LivWell Market

10/19/2026

First Sprouts

Last weekend, we set out to plant the very first seeds of our community garden. We have felt all along we could not do this alone.

One week in, and what a week it was. We want to share what came up. It turns out we were right about the importance of community.

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Our soft opening landed fittingly on the same weekend as the Somersworth Pumpkin Festival. Like LivWell Market, every pumpkin at that festival started as a seed someone put in the ground months ago and trusted to grow.

What we did not expect was how many people would show up with gloves, watering cans, and warm smiles.

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People gave their time willingly and happily.

We found teammates who have stepped into the role of fearless and inspiring leaders. Our people brought families to help, again and again, and then brought loved ones to help us build together. These incredible people have become the ground our business is rooting in and the trellis this dream is growing on.

A friend came in and taught us things about our kitchen that would have taken us months to learn without him, people we met over the years offered their hard-earned expertise, our families greeted and welcomed guests at the door, and many partners showed up to serve alongside our people. Nobody expected anything in return.

And the gyro grew fastest of all.

Gyros were our top seller, by a wide margin. Fries inside, as always. Loads of tzatziki. Warm pita, soft and toasted. Fresh tomatoes. That squeeze of lemon and a touch of mountain oregano. We take all of this as a sign that this soil is rich.

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There is a Greek word, βλαστάρι (vlastári). It means a sprout, a young shoot. Greeks also use it affectionately for children, the ones who carry a family forward into the next generation. This week it felt like the right word for what we saw: something young and green, full of energy, growing because so many people in this village decided to tend it.

We are still far from finished. The grocery room, the full menu, the taverna, and the produce are all still on their way. But after this week, we know we will not be growing these things alone, and we know we are on the right path.

Thank you to everyone who came, who helped, who taught, who listened, who believed, who tried our food, and who showed love. You turned a backyard dream into a community garden.

We truly appreciate your time, attention, appetites, and support in the next few weeks while we continue to tend to our sprouts.

While our digital ordering site is not yet fully operational, we welcome you to a sneak peek of what we’re getting ready for. Check it out at https://order.livwellmarket.com/ - full of pictures and descriptions that we are proud of building fully in-house with our amazing staff.

We hope to see you soon and often!

🍅😎

Order online from 8 Somersworth Plaza, including Mezze, Soups & Salads, Gyros & Sandwiches. Get the best prices and service by ordering direct!

10/16/2026

Need a way to warm up on a cold fall day? Come by and try a cup or a bowl of our vegan lentil soup, traditionally called φακές (fakes) and made in the way Yia-Yia taught us! Served with a roll and a smile 😊

Join our soft open season on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 11-6.

10/14/2026

We’ve planted some seeds and we’re eager to water them with you. 🌱

A special thank you to everyone that took time out of your weekend to visit us during the Somersworth Pumpkin Festival last weekend. It was a wonderful turn-out and we learned so much about how to serve you all!

Starting today, we are open Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 11-6 while we round out our team, fill up our market area, and refine our processes.

If you’d like to help us grow or if you’re craving authentic Greek food, come on by this week and grab something delicious.

From our kitchen to yours. 🍅

8 Somersworth Plaza, Somersworth, NH

10/10/2026

Building a Community Garden

Nobody can plant a seed on Friday and expect to eat a tomato on Saturday.

Much like what we are trying to build, a garden asks for time, patience, attention, energy, and commitment. Every so often it also asks for the freedom to take a risk. To put something in the ground without knowing exactly how it will come up, or to try something new without knowing the outcome.

This year on October 10th, LivWell Market begins our soft opening at 8 Somersworth Plaza. Consider this as us planting the first seeds.

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Allow me an introduction.

My name is Costa. Greek food, family, and culture have been the pride at the center of my existence for as long as I can remember. My father lives in Greece, and the wild mountain oregano on our shelves that many of you have tried is harvested from the mountainside overlooking his village, Pyli. Several dishes on our menu were inspired by my trips to the village or are things that belong to my mother or one of my Yia-Yias, and we make them the way we were taught, weekend after weekend. My passion for food started with what I was taught - that a delicious meal after a challenging day is as much a comfort as anything else.

My amazing wife, Jessica, and our four incredible children are as large a part of this place as they are my reason for tending to it. If you notice a few rambunctious little ones closely inspecting the shelves, blowing bubbles, or drawing on the cement inside the shop, those are probably ours. They have a lot to say and I am delighted for you to know them all.

LivWell is more than anything a family-inspired market and eatery, built on a simple belief: good food, made with care, meant to help people live well, at least in as many moments as possible. My dream is that we create a place to share food, or to teach you how to make it, that makes the people around us - you, our community - stronger.

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Now, the part I would rather tell you than have you discover as an unpleasant surprise. We are far from finished.

The doors are opening and the kitchen is cooking. The smells are popping, the flavors are mouth-watering. But much of this garden is still focused on sprouting:

🌱 Our team: We are patiently assembling the right people with matching energy and intentions.

🌱 Our processes: Some days we will be slower than we want to be, and we hope that doesn't harm your experience. There is much to learn for all of us as we are building confidence in how to best serve you.

🌱 The grocery room: We are actively building partnerships to bring high-quality and affordable products to all the people around us.

🌱 The full menu: We are practicing, honing, and refining the foods that we have learned from generations of our family that we know you will enjoy. I can’t wait until you can try the marrow from a braised lamb shank recipe my Theo Niko and Thea Maryna perfected!

🌱 The bar: We are working to equip and staff a taverna that will serve you with a frosty beverage, a delectable w**e, or a special non-alcoholic drink to enjoy with your meal. Maybe even a few new concepts along the way, like a place to pair a delicious dessert with an equivalent cocktail after you dine at one of Somersworth’s other amazing local eateries.

🌱 The full produce selection: Most importantly in front of us, we want to bring good, healthy foods that are attainable by all and never wasted. We are working on partnerships with the most thoughtful companies we can find that are within our reach.

So I am l asking three things of you.

Your grace. When the line moves slowly, or we are out of the thing you came for, or we are finding ourselves under-equipped for something our staff hasn’t perfected, we will do our best to keep your experiences delightful.

Your cooperation. As we learn the rhythm of this place together, and the best ways to serve you, we welcome you to help us with your expertise or your perspective.

Your feedback. What worked, what did not, what you wish we carried, and what we could do to maximize your enjoyment of this space that we are proud of. Tell us at the counter or at [email protected]. We want to hear everything and I encourage you to share.

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A garden this size needs more hands.

To open fully, we need to find a few more wonderful people to round out our team. We are looking for people who are confident, reliable, proactive, creative, and not afraid of challenges. People who notice what needs doing before anyone asks, who bring their own ideas to the work, and who are excited to feel proud about what they are building with us outside of work.

At LivWell, leadership is not a title. It is a practice, and I ask it of everyone on every shift. If that sounds like you, or like someone you know, I would love to meet you. Stop in and introduce yourself, or apply to one of our positions at livwellmarket.com/careers.

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There is a phrase in Greek that goes "σιγά σιγά" (siga siga). Slowly, slowly. It is what you say to someone in a hurry. It is what my Yia-Yia and Papou modeled when they would take us up north to fill our bottles of spring water from the mountains, or what they said when I was in a hurry to do something that wasn't urgent. It is also how the most incredible gardens grow.

I am calling this a community garden because we do not intend to grow it alone. We simply can’t grow it without your support.

Thank you for planting with us. We have much to do to tend to each other and I hope to see you soon and often.

With love - from Costa, Jessica, our family, and all of the amazing people that are helping transform this dream to reality.

10/04/2026

It Takes a Village

There is an old saying that is synonymous with the sense of community that we’re feeling around here - “It takes a village.”

Most of us first hear this saying about raising children. What is becoming obvious is the longer we spend building LivWell, the more we believe it describes just about everything worth building. A family. A business. A neighborhood. A city. A partnership.

Nobody does it alone. Every family or community that has meant something to the people in it was built by people who decided, each in their own way, that they wanted the place they call home to be a little better than how they found it.

The farmer who raises animals with care and sells them to a small business down the road. The neighbor who shovels the sidewalk past their own property line. The teacher who feels every day how important their work is. The volunteer who shows up early to set up chairs that nobody will thank them for. The team member who knows that they are the heart of the business. The shop owner who tells a guest, “We don’t carry that, but the place two doors down does.” The regular who brings a friend in and says, “Just wait until you try this...”

None of these people were assigned a role. They simply showed up for each other and shared what brings them joy.

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In Greek, the word for village is χωριό (horio). It pops up in our food more often than you might think. Our village salad, Χωριάτικη (Horiatiki), is named for it: simple, honest ingredients that come from and belong to everyone.

The mountain oregano we rub thoughtfully into our food comes from the village where my father lives. It is harvested from the herb-crusted mountainside by people who have done it for generations. It gets gathered, prepared, and carried across an entire ocean because somebody always makes room. Many of our recipes came to us the same way, passed from hand to hand, spoon to spoon, from Yia-Yia’s kitchen to ours.

In a Greek village, nobody asks whose job it is. The harvest comes in, the feast materializes, and neighbors get looked after, because that is what a village does for its people.

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It is a beautiful thing that what holds a village together is not rules. It is common intent.

When people share a clear sense of what they are doing together, they do not need to be told what to do. They find their way to contribute. The baker brings bread, the mentor brings patience, the coach brings Saturday mornings, the servant brings leadership. Different gifts, same direction.

We feel all of this deeply. LivWell Market is being built by far more people than the ones whose names are on our paperwork. The farmers and producers who trust us with their work. The neighbors and fellow business owners who have offered advice, encouragement, and a helping hand. The families behind us who keep us moving forward, wind in our sails. Every person who has asked “How’s it coming along?” and genuinely wanted to know the answer.

You are part of this village, whether you realize it or not.

Somersworth has a proud past and a bright future - none of which was built by one person. Whatever you bring, whether that’s your time, your talent, your curiosity, your love, your passion and compassion, your joy, your creativity, or simply your presence - we are grateful you are here. And we can’t wait to see what we will do together.

Thank you all for keeping us on track. Especially my αγάπη, the one who has been my rock since the start of it all. We are approaching the end of the beginning.

Arriving soon.

Come and meet us on October 10th during the Somersworth Pumpkin Festival. See you there. 🍅😎

09/18/2026

Hi folks!

We have been eagerly building something special and excited to meet you all at our new location.

LivWell Market is looking for a couple of positive, energetic, and thoughtful employees to staff our flagship storefront.

If you or someone you know is interested in working with a team of wonderful people, please reach out or check out our open positions at https://www.livwellmarket.com/careers.

Please share this post to help us gather awareness!

See you soon 🍅😎

Let’s work together Open Positions Why Join LivWell Market? Join a Team That Feeds the SoulAt LivWell Market, we believe food has the power to connect, nourish, and uplift — and so do people. We’re more than just a Greek market, restaurant, and caterer. We’re a family-run business with a pas...

08/27/2026

Good company and good conversation is a great way to spend an afternoon.

Thank you Somersworth Community Chamber of Commerce for bringing our city together to build together. It was wonderful opportunity to preview and dry run our new space.

Looking forward to the next business round table in October.

See you soon Somersworth! 😎🍅

05/11/2026

Cheers to Somersworth City Hall for bringing a fresh coat of paint and a spotlight to the downtown!

The combination of this plaza, the people that have taken care of it for many years, the new folks coming in to help shape it, and all the people who live nearby makes this a fantastic opportunity for community and real human connections to gain a foothold in this wonderful city.

Don Berrios, whose Toys from the Attic shop has been at Somersworth Plaza for 24 years, is excited to see a Greek market and Nostos MMA moving in. See link below ⬇️

📸 Deb Cram/Foster's Daily Democrat

05/10/2026

Alchemy - The Practice of Transformation

There is a moment in cooking that never gets old.

You have all the ingredients gathered. You know them well individually - the sharpness of the raw garlic, the acid edge of white w**e vinegar, the crackle of freshly dried dill rubbed between your palms, the tangy thickness of the strained Greek yogurt, the crisp and cool cucumber, the transforming power of sea salt. And then heat arrives, or time progresses, or creativity surges and the right combination of elements come together at a place where something entirely distinct is created. Something that none of those ingredients are capable of becoming alone.

That's the principle of alchemy. It's a transformation that happens when the right ingredients meet the right conditions.

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We think about this a lot at LivWell. Not just in the kitchen, but in everything we are building.

The food we make is done with our own sort of alchemy. A gyro is not just meat on pita with tzatziki. It is the house seasoning applied to each slice of meat before it hits the heat. It is the char on a warm pita. It is the fries tucked inside where they soften slightly and absorb the juices around them. It is the ripe, cool, and firm tomato sliced thin with a small burst of tantalizing onion. It is a dash of oregano and a squeeze of lemon at the very end that pulls every element into focus. Remove any one of those and you have something lesser. Toss in a custom variable like feta cheese or spinach and there's a brand new dynamic. Combine these elements with care and intention and you craft something that people crave.

But the alchemy we are most proud of is not on the plate. It is in the room.

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When the right people bring their best selves to work. They show up with their curiosity, their care, their leadership, and when the environment around them is built on trust and the freedom to grow, something emerges that no job description could prescribe. A team that moves together. A space where guests feel something they cannot quite name but do not want to be away from for long. A community gathering point that starts as a Greek market and becomes something people feel a part of.

We are early in that transformation at LivWell. The ingredients are coming together. The conditions are being built with intention.

We believe in what is going to emerge.

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There is a word in Greek, κέφι (kefi), that describes a spirit of joy and passion that is greater than the moment producing it. A feeling that arises when music, company, food, and warmth combine into something that lifts everyone in the room. That same moment you can find in just about any jar of wild Greek oregano.

You cannot manufacture kefi. You cannot schedule it. You can only perfect conditions until it becomes possible.

That is what we are working toward at 8 Somersworth Plaza. Coming soon. See you all later this summer.

Shout-out to the original people-creating alchemists. Happy Mother's Day to all of you joy-spreading mothers out there. ❤️

05/03/2026

The importance of leadership in service.

When we set out to build LivWell Market, one of the first questions we asked ourselves was not about the menu, the space, or the hours. It was about people.

Specifically: what kind of team do we want to build, and how do we want them to feel about the work they do?

The answer we kept returning to was leadership. Not leadership as a title — not a manager's badge or a hierarchy on an org chart — but leadership as a daily practice. Something every person on the team brings to their shift, regardless of whether they are behind the register, behind the stove, or stocking a shelf. Something every person in the world expresses in one way or another every day.

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We believe that every person carries different combinations of leadership strength. The cook who notices a better way to plate a dish and speaks up about it. The counter staff member who remembers a regular customer's order without being asked. The team member who stays five minutes after their shift to make sure the person coming in after them starts clean. The dishwasher who considers more healthy or efficient ways to clean. The person stopping and picking the trash barrel up out of the street for an unknowing neighbor.

That is leadership. It doesn't require a title. It requires presence, care, a sense of community, and the intention to make things a little better than you found them.

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At LivWell, we operate from a servant leadership mindset. The leadership we show our team is intended to mirror the service our team shows our customers. That chain of care — from ownership to staff to customer to community — is the promise we are building this business on.

Mistakes happen. In a kitchen, on the floor, at the register, even out in the world — they happen every single day. We don't believe mistakes are reasons to punish. We believe they are the best opportunities to teach, to learn, and to grow together. A team that feels safe enough to make mistakes and be corrected with kindness and compassion is a team that improves. And a team that improves is one that takes better care of everyone.

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We are building something at 8 Somersworth Plaza that we hope you feel each time you walk through the door. Not just in the food — though we are very proud of the food — but in how the people here treat each other, and how that shapes the way we treat you.

Leadership in service. It is the foundation of everything we are building. Wherever you find yourself fitting in the Somersworth community or in the LivWell culture, we love to see you all out and about shining your leadership bright.

Coming soon. We hope to see you there.

🍅😎