Poppy Cafe & Market · Old North End

Our story

Poppy is a cafe with a small market in Burlington’s Old North End, owned and operated by Emily and Abby Portman.

Two people in aprons and face masks standing under a hanging Poppy Cafe & Market sign, beside a painted mural

03 · Origins

Origins

The seeds for Poppy were sown somewhere between the Feast of the Seven Fishes and the High Holy Days. This unlikely yet complementary blend of Italian and Jewish heritage gave way to an obsession with food and its ability to bring people together. What started in a family kitchen grew into dorms, apartments, backyards, and eventually, commercial kitchens.

Four people around a long wooden table in a backyard, with a bowl of seeded bread, cured meats, olives and jars of drinks — A backyard table, shared.

Kitchens, backyards and good company

9 photos · tap to enlarge

Bowls of tomatoes, citrus and green beans beside a cutting board, a lake and hills behind — A table by the lake.

A person laughing in a garden beside a white house, holding up a glass — Laughing in the garden.

Three smiling people hold a fourth up sideways on the sidewalk under a hanging Poppy sign — Held up on the sidewalk.

Three people sipping orange drinks through paper flamingo straws — Flamingo straws.

Five people standing arm in arm in a kitchen, plants on the shelves behind them — Five, arm in arm, in the kitchen.

Two people in matching teal caps raising glasses at a weathered picnic table — A backyard toast.

Six people in printed novelty T-shirts raising glasses on a rock by the water at sunset — Six by the water.

Two people hugging in a bright kitchen — A hug in the kitchen.

Three people in aprons sitting together on a sunny deck, one drinking from a mug — Three on the deck.

01 · Sisters

The sisters

Poppy Cafe & Market is owned and operated by Emily and Abby Portman. We bring a number of years working in the food and restaurant industries, with experience on the culinary and production side, as well as cultivating community partnerships and bringing people together around food.

Two people sitting on porch steps behind a wooden table with a Poppy Cafe & Market sign and a jar of sunflowers — Behind a Poppy sign, on the steps.

02 · Concept

The concept

Poppy is a cafe with a small market in Burlington’s Old North End. Originally conceptualized as a sit down restaurant, we transitioned our business plan as Covid hit. We were able to create a model that could adhere to restrictions. We decided to go with sandwiches because it was easy take-out, required a limited staff and allowed us an opportunity for creativity. Turns out, it was exactly what everyone was craving.

Now, Poppy is a gathering space for the neighborhood, a go-to spot for a quality lunch, a resource and partner for community groups, and a space where people feel at home. Subject to seasonal change, Poppy offers a small menu of unique and creative options. Ultimately, we want to push the boundary of what a sandwich can be.

A sunlit dining room with painted chairs, wooden tables, a woven lamp and a colorful mural — The dining room.

Poppy, from the start

12 photos · tap to enlarge

Two people eating sandwiches in the sun on a porch — Lunch in the sun.

A person typing on a laptop while perched on an uninstalled toilet in a half-finished room with orange underlayment on the floor — Planning mid-build.

Two people smiling and holding up bottles in front of a painted wall — Bottles up, by the mural.

A person basting birds on a spit over a lakeside fire, peppers on a griddle below — Over a fire by the lake.

Two people biting into sandwiches against a white wall — Two first bites.

A person stretching dough over a board outdoors — Stretching dough.

Two people at an outdoor table with a wine bottle, glasses, a woven bowl, a camera and a red pot — A backyard table.

Two people standing arm in arm on a snowy roadside — Snow on the roadside.

A person in a ringer T-shirt squeezing lime over a paper plate of tacos — A plate of tacos.

Two people hugging and smiling on a pebbly lakeshore — By the lake.

See the current menu More photos