The ambrosial and tantalizing smells of Nonantum Press Room’s crisp, toasty, and fresh paninis straight off the panini press permeate the homey sandwich shop.
As customers wait for their food, they are invited to sit on the mismatched stools facing the sandwich station and engage in conversation with the owner and self-taught chef, Jim Donovan.
Donovan has a long history in customer service, having worked in restaurants since he was a teenager. He has owned five restaurants during his career, and the Nonantum Press Room is his sixth.
“My first job was when I was 13 years old,” said Donovan. “I was a dishwasher at Boston’s Fish House. It’s gone now, but that was my first job. I’ve stayed in the restaurant industry ever since … one job after the next.”
The sandwich shop is a product of its location. Situated in Newton’s predominantly Italian-American neighborhood, Nonantum Press Room reinvents traditional Italian meals in the form of sandwiches. Nonantum’s symbol, an Italian flag surrounding Nonantum’s historical nickname, “The Lake,” hangs directly above the sandwich station.
“I wanted to do things with an Italian theme,” Donovan said.
Donovan didn’t grow up in Nonantum, but rather a short drive away in Newton Centre. He explained how his high school friends from Nonantum introduced him to the village’s charm.
“When I went to high school, I started hanging around with all the kids from Nonantum,” Donovan said. “And then I just, you know, fell in love with this neighborhood. I’ve been in Nonantum, you know, basically ever since then … I’ve lived in Nonantum for 50 years, probably.”
With newspaper-related decorations and accents, the shop’s interior design is a homage to its name.
“We have kind of a newspaper theme going,” said Donovan. “Back in the ’50s, all the guys that were reporters would wear a fedora, and they’d stick a little piece of paper that said ‘press,’ so everybody knew that they were with the press. So that’s, that’s why our logo has a fedora on it.”
Donovan has a few old newspapers on the wall behind the sandwich station, and he explained his plan to eventually cover all the empty space on the walls with newspapers. The sandwiches also come in a newspaper wrapping.
The shop recently opened to customers on March 4, but Donovan explained that customers already seem to have a favorite panini: the Fat Tony.
The Fat Tony comes in a seeded panini roll with mortadella, soppressata, capicola, provolone, dressed arugula, roasted peppers, and roasted garlic aioli with a customer’s choice of hot peppers. The perfectly toasted bread offers a nice crunch paired with the cohesive flavors of the meat and cheese. The hot peppers add a kick, while the roasted peppers have a subtly sweet but noticeable flavor.
Donovan decided to open the shop when he returned to Nonantum after 10 years in Maine.
“I just moved back from living in Maine for 10 years,” said Donovan. “I had a restaurant over in New Hampshire, which is the next [state] over, actually, from York, Maine. And when I came back, I was looking for work, and nobody’s hiring 63-year-old chefs, so I decided I’d open another restaurant.”
Nonantum Press Room employee Loriana Girouard described her experience working with Donovan.
“It’s a good environment,” Girouard said.
Nonantum Press Room is near Giuseppe’s Sub Shop and Depasquale’s at Night Caps Corner, which are both known for their sandwiches, but Donovan stressed that his sandwich shop is unique.
“I make all the dressings, all the sauces, all those things from scratch,” Donovan said. “I don’t buy jarred stuff. So we’re considered an elevated sandwich shop, a little bit gourmet, if you want to say that, compared to, you know, just your regular Italian sandwich shop. And there aren’t any other panini shops around here that I know of.”
Donovan said the village has been supportive of the shop thus far.
“Business has been great,” Donovan said. “The neighborhood knows me pretty well. I’ve been around here for a long time … we’ve been received really well.”
Girouard highlighted the community support and anticipation. The shop’s opening process took around nine months, according to Girouard.
“Everyone’s been so excited,” said Girouard. “Like, ‘oh, we’ve been waiting for months.’”
The shop already has six reviews on Google. One review focuses on the welcoming atmosphere conveyed to customers.
“The owner, Jimmy, made our delicious sandwiches,” posted Google Local Guide Neil Schreiner. “Jimmy and his friendly staff talk to us while we were waiting. Definitely worth checking out if you’re hungry for a sandwich.”
In regards to Donovan’s favorite sandwich, he can’t decide. He explained that each sandwich is a unique labor of love.
“Asking me which sandwich is my favorite is like asking a father which kid is his favorite,” said Donovan.
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