Every time Lila Sennett traveled to Montreal, her Muslim friends would ask her to bring back special foods that they couldn't find in Vermont.
"Can you pick me up 10 pounds of ground beef? Can you pick me up a case of chicken," her friends asked, Sennett said. They wanted halal meats, which are specially butchered and blessed for Muslims, and are difficult, if not impossible, to find in Vermont.
Why not start supplying the foods herself, Sennett wondered, which is how the Global Market came to be.
The small store at 333 N. Winooski Ave. in Burlington opened a couple of months ago. Sennett, who grew up in Boston and converted to Islam about nine years ago, owns the shop with Nedzad Halilovic, who moved from Bosnia about three years ago.
In addition to the halal meats, the store specializes in foods from Muslim areas around the world. Sennett and Halilovic stock pomegranate paste that Pakistanis like, Bosnian cheeses and Turkish candy. There's also a small selection of soaps and lotions, as well as Muslim prayer rugs and head scarves.
Sennett said she is always amazed at the similarities between foods from far away places. Some of the noodles and rice favored by her Middle-Eastern customers come from China and Vietnam. One of the store's most popular items is jars of Mexican creamy-style cheese that are a hit with the Bosnians because it is so similar to a kind of Bosnian cheese.
About 85 percent of the store's customers are Bosnian, Sennett said. About 10 families come once a week and do the bulk of their grocery shopping there. Others, such as a teenage boy who stopped in Sunday to buy a few packets of a Bosnian brand of yeast for his mother, come in when they need a specific item or two.
Saudina Avdic, who moved to Burlington from Bosnia three years ago, said she goes to the store once or twice a week for much of her food. She buys meats, oils, juices and soups that she either can't find other places or are cheaper at Global Market, she said. She buys Bosnian items, as well as other foods.
"Some things remind me of home. It's very nice," she said. "You can buy some other country's foods that are very delicious." Her husband in particular likes Indian spices, and she likes a type of Afghan bread the store carries.
Sennett said the other 15 percent of her customers are from Muslim countries across the Middle East, or are "hip people in the neighborhood," as Sennett calls the college students and young people who come in for trendy ethnic items like Chai tea.
Sennett, 41, said she does not want people to think of her store as a religious place. If you want to talk about Islam, that's fine. If you just want to buy some soda and cookies, that's fine too, she said.
"Our intent is not to give customers Islamic knowledge," Sennett said, "but to offer diversity."
Contact Emily Stone at 660-1898 or estone@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com
