains Mack. And that's how he operates it, soliciting feedback on which products his customers covet, and stocking items according to season and demand. "You can go into Williams Sonoma or Sur Le Table, and you can't request things easily," he says. "We do a big special-order business ... so people should definitely not be afraid to request unique or obscure items." Mack also plans to host monthly events with local bloggers and foodies, like a trip to the Copley Square Farmers Market and a gazpacho-making demonstration, tentatively scheduled for July.

And the verdict on the Corn Zipper? Creamed-corn fantastic.

[KitchenArts, 215 Newbury St., Boston. 617.266.8701. cobrandit.com/kitchenarts]