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Date: 11/7/2023
LUDLOW — Alex and Amelia Carvalho have become the new owners of Cady St. Meat Market located at 16 Cady St.
The past owner Joe, or as the Carvalho’s called him Ze Manuel, has been running the Cady St. Meat Market for the last 30 years before retiring and handing the keys over to the Carvalho family.
Cady St. Meat Market was owned by another family as a convenience store before that, so the location has been a well-known place in town for many years.
Alex and Amelia expressed how happy they are to take over Cady St. Meat Market.
Amelia Carvalho said, “We are super excited. This is sort of overwhelming in a positive way. Everyone is so happy and supportive, and we are so happy to be apart of it. We have a family with two daughters and trying to embrace the culture into the next generation.”
Alex Carvalho grew up in Ludlow and after he met Amelia, they have been living in Ludlow for the past 15 years.
They are also of Portuguese descent and said they are looking forward to continuing to embrace their culture through the store.
Some popular items that the store offers are olive oil, bacalhau, which is salted cod fish, imported Portuguese wine and imported olives, according to the Alex and Amelia Carvalho.
They also offer traditional snacks, cereal, desserts, pastries, seasonings, spices, authentic meats, cheeses and fish.
“The opportunity for one presented itself and being able to take over a business that is kind of a staple of the town. We have a strong Portuguese community, it is a Portuguese market and we have different types of products,” Alex Carvalho said.
Amelia Carvalho added that all the unique and delicious items bring in a lot of business.
She said, “A lot of people come from Connecticut and the market brings a lot of out of staters and owners into the neighborhood. We get a lot of people from the community also which is really nice. You bring in the culture through the other states.”
Cady St. Meat Market hosted a ribbon cutting event on Oct. 24 and both Alex and Amelia said they were pleased with the community support.
Government officials joined the event including state Sen. Jake Oliveira (D-Ludlow) and state Rep. Aaron Saunders (D-Belchertown)
Amelia Carvalho said, “I held tears the whole time. It was emotional, it was nice. You wouldn’t think you would influence others. We are filling big shoes, and everybody is happy to continue it throughout the community.”
Alex Carvalho added, “It was a great feeling to have the support and backing of them. It was almost unimaginable to think of something like that actually coming about but it was really nice to have them come out.
Alex Carvalho added that ERC5 Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Grace Barone has also been a big help throughout the process.
Since the market has built such a reputation, both Alex and Amelia Carvalho expect to continue learning more about the business as they go and continue what has been working.
Alex Carvalho said, “At this point we are going to get our feet wet, learn the business and customers a little bit more and as time goes on maybe we can make some adjustments but [Joe] has been there for 30 years so it is kind of like he did something right, so we are going to keep what he had going the same way.”
Cady St. Meat Market will be open from Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.