Broadway Street Market is an excellent grocery store. Edward W. Ring will tell you so, but then he's co-manager of Ring Brothers Farm Market, one of the Broadway emporium's three tenants. Charles C. Bougas, co-manager of New England Meat Market, another tenant, says so too.

If you want an unbiased appraisal, ask John J. Appelbaum '97. The Cabot resident gives the new store, located just beyond the Sackler Museum, the highest accolade a Quadling can offer.

"It rocked," he says. "I live in the Quad, but any time I need a two-liter of Pepsi, that's where I'm going."

The Broadway Street Marlet, located at 468 Broadway Street, opened its doors January 10 inside the former Broadway Liquor building. It contains a full-service indoor shopping area which houses a coffee shop, delicatessen, meat market and produce section, as well as steadily increasing numbers of customers.

"All of a sudden, people discovered us," Ring says. "We advertised all over the area, and it seems like people are starting to take notice. I'm tickled."

"We're right by the University, the student housing and a neighborhood that needs services," Bougas says. "We promise to exceed people's expectations."

Cambridge residents say they are pleased a grocery store has located in this part of the city. In July 1991, another Broadway supermarket closed its doors after 50 years of service, forcing residents to journey several miles into East Cambridge to obtain food, according to John R. Pitkin, president of the Mid-Cambridge Neighborhood Association.

"In a good location where people were used to walking to a neighborhood market, none existed," Pitkin says. "This was a real hardship."

Pitkin says city officials and developers spent much of the past three years searching for prospective tenants. Their efforts paid off when a Cape Cod developer agreed to lease the building and find businesses to fill it, he says.

"[The developer] spent lots of time and energy making many contacts, developing plans...and overcoming the inevitable problems," Pitkin says.

In an attempt to attract elderly customers, students and lunch-time office workers to the market, the owners designed a special sitdown eating section, Ring says.

'Like Mom Used to Make'

The eating small area, which is just to the right of the building's front doors and has a seating capacity of about 30, is reserved for customers who want to read the newspaper or munch on sandwiches prepared in the store's delicatessen.

Lounging at one of the tables, Christine H. Porto, administrative officer for the Russian Research Center, says the market's quiet, cordial atmosphere has made her a satisfied customer.

"I'm the kind of person who likes to sit and have a cup of coffee without lots of people crowding around me," Porto says. "Now, if only the weather would clear up..."