J Pace & Son

Overall, OK prepared foods and fresh cold cuts. To me the bakery is OK, nothing spectacular. I’m a bit disappointed with their meat. Multiple times I’ve purchases their chairman cut steaks, for a second time (twice in a row) they were like shoe leather. At $ 37+ for two steaks I expect a bit more. I don’t mind paying for good meat/​food but at this stage I won’t be going back for steaks again.

Too bad there are no zero stars. Pace deserves that rating. Person who answered the phone gave me the completely wrong closing time so I ended up too late to pick up a birthday cake for a party that night. Store was closed. Called to complain the next morning and the manager and owner simply kept repeating that they close at 7:30 and since I didn’t pick it up by then they were just going to resell it. Me, being a first time patron, believed the person who took my order and said that they closed at 10 PM. (Wish I had come here first, to see the correct closing time and the various comments about their awful customer service.)
Owner HUNG UP on me after I explained that the lack of the promised cake from there ruined the birthday and suggested that they comp the cake due to my running around for a replacement after their screw up on the closing rime. He hung up. Really, you hang up on a new customer? Where did he learn that beaut of a trick?
So I was peeved at that point. Called him back up and he said he was too busy to talk. He was ready to hang up on me again so I gave up at the thought of getting an acknowledgment that they messed up, along with an apology from this guy. I called him a poor effing owner and hung up.

J Pace is a local institution. There are a few total locations (two in Boston), but this one takes the cake (or cannoli lol). They have a really nice traditional Italian grocery store with anything and everything your grandmother would use back in the old country. The prepared foods are one of my main reasons for coming here… The meatballs are to die for. They also have a full deli, hot/​cold sandwiches made to order, and a huge selection of fresh pastries. Go check it out, it wont disappoint. Tad expensive so –1 star.

Like most places of this sort, there are some very good things and some not so good things. On the good side is their prepared food. Not a vast selection, but what they do, they do well. The salads, soups, deli salads are all top notch. The sandwiches are actually filled. In fact, the eggplant is so huge my wife and I can share one! The deli men are accomodating but not very patient, but then you don’t wait too long in line.
Accolades to the butcher. They will trim, cut, package meat just the way you want it. And their sausages are great. It’s almost like going to and old-​fashioned butcher shop.
Customer service in two areas, pastry and sandwiches, could use an upgrade. The older women tend to rush you and can be downright rude, they should keep in mind that Spinellis isn’t that far away.
So, in the end, we go there for cold cuts, meats and prepared foods. We tend to call ahead for our sandwich orders, which cuts down on the face-​to-​face with the older women. They offer items not found at the supermarkets so we keep returning and enjoy the good parts.

This past weekend I catered my grandson’s christening through J Pace. Everyone I talked to from J Pace was extremely nice and very helpful. The event was a success and the food was great!

Had to pick up a specialty cake last week. The best cake ever! Such detail and fondant, it looked like it was from the Food Network show. Worth the $$. Even my neighbor, who is so fussy, was beyond impressed. She called to order a cake and asked for the baker’s name, Jim, I believe his name was when we asked.
Cannot wait to order again, heard his cheesecakes were just as good. BUT, I wish there were another star rating for the customer service in the store. Just horrendous, and who trains these workers. I even heard yelling behind the counter, and also coming from another worker, could have been the managager himself? Anyway, for customer service, how about ZERO stars, but the pastry and the bakers, ***** FIVE STARS. Go there for the pastry, do not expect any type of customer service quality. they all look miserable and speak to the customers the same way. Thanks

Just a diner with regulars and casual service, the attraction is that it is attached to a substantial Italian grocery store that smells like the old Gloria chain stores, if you are old enough to remember: peppers, olives and cheese!

It’s too bad they have such poor customer service because they have decent food. Just DECENT food not great. So it’s not really worth it to be treated so rude and ignorant at the sandwich, pastry and deli counter for just decent food. Anyone on here who says they have great food must be friends of theirs. The last and final time I went there I asked the woman at the pastry counter how much a dozen mini pastrys are. She replied” they’re a dollar fifty each, add it up yourself!” Nice!

Decent food, but HORRIBLE customer service. The people who work the deli/​cheese counter are always rude & treat you like you’re bothering them if you ask a question. Same with the people working the bakery section.
Don’t waste your money, drive an extra 15 – 20 min to Medford & hit Modern Bakery. authentic Italian Bakery where not only the products are outstanding, the people who work there are welcoming & polite.
I wasn’t surprized to see so many negative reviews for this place… I thought it was maybe just me, but sounds like they are rude to all their customers.
What a shame!

My frustrating dealings with this company’s incompetencies and utter disregard of customer service:
I ordered a cake for my grandmothers 89^th birthday. I told the female attendant I wanted a buttermilk cake with chocolate frosting. She told me this was possible but would cost extra for buttermilk. When I received the cake it was chocolate with vanilla frosting… I called the Saugus location and spoke with the insensitive owner who told me that driving one hour total to retrieve the correct cake is a minor obstacle I would encounter in life… how insensitive. He then told me they don’t offer buttermilk only yellow cake. Not only do their employees not know their menu, the inconsiderate owner clearly doesn’t care about customer satisfaction or customers in general. Taking a correct order for cake is not rocket science and even though every business is capable of making mistakes, ONE WOULD THINK THE OWNER WOULD APOLOGIZE PROFUSELY AND BE CONCERNED WITH INCONVENIENCING A CUSTOMER. INSTEAD OF TAKING ACCOUNTABILITY, HE BRUSHED IT OFF LIKE IT WAS NO BIG DEAL. THANK YOU BUT NO THANK YOU. NEEDLESS TO SAY WILL NOT BE RETURNING.

I used to go to the old saugus location and was disappointed when they closed that location. I was glad to recently realize that they just moved.
Now for the review. I am now really disappointed because I got some sausages which where kind of expensive and found they contained a lot of inedible gristle. What a bummer. For the price I expected better. Because I cannot get the best sausages I am not likely to stop an JP for anything else.

I love coming here.
Nice parking lot.
There’s a ton of options of Italian foods, meats, cheeses, cookies, drinks. Anything Italian can be found here. The café is very nice and the food is always good.
Everyone there is very nice and keep the place in a clean shape.
So if you’ve never been, give it a try!

I was in a rush when I came here the other day so I went straight for the meat counter and only had time to get what I went there for… chicken sausages! I was excited about the different types they had: Italian, Buffalo, Broccoli Rabe, and Red Pepper & Asiago. I went with all of them except for the Italian because I hate fennel seeds. They are a good size and a great price. I love how there is chunks of chicken in it instead of just ground chicken like the chicken sausages you would find at the supermarket.
The butcher was really nice and helpful. We was telling me about the new flavor they just came out with: Red Pepper & Asiago and that it was delicious. Of course I had to try it.
Will be back next time to check out the rest of the store. Huge selections of meats, cheeses, produce and other things.

I have recently moved to Melrose and am pretty disappointed in the food shopping options (I am a spoiled x-​Cambridge resident). The Shaws is overpriced, the Stop and Shop sucks. The «wine and cheese» stores on Main street have a terrible selection of both. Thankfully a Whole Foods is coming.
I am thus glad to find J Pace and Sons as it definitely helps with the shopping situation. They carry a decent selection of meat at reasonable prices. I liked the hot Italian sausages and we had a good roast from here. The bakery looks amazing but I try to avoid. The produce is very fresh and of high quality and is priced comparable to Shaws but is of higher quality. Also a good place to get deli items, fresh and dry pasta, oils & vinegars, and other Italian goods. There is a prepared food section and they make sandwiches and the like as well.

I have been searching for a butcher shop for meats that I can cook at home for some time now. Unfortunately after buying meat there 2 times, I can say that it is so inconsistent that it cannot be trusted.
The first trip, I purchased chicken tenders, some chicken breasts and a pork roast for Christmas day. The chicken tenders were fantastic and wonderful. The chicken breasts were the best I have ever had. The pork roast however immediately smelled like fish out of the package and got worse as we cooked it to a point when a guest walked in my house, he asked if we were having fish! Ruined Christmas dinner there.
Thinking that I would give them a second chance i went back and purchased a «chairman’s select» rib eye roast (4.5 lbs) for Sunday dinner, marinated pork strips, marinated chicken breasts, and a stuffed turkey breast. The rib eye roast was fair at best, cooked low and slow it came out much tougher than I would expect for what was spent. The marinated pork strips had and off flavor and were not edible after cooking, and the chicken breasts when opened (before the sell by date) had the worst sulfer smell I have ever smelt. It was so bad that my wife from the second floor asked me what the horrible smell was. I am currently cooking the turkey breast and hoping for the best.
For the money you spend, I would not wast it with this place. Find some place where you know your dinner plans will not be ruined!

Only visited 1 time but the moment I walked in I wanted to eat cheese… THe place smells of such great cheeses…
Being new I didnt really get the whole process here so I walked around a few times just peeping the place out.
Then I realized you have to order all your meat like at the deli counter… Love that, No packaged anything, All fresh, ready to cut items.
I got some ribs & some Stew Meat & the Butcher (Joe, I believe) showed me everything and even asked how I was going to use to give some suggestions. Such a great place, for meats the price wasnt THAT bad… The produce was all super fresh, which I have noticed at other «Meat» places they usally slack on other items, but not here… The grocery section is a little pricey but thats what you would expect…
Plan to make this my new stop for all meats & things related…
Also a deli, Bakery, Pre-​Packaged foods section…
Check them out, Def worth it!

Very expensive produce and other items. Even more so than Stop & Shop which is right across the street! The only reason I go here is because the bakery/​pastry shop is awesome. I love their Tira Misu Cake and their Oreo one. They’re very cheap for what you get.
In regards to the bakery alone, 5 stars. 1 Star for the rest of the store. which averages to dah dah dahhhhhhhhhhh three stars!

This market is located in a very obscure location, and my friend and I only stopped in because we caught the board out front and wondered if it was a market of some kind. The sign reminds me of a furniture or men’s clothing store. Once inside, we were overwhelmed by the selection of Italian food. You can tell that a lot of it is imported and brands and foods we just don’t see for sale around here. There were so many things that I was interested in purchasing, however, the prices were out of this world high on all the imported and quirky items. Yikes. $ 22 for a jar of sardines? Are they covered in gold? Unfortunately, all the really cool items that you’d probably not find elsewhere were similarly priced so we only bought a couple.
The prepared foods section was awesome, and priced very reasonably. I saw several dinners that sounded delicious, and ended up buying a bowl of soup that was very good. You could get all sorts of fresh sandwiches made at their little in-​store restaurant and those too looked reasonably priced. The meats selection, especially the sausages, was great. We didn’t purchase any but if you want something different to grill up then I really recommend their sausage section.
I’m definitely going back the next time I find myself along Rt 1. This is slightly off the beaten path as it’s behind Rt 1. Don’t be deceived by the sign– you will find a unique assortment of goodies and meats housed inside a store that screams we sell furniture.

While Saugus isn’t exactly my destination of choice, I had been working in the area for a bit and made Pace & Sons my destination of choice on a near daily basis.
The place itself is one you cannot miss (especially if you have a GPS) and is right off of route 1, on Main Street. It’s absolutely gigantic and features all kinds of counters: one for pastries, one for hot lunches, one for meats and another for deli food as well. Each is packed with imported goods from the old country and others feature goods that were produced on the spot. They have all kinds of cookies, oils, pastas, meats, you name it.
While I have not purchased anything other than my lunch there, I can tell you that I looked forward to eat there, especially since my wraps featured fresh, tasty ingredients. Imagine a tomato, mozzarella and prosciutto wrap with some of the freshest ingredients around… that’s basically what I had. Except that I added sun-​dried tomatoes in there for an extra kick of flavor that hit a homerun on every bite. Just writing about it right now makes me salivate.
Another great thing about the place is that they have an eating area, featuring both a long counter and some tables and seats. There’s even a TV in the back with some news on which is another nice feature for them to have. Oh and their private parking lot is absolutely huge which is another plus in my book.
So whether you’re in the area and want to get some breakfast or lunch, or buy some steak tips, some pasta or some cookies, this should be your go-​to place in the area. This could very well be the best Italian shop in the Boston-​area aside from anything you’d find in the North End. Speaking of which, they also have a shop in the North End.

For whatever reason, I never visited this shop in their old location, but on a whim, I recently decided to stop by their new spot. And I’ve been back three or four times since then. I really love it, even if 50% of their wares are meat and I’m vegetarian. I think you should check it out because:
1) They carry really delicious frozen tortelloni and ravioli. They’re rather expensive ($ 7-​$ 10, and I saw that they have lobster for about $ 16), but they’re worth it.
2) They carry Colavita pasta, which is one of my favorite brands of dried pasta. They make pasta in a variety of really cool shapes, and I like that.
3) They have a wide selection of prepared foods, including stuffed artichokes (!).
4) That have a diner inside the market!
There are other reasons too, such as their surfeit of fresh produce, cheeses, pastries, and imported Italian specialities. And meat too, if you’re into that.
I love my local Italian market, New Deal, but Pace & Sons is a bigger, brighter, more welcoming, cleaner market with greater offerings. And since it’s on the way home from both my CSA pick-​up location and my favorite organic vegetarian market (Green St Natural Foods), I’ve become a regular.