A parade of Mediterranean and southeast European staples line the shelves of Alba Mediterranean Market & Bakery, a grocery and take-out shop that opened in July on Moody Street in Waltham. The eclectic array includes olive oil from Greece and Bulgaria, coffee from Italy and Bosnia, and packages of barley biscuits, honey, and teas from Greece. Blocks of Greek and Bulgarian feta ($6.99 to $8.99 a pound) fill the case next to metal tubs of luxurious, fresh, full-fat yogurts, rich with honey and fig or coconut ($3.79 a pound). Owners Kristina Zeqo, 48, and Stavros Kondo, 34, are a sister-brother team who left Albania 17 years ago. Zeqo settled in Waltham with her family, and Kondo immigrated to Athens, then came to Boston three years ago. The store is named for their mother, Alba Kondo, 71, who lives in Newton. Stavros trained as a pastry chef in Greece and bakes sumptuous, honey-soaked baklava triangles with coconut or walnuts, thick logs of kataifi, made with pistachios and angel hair-like strands of phyllo, and galaktoboureko, a custard square wrapped in phyllo sheets ($1.99 to $2.50). Zeqo, an experienced cook, makes hummus, tabbouleh, rice-stuffed grape leaves, spinach pie, and quinoa and couscous salads ($5.99 to $7.99 a pound). The cashier is Zeqo’s daughter, Greta, 23. The airy shop, with its sage green walls, is adorned with photos of the European cities from which their foods originate,
reminders of where the family has been and where they are now. Alba Mediterranean Market &
Bakery, 248 Moody St., Waltham, 781-899-2149 ANN TRIEGER KURLAND