Nostalgic Nirvana: Massive Middle School Cafeteria Lands in Chelsea for Lunch Lady Land ‘24

Close your eyes and picture it — the sights and smells of the bustling cafeteria space you knew so well in your formative years. Unmistakable scents wafting from the kitchen, cliques chattering, & questionable lunch ladies ready to plop sloppy joes or square pizza slices onto your tray. This Saturday, the magic of those chaotic school lunchrooms will land right in downtown Chelsea for Lunch Lady Land, a jam-packed celebration aiming to delight grown-up kids with a nostalgia fix at Smartmouth.

Transforming the Smartmouth HQ into a larger-than-life throwback cafeteria is no small effort. There’s a collage of local cafeteria-ready orgs joining in to bring chow, shopping, music, and throwback activities to Lunch Lady Land. 

First up the nostalgic chow. Ghost Kitchen, Smartmouth’s resident food truck, is slapping down ooey-gooey  grilled cheeses and sloppy joes. Yorkies, the latest pop-up from Chef Kip Poole, is whipping up vegan sloppy joes, PB&Js, and tater tots. Chelsea Bakehouse, known for incredible wood fired pizza, is squaring up their pies to bring back the classic square pizza. Of course, it wouldn’t be complete without a serving of adult lunchables by Longboard Charcuterie. 

All that pairs perfectly with Smartmouth’s Lunch Money Chocolate Milk Ale, a 5.5% ABV blast to the past. 

In between bites, guests can peruse the vendors bringing rad book fair vibes straight from the Scholastic days. Wands Books, Seize the Zines, Todd Webb, Stormy Gail Art, and Custom Made Music are set to be on site for that. Meanwhile, RapidFire Vintage is bringing the throwback gear. If you’re lucky, you might find the perfect Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shirt. 

On the music front, DJ T-Mobyle and indie rockers Soft Plan curated the ultimate tween approved setlists. 

Classics from the 90s and early 2000s will be giving you FM radio flashbacks. 

Between T-Mobyle and Soft Plan there will be an Adult Spelling Bee if you dare to relive the anxiety-inducing grammar competition. Just try not to pee your pants on stage like you did back in ‘97. 

There’s no time-machine required to transport yourself back to the lunch room this weekend, so gather your crew and bond over the nostalgia and youthful freedom of the glory days of grade school. 

Don’t miss Lunch Lady Land this Saturday, February 10th at Smartmouth in Norfolk. 

For all the latest event details click here.