MATTAPOISETT — Until Friday, Feb. 24, there was no one-stop-shop for fresh produce, local meats, groceries, alcohol, coffee and gluten free sushi in Mattapoisett. 

But now with the opening of Poi Market at 33 County Road — the “Ropewalk” building that houses the Walrus and Captain — manager Eli Waite hopes to bring something new to the town. 

The store’s opening “has been decent for the little advertising we’ve done,” said Waite as he sliced up fish to prepare fresh sushi. “We’ve been working on it for a year, so it’s finally all coming together.”

Poi Market is the brainchild of Waite and local entrepreneur Mike Sudofsky, who owns the building where Poi Market is located. Sudofsky also recently purchased the old Mattapoisett fire station at 26 County Road.

“I started talking to [Sudofsky] and he knew I had the sushi and cooking experience,” said Waite. “It just spiraled from sushi making in the kitchen to a whole grocery store — kind of like the Marion General Store but with different products.”

According to Waite, getting permits and health inspections held up the process, and Covid-19 made it difficult to order refrigerators, coolers and other kitchen equipment. 

Sudofsky described Poi Market as a “wild little place,” pointing out intricate tiles on the interior of the store and large photographs of 19th-century market scenes that bring out the character of the building.

Rows of shelving hold pantry staples and coolers house fresh vegetables and frozen meats sourced from Wyandotte Farm in Mattapoisett.

But according to Waite, what really sets Poi Market apart is the selection of fresh, gluten-free sushi.

Prior to opening Poi Market, Waite, a Tiverton native, worked in seafood restaurants and meat markets for years, including an eight-year stint at Turks Seafood in Mattapoisett.

According to Waite, it was at Turks that he “learned a lot” about seafood and sushi.

“I tried to fill every position I could to keep myself [from getting] bored,” said Waite. “Rather than doing sushi every day I was like, ‘hey, I can do other things too.’”

Waite said that his experience with preparing gluten-free sushi comes from cooking for his wife, who can’t eat gluten.

“No one has [gluten-free] sushi around here,” said Waite, who specifically pointed out his gluten-free eel sauce. “All of this stuff, tempura, shrimp, fried onion — all of that’s gluten free.”