Tuesday’s at Vinal Bakery and General Store have become an event on par with the block-wrapping lines at BerryLine and the weekend curb waits at Bagelsaurus. I ventured over last week for a burger — the Miso Maple, cheddar cheese, thick-cut bacon, bread and butter pickles, and of course, miso maple butter — and there had to be over 40 people milling along Somerville Ave. All the bench seats in the Ken Kelly Park across the street were filled and the General Store had a wrap-around line waiting for soft-serve.
Vinal proprietor Sarah Murphy is used to lines. She worked at Bagelsaurus and launched her signature English muffin concept in the Porter Square bagel shop as a pop-up, then opened Vinal Bakery and Cafe in 2019 and the General Store next door in 2022, naming them after the avenue in Somerville where she lived and hatched her muffins.
The interiors have a retro 1950s soda shoppe vibe. The menus update daily. The Bakery, which shutters at 1 p.m., sells mostly breakfast sando fare (the Ham Jamboree is exceptional as is the house-made turkey sausage). The Store offers healthy-leaning (turkey and tuna) subs and sandwiches, bodega snacks (Haribo gummies at the fore), beer and wine and soft-serve ice cream and closes most days at 4 p.m., except on Tuesdays for Burger Night and Thursdays and Fridays for Ice Cream Socials…