Food Retail: A conversation with Steven Darwin

Cities rely on storefronts and on groundfloor retail to provide not just goods and services but also opportunities for community. It’s a ongoing question just how urban centers will function now that Amazon is capturing more and more of the marketplace not only for the bigger purchases but also for the smaller interactions too. Food is one area where Amazon doesn’t penetrate with as much success, particularly for “live” food — food that you eat on the premises, which is as much about the experience as it is about any particular item on the menu. Steven Darwin of Darwin’s Ltd in Cambridge, MA takes some time to talk to unPlanned about what his life is like running one of the premiere (and earliest) cafes in Cambridge. We also talk about his lessons learned during this year of Covid.