Newton Neighborhood Market Changes Hands After 16 Years

NEWTON, MA — After 16 years of being a neighborhood staple, the owner of Walnut Market is handing over his keys to someone else as he moves out of the country.

"Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the years of support and patronage," said Moe Khalaj on a post on social media.

Khalaj said late last week that he sold the market and is moving closer to his son and family in Toronto.

"I have memories I will never forget (including the neighborhood coming together to support me after the Muslim Ban and the discrimination I experienced)," he posted to Facebook. "How can I ever thank you all for all of that? I cannot."

Khalaj said he cherished the friendships he made throughout the years and was ready to move on to a new chapter of his life.

The shop stays largely the same, he said and folks who are used to buying wares from the boutique purveyor of Persian, Middle Eastern, English, Irish, Mediterranean, and South African delicacies, or Montreal bagels and Montreal smoked meat, should not fret.

He left a request for those who are used to heading there for hard-to-find imported beers and wines:

"Please be patient with the new young owner, Matt Santarpio," he said. "The liquor license did not transfer as smoothly as we hoped. It’s gonna be a couple months of transition and hiccups. But he’s so excited to be in the neighborhood. To make it work. (And, hey, it’s not another nail salon or bank!). Please keep coming."