From Their Family Table to Yours
Mother’s Market & Bakery Opens in Stone Harbor 

There is something special about the food people remember.

Not the fussy kind. Not the overdone kind. The kind that shows up on a kitchen counter before anyone asks. The kind packed for a beach day, sent home after dinner, wrapped for a friend, or set out because someone might stop by.

For Jennie Mopsik, that kind of food has always started with family.

Mother’s Market & Bakery, coming to 8307 Third Avenue in Stone Harbor, is a specialty prepared food market rooted in the recipes, traditions, and love of the Mopsik family. Founded by Jennie, daughter of Gene and Helen Mopsik, the shop brings together family favorites, baked goods, grab-and-go-items, and specialty foods to visiting patrons.

A simple idea: food made with intention.
A simple process: take home and share.
Yet behind it all something much deeper: love, tradition, family history, and a lifetime of recipes passed from the Mopsik’s table to yours.

“Our family’s favorites and recipes for you to take home and enjoy with your family,” Jennie said.

At the heart of the shop is Jennie’s mother, Helen.

“I named the shop Mother’s because my mother deserves some attention in her life for being THE quintessential mother,” Jennie said.

To understand the heart of Mother’s Market, Jennie points to one small detail from her childhood: the butter.

“My entire life there has been a ramekin full of soft butter with a butter knife sitting out on our cutting board.  I can hear my mother saying, ‘What if someone comes over? You can’t tear the bread with cold butter.’  An example of good manners and truly caring down to the smallest detail, even the butter.” Jennie said.

That same feeling is what Mother’s is built around. Nothing fussy. Nothing formal. Just good food, made with thoughtfulness, and ready to share with those who matter most.

Jennie describes the shop as “a welcoming place to stop by and grab a nosh, a yummy hostess gift, or cookie for the grandkids.” It’s not a restaurant, and the food is not made to order. Instead, Mother’s Market will offer prepared family recipes in the display fridge and freezer, baked goods, pantry-style items, flowers, and carefully chosen family and Philly-area favorites.

The fridge will be stocked with goodness to go, fully prepared, so customers can enjoy however they like whether it’s straight from the fridge, warmed up for dinner, or a quick beach snack.

It is the kind of place designed for real summer living.

Stop in after the beach (or before). Pick up something for guests. Bring a hostess gift. Stock the fridge before the weekend. Have dinner handled without cooking an entire meal.

“Summers are meant to be enjoyed, so is food, family and friends,” Jennie said. “It’s my hope that customers will make Mother’s a part of their summer memories.” 

The menu will grow as the summer goes on, but the early favorites already say a lot about the family behind it. If you know Jennie, then rest assured, your favorites are on the menu including coconut macaroons, rice crispy treats, curried orzo salad, spicy pickles, harissa potato salad, lemon tarragon marinated chicken, and PLENTY more of the Mopsik family favorites that have gained our love over the years.

Mother’s will also partner with Philly-area businesses to bring a few must-haves to the island. One of those is a bagel connection that goes back to Jennie’s childhood.

“Growing up, there was a great bagel place around the corner from us in Philadelphia,” Jennie said. “Turns out the family is originally from the NYC area, and they now make bagels nearby and will be delivering to Mother’s on weekends”

So yes, there will be bagels. And schmear. And smoked fish, fish salads, special cream cheeses, capers, jams, and all the extras that turn breakfast into a full spread for a beach weekend.

For the Mopsik family, it’s the extras that make a bagel spread feel like home and an essential  is the lox .

That’s where Jennie’s father, Gene Mopsik, brings his own story to the counter. Known by many as @phillyloxsmith, Gene became a familiar name in Philly food circles after his retirement from commercial photography led him to a specialty food store in South Philadelphia. There, he brought his charm and food from the heart to neighbors’ weekly routines all while hand-slicing smoked fish with the precision, care, and respect that your bagel spread  deserves.

That same mix of care and personality is part of what will make Mother’s feel so personal. Gene brings the craft, Jennie brings the vision (and her famous macaroons), and Helen brings the heart behind it all. Together, it’s food made by a family that takes the details seriously, but not themselves.

Fond family memories may also show up on the Mother’s menu, including a Saturday “sailor’s sandwich” inspired by one of Gene and Helen’s longtime traditions. For as long as Jennie can remember, her father packed sandwiches before sailing, making enough for himself and three lucky sailors, while her mother handled the extras: cookies, chips, fruit, and themed napkins. The running joke was that the lunches were the real reason Gene and his sailing partner, Sam, won for 13 years running.

That is the root of Mother’s in one story. Food, care, tradition, and a little family humor.

Permits permitting, Mother’s Market & Bakery hopes to open this Memorial Day weekend, with planned daily hours through the summer, and even a few days throughout the off-season.

Jennie’s ideal customer?

“Anyone who is hungry, kind, and doesn’t feel like cooking an entire meal.”

Jennie envisions that her customers will also help shape what Mother’s becomes. After years of cooking for family and friends, she and her parents know what people love around their own table, but part of the adventure will be seeing what the island customers reach for again and again.

“We can’t wait to share our kitchen counter with you, and for you to share it with your friends and loved ones - try a nostalgic favorite and maybe find a new one,” Jennie said. “This has taken a lifetime for my parents and I to reach, and we hope people will enjoy what we share as much as we have loved creating it.”

Mother’s Market & Bakery is located at 8307 Third Avenue in Stone Harbor. Follow along @mothersmarketandbakery for opening details, new arrivals, and announcements.