November 8, 2009
New York’s Cabbies Like Credit Cards? Go Figure
By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM
New York’s cabbies howled when the city began forcing them to take credit cards. Some even went on strike, calling the requirements a kowtow to tourists and a burden on drivers.
But two years later, the back-of-the-cab swipe has emerged as an unlikely savior for New York’s taxi industry, even as other cities’ fleets struggle to find fares in a deep recession.
Overall ridership and revenue have increased. More and more fares are being paid with credit cards, even for shorter rides. And tips for drivers, usually an early casualty of tough times, are up sharply, double over the pre-plastic days.
Even cabbies are conceding that credit cards are good for business. “It’s better,” said Naveed Shah, 35, a driver for five years, as he gassed up his Ford Crown Victoria recently. “If there was no credit card, people aren’t going to take taxicabs.”
Other major cities are now rushing to follow suit. Although New York was late to bring credit cards to cabs, it leapfrogged ahead by pioneering a customer-friendly system that required no signed receipts, no minimum payment and an interactive device that let passengers swipe the card and add tips themselves.
In Los Angeles, for instance, credit card machines are often in the front seat, forcing riders to hand their cards to the driver. Business this year is off about 15 percent, according to fleet owners, mirroring national trends in the industry.
In New York, however, revenues have risen about 13 percent from the end of last year, according to data collected by the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission. And tips, which hovered around 10 percent when cab rides were cash only, averaged 22 percent on credit-card transactions this fall.
“Credit cards helped the New York industry stay stable in a time when the rest of the for-hire industry was in significant decline,” said Alfred LaGasse, chief executive officer of the Taxicab, Limousine and Paratransit Association, a national trade group.
Taxi fleets in Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas and the suburbs of Washington are all beginning to experiment with back-seat card readers similar to those in New York, Mr. LaGasse said.
Once considered a convenient payment method for longer trips, often to the area’s airports, credit cards are now being used for shorter, cheaper rides, the type of $5 rainy-day indulgences that were once handled exclusively with cash.
Amos Tamam, president of VeriFone Transportation Systems, whose card readers are in 6,700 cabs, or about half of the city’s fleet, said his company’s average credit-card fare is now less than $15, down from $16 a year ago.
“The more usage you get with credit cards, the lower the average ticket is going to go,” Mr. Tamam said.
Passengers said that paying with credit cards has become second nature. “Any time I take a cab, I pay with a card, on the advice of my accountant,” said Michelin Hall of Manhattan, after swiping his American Express card in a taxi outside Pennsylvania Station the other day. Mr. Hall said that with cards, “it’s easy to track the receipts, it can tell you how long the cab ride was and where you went” — convenient information when he files expenses for his job in marketing.
The increase in tips, however, may have less to do with New Yorkers’ generosity than with the preset amounts suggested to passengers on the taxi’s software systems. In many of the city’s cabs, riders are offered options for their tip depending on the length of the ride. For fares under $15, a screen prompts tips of $2, $3 or $4; the numbers can range from 15 percent to 30 percent for higher fares. The presets are used about 70 percent of the time, according to industry estimates.
New York’s success seemed unlikely a year ago, when the last of the city’s 13,000 cabs were outfitted with credit-card readers, part of an initiative started in 2007 by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. The city was reeling from a maelstrom on Wall Street that disproportionately affected the high-income industries that drive the New York economy.
And riders were still reporting unpleasant run-ins with drivers who refused to accept the cards or pressured customers to pay with cash, a resentment left over from a two-day strike in September 2007 that forced officials to institute an ad-hoc system for shared rides.
But in 2008, taxi officials began noticing a trend: Cab business was staying steady, and credit card use was on the rise.
At the end of last year, about one-fifth of cab rides were being paid for with a card. That portion has grown steadily this year, reaching 28 percent in September, the latest month for which data was available. Meanwhile, black-car business has fallen about 30 percent, as companies encourage employees to use corporate credit cards to expense cheaper yellow-cab rides.
“It’s becoming a way of life in the taxi world,” said Matthew W. Daus, New York’s taxi commissioner. “New Yorkers are getting more accustomed to going around without cash. We think it’s a good thing.”
In interviews, drivers acknowledged that business had improved, but still groused about the credit card machines. The higher tips are tempered by a 5 percent service fee applied to fares that are paid with plastic. Drivers must also wait anywhere from a day to a week to retrieve their fare money paid by credit cards, and they said the machines occasionally break down, resulting in lost fares.
“Because of credit cards we get customers, that’s true,” said Muhammed Hamid, 35, of Queens. “But if they give us cash, you can put the gas on that; you don’t have to wait three, four days.”
Told of the statistics that showed higher tips, some drivers scoffed. “I know that’s not true,” said William Lindauer, a driver and coordinating member of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance. “They get no tips, or less tips.”
A random survey suggested otherwise. Several drivers were asked to share their credit receipts after their shifts. Of 20 receipts reviewed, the average tip came out to just over 18 percent. The preset tip amounts were used more than half the time, resulting in a $5.30 ride getting a tip of $2, or about 38 percent.
It may be difficult, however, for other cities to recreate New York’s success. “Not all agencies in other cities have the same tools, manpower and budget to do what New York City did,” said Mr. Tamam of VeriFone. And New York’s fleet, the largest in the country, has a bigger customer base that can help justify the high cost of installing more advanced credit card technology.
Some drivers suggested, paradoxically, that the recession itself may be prompting greater credit card use. Simon Palade, a driver for more than 40 years, said he sees far more cash fares around the first of the month, when paychecks are often issued.
“After that it slows down and they’ve got to use plastic more and more,” Mr. Palade, 59, of Sunnyside, Queens, said the other day, as he navigated a Central Park transverse. “People don’t got no money. They’re banking on the future."
Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Friday, November 27, 2009
Despite Economy more new restaurants opening in Boston area
New restaurateurs have a taste for risk
Boston area defies economic trends with a slew of start-ups
By Megan Woolhouse, Globe Staff | November 27, 2009
It may seem like an unlikely time to open a restaurant, with the economy still a long way from recovery and many people dining out less often than they once did. But that’s what Phillip Tang plans to do this winter.
Tang, 27, who has worked at restaurants like Hungry Mother and T.W. Food, is opening his own Chinese food venue, East by Northwest, in Cambridge’s Inman Square, backed by money from his family.
“It’s definitely risky; it’s a scary time right now,’’ he said. “But you’ve got to keep going and hope for the best.’’
Tang and at least a dozen other chef-owners are planning or have recently opened restaurants in Greater Boston. There is no doubt they are taking a big chance - more than 50 full-service restaurants in Eastern Massachusetts closed during the first six months of this year, according to NPD Group, a market research firm in Port Washington, N.Y.
But a slew of new restaurants already are welcoming customers. Recently opened spots include Littlenecks Bar & Grille in Weymouth, Market by Jean-Georges in the W Boston hotel, and Post 390 in downtown Boston.
November alone has featured the opening of Bistro du Midi, at the site of the former Excelsior on Boylston Street in Boston, as well as Trina’s Starlite Lounge in Cambridge, Regal Beagle in Brookline’s Coolidge Corner, and Woodward’s restaurant near Faneuil Hall in Boston.
Two more, Coppa in the South End and Stoddard’s Fine Food and Ale downtown, are scheduled to open soon.
Those in the restaurant industry offer a variety of reasons for the hefty menu of start-ups: They say the recession has not hit Massachusetts as hard as some other states, real estate prices for restaurant locations are down, and food costs are generally lower these days.
Peter G. Christie, president of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, cites one more factor: determination.
“One of the interesting things about the restaurant industry is it’s one of the last frontiers of entrepreneurialism,’’ Christie said. “There’s always someone who has a dream.’’
And while is not uncommon for those dreams to become nightmarish, the common perception that up to 90 percent of all new restaurants fail is not based in fact, according to a study by Ohio State University professor H.G. Parsa. He found that 57 to 61 percent of restaurants in Columbus, Ohio, failed during a three-year period in the 1990s.
That’s a high failure rate but indicates it’s not impossible to succeed.
Still, the Boston-area restaurant openings run counter to the nationwide trend.
“It really surprises me, given the state of the industry,’’ said Bonnie Riggs, a veteran analyst at NPD Group. “Retail operations are closing underperforming stores or curtailing . . . expansion. That’s for both chain and independent restaurants.’’
Ken Himmel, the New York City developer with Boston roots who built Copley Place, has opened three restaurants in the past three weeks. Two are in Boston, Post 390 and Bistro du Midi. The third, A Voce Columbus, is in Manhattan. (It was favorably reviewed by The New York Times this week.) Himmel also owns Harvest in Harvard Square and Grill 23 and Bar on Berkeley Street in Boston.
Post 390, which opened in mid-October, sits on the ground floor of the Clarendon, a luxury condominium and apartment building Himmel partly owns. Himmel said he spent $8 million on the restaurant’s 14,000-plus-square-foot interior, which features fireplaces and elaborate wine displays.
Asked about an economy that has shuttered famous restaurants like Tavern on the Green in New York’s Central Park, Himmel acknowledged that business has been off. Most of his restaurants have seen a 10 percent decline in revenue during the past year.
Still, Himmel said, he invested in Post 390 because it has an “irreplaceable location’’ in downtown Boston. He said he is “very bullish long-term on Boston,’’ adding that he spent $5 million last year on improvements at Grill 23, including a new second-floor kitchen and a private 120-seat dining area.
“We know the private dining business is going to come back,’’ he said.
Not all of his ventures have been successful. Excelsior, one of the city’s top fine-dining venues, closed a year ago, after five years in business. Himmel and partner Marlon Abela, who owns restaurants in London and across America, reopened Bistro du Midi in its place this week. Himmel said he wanted the restaurant, a Provencal style bistro, open for the holidays because the season is excellent for business.
Jamie Bissonnette, a chef at the popular South End restaurant Toro, said he will open Coppa, an Italian wine bar with casual fare in the South End, as early as next week. His partner is Ken Oringer, executive chef and co-owner of Clio in the Back Bay and Uni, a sashimi bar at the same location. Bissonnette said it was easier for him to raise money for the new restaurant because of the success of Toro, which he and Oringer started in 2005.
“We got some great investors,’’ Bissonnette said. “People who believe in us.’’
The restaurant will be small, seating fewer than 40 people. The prime location on Shawmut Avenue dictated the timing. Bissonnette said he and Oringer wanted to lease the site, the former home of the restaurant Dish, before someone else did.
Starting any new restaurant is a gamble, he said, regardless of the economic outlook.
“When is a good time?’’ he said. “I’m always worried.’’
Megan Woolhouse can be reached at mwoolhouse@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Boston area defies economic trends with a slew of start-ups
By Megan Woolhouse, Globe Staff | November 27, 2009
It may seem like an unlikely time to open a restaurant, with the economy still a long way from recovery and many people dining out less often than they once did. But that’s what Phillip Tang plans to do this winter.
Tang, 27, who has worked at restaurants like Hungry Mother and T.W. Food, is opening his own Chinese food venue, East by Northwest, in Cambridge’s Inman Square, backed by money from his family.
“It’s definitely risky; it’s a scary time right now,’’ he said. “But you’ve got to keep going and hope for the best.’’
Tang and at least a dozen other chef-owners are planning or have recently opened restaurants in Greater Boston. There is no doubt they are taking a big chance - more than 50 full-service restaurants in Eastern Massachusetts closed during the first six months of this year, according to NPD Group, a market research firm in Port Washington, N.Y.
But a slew of new restaurants already are welcoming customers. Recently opened spots include Littlenecks Bar & Grille in Weymouth, Market by Jean-Georges in the W Boston hotel, and Post 390 in downtown Boston.
November alone has featured the opening of Bistro du Midi, at the site of the former Excelsior on Boylston Street in Boston, as well as Trina’s Starlite Lounge in Cambridge, Regal Beagle in Brookline’s Coolidge Corner, and Woodward’s restaurant near Faneuil Hall in Boston.
Two more, Coppa in the South End and Stoddard’s Fine Food and Ale downtown, are scheduled to open soon.
Those in the restaurant industry offer a variety of reasons for the hefty menu of start-ups: They say the recession has not hit Massachusetts as hard as some other states, real estate prices for restaurant locations are down, and food costs are generally lower these days.
Peter G. Christie, president of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, cites one more factor: determination.
“One of the interesting things about the restaurant industry is it’s one of the last frontiers of entrepreneurialism,’’ Christie said. “There’s always someone who has a dream.’’
And while is not uncommon for those dreams to become nightmarish, the common perception that up to 90 percent of all new restaurants fail is not based in fact, according to a study by Ohio State University professor H.G. Parsa. He found that 57 to 61 percent of restaurants in Columbus, Ohio, failed during a three-year period in the 1990s.
That’s a high failure rate but indicates it’s not impossible to succeed.
Still, the Boston-area restaurant openings run counter to the nationwide trend.
“It really surprises me, given the state of the industry,’’ said Bonnie Riggs, a veteran analyst at NPD Group. “Retail operations are closing underperforming stores or curtailing . . . expansion. That’s for both chain and independent restaurants.’’
Ken Himmel, the New York City developer with Boston roots who built Copley Place, has opened three restaurants in the past three weeks. Two are in Boston, Post 390 and Bistro du Midi. The third, A Voce Columbus, is in Manhattan. (It was favorably reviewed by The New York Times this week.) Himmel also owns Harvest in Harvard Square and Grill 23 and Bar on Berkeley Street in Boston.
Post 390, which opened in mid-October, sits on the ground floor of the Clarendon, a luxury condominium and apartment building Himmel partly owns. Himmel said he spent $8 million on the restaurant’s 14,000-plus-square-foot interior, which features fireplaces and elaborate wine displays.
Asked about an economy that has shuttered famous restaurants like Tavern on the Green in New York’s Central Park, Himmel acknowledged that business has been off. Most of his restaurants have seen a 10 percent decline in revenue during the past year.
Still, Himmel said, he invested in Post 390 because it has an “irreplaceable location’’ in downtown Boston. He said he is “very bullish long-term on Boston,’’ adding that he spent $5 million last year on improvements at Grill 23, including a new second-floor kitchen and a private 120-seat dining area.
“We know the private dining business is going to come back,’’ he said.
Not all of his ventures have been successful. Excelsior, one of the city’s top fine-dining venues, closed a year ago, after five years in business. Himmel and partner Marlon Abela, who owns restaurants in London and across America, reopened Bistro du Midi in its place this week. Himmel said he wanted the restaurant, a Provencal style bistro, open for the holidays because the season is excellent for business.
Jamie Bissonnette, a chef at the popular South End restaurant Toro, said he will open Coppa, an Italian wine bar with casual fare in the South End, as early as next week. His partner is Ken Oringer, executive chef and co-owner of Clio in the Back Bay and Uni, a sashimi bar at the same location. Bissonnette said it was easier for him to raise money for the new restaurant because of the success of Toro, which he and Oringer started in 2005.
“We got some great investors,’’ Bissonnette said. “People who believe in us.’’
The restaurant will be small, seating fewer than 40 people. The prime location on Shawmut Avenue dictated the timing. Bissonnette said he and Oringer wanted to lease the site, the former home of the restaurant Dish, before someone else did.
Starting any new restaurant is a gamble, he said, regardless of the economic outlook.
“When is a good time?’’ he said. “I’m always worried.’’
Megan Woolhouse can be reached at mwoolhouse@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Faneuil Hall Marketplace merchants demand marketing money
Marketplace’s merchants say they’re owed $2m
By Erin Ailworth, Globe Staff | November 27, 2009
General Growth Properties Inc. owes the Faneuil Hall Marketplace Merchants Association more than $2 million in dues, money the retailers use to market their businesses, according to documents filed in court.
General Growth, which leases the storied marketplace from the City of Boston, in April filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York City. But under a 1987 settlement in federal court, the leaseholder, General Growth, must collect annual fees from Faneuil Hall Marketplace tenants - a minimum of $4.33 a square foot - and turn that money over to the merchants for promotional campaigns.
A lawyer for the merchants association said General Growth has consistently collected less money than required from some tenants, and that the shortage has left the group “hamstrung.’’
“Because we don’t have the money to market the property properly, the merchants are losing money,’’ said the attorney, Adam Cohen, who filed the claim in General Growth’s bankruptcy proceeding. “From their perspective, every dollar they spend gets people into the marketplace. If they don’t have those dollars to spend, they’re not doing what they need to do to generate foot traffic.’’
A lawyer for General Growth said he had not seen the documents the merchants group filed and could not comment. A spokesman for General Growth, a Chicago-based real estate investment trust that also owns the Natick Collection mall and other well-known properties, including South Street Seaport in Manhattan, was not available for comment.
General Growth, the second-largest mall operator in the United States, tried unsuccessfully this year to sell its Faneuil Hall lease and interests in other marquee properties to raise cash to pay off its huge debt. Its failure led to the bankruptcy filing.
The company got the lease for Faneuil Hall Marketplace - which includes the Quincy, North, and South markets - from the city in 2004. Boston owns and operates a fourth building, historic Faneuil Hall, where some of the nation’s most prominent orators have spoken.
The city, though, has long battled with General Growth over Faneuil Hall Marketplace, with the growing number of national chain stores and the declining number of local merchants being a big issue.
The Faneuil Hall merchants see the bankruptcy case as an opportunity to recoup their promotional money. With the holiday shopping season beginning, the merchants don’t have as much money as they would like for advertising and special events, they say, including money to pay for the popular street performers and holiday decorations.
“On top of having a rough economy to deal with, we’re also lacking a source of marketing funds that would help us,’’ said a retailer who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation from General Growth.
Last week, General Growth reached an agreement with lenders to restructure about $8.9 billion in debt, which the company hopes will lead to a second restructuring of about $6 billion.
The bankruptcy judge would have to approve any agreements before they could take effect.
Erin Ailworth can be reached at eailworth@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
By Erin Ailworth, Globe Staff | November 27, 2009
General Growth Properties Inc. owes the Faneuil Hall Marketplace Merchants Association more than $2 million in dues, money the retailers use to market their businesses, according to documents filed in court.
General Growth, which leases the storied marketplace from the City of Boston, in April filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York City. But under a 1987 settlement in federal court, the leaseholder, General Growth, must collect annual fees from Faneuil Hall Marketplace tenants - a minimum of $4.33 a square foot - and turn that money over to the merchants for promotional campaigns.
A lawyer for the merchants association said General Growth has consistently collected less money than required from some tenants, and that the shortage has left the group “hamstrung.’’
“Because we don’t have the money to market the property properly, the merchants are losing money,’’ said the attorney, Adam Cohen, who filed the claim in General Growth’s bankruptcy proceeding. “From their perspective, every dollar they spend gets people into the marketplace. If they don’t have those dollars to spend, they’re not doing what they need to do to generate foot traffic.’’
A lawyer for General Growth said he had not seen the documents the merchants group filed and could not comment. A spokesman for General Growth, a Chicago-based real estate investment trust that also owns the Natick Collection mall and other well-known properties, including South Street Seaport in Manhattan, was not available for comment.
General Growth, the second-largest mall operator in the United States, tried unsuccessfully this year to sell its Faneuil Hall lease and interests in other marquee properties to raise cash to pay off its huge debt. Its failure led to the bankruptcy filing.
The company got the lease for Faneuil Hall Marketplace - which includes the Quincy, North, and South markets - from the city in 2004. Boston owns and operates a fourth building, historic Faneuil Hall, where some of the nation’s most prominent orators have spoken.
The city, though, has long battled with General Growth over Faneuil Hall Marketplace, with the growing number of national chain stores and the declining number of local merchants being a big issue.
The Faneuil Hall merchants see the bankruptcy case as an opportunity to recoup their promotional money. With the holiday shopping season beginning, the merchants don’t have as much money as they would like for advertising and special events, they say, including money to pay for the popular street performers and holiday decorations.
“On top of having a rough economy to deal with, we’re also lacking a source of marketing funds that would help us,’’ said a retailer who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation from General Growth.
Last week, General Growth reached an agreement with lenders to restructure about $8.9 billion in debt, which the company hopes will lead to a second restructuring of about $6 billion.
The bankruptcy judge would have to approve any agreements before they could take effect.
Erin Ailworth can be reached at eailworth@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Hub could be home for JFK carrier
Hub floated as possible home for JFK warship
By Edward Mason | Thursday, November 26, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Coverage
A one-of-a-kind warship named in honor of President John F. Kennedy is suddenly available - for free - if Boston wants it.
The U.S. Navy is looking to donate the decommissioned aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy, under the condition it be used only as a museum or memorial.
City Councilor Stephen J. Murphy said he plans to float the idea of shipping the JFK up to Boston before the City Council, saying the Hub would be a fitting final resting place for the carrier.
“If it belongs anywhere, it belongs at the birthplace of John F. Kennedy,” Murphy said.
Murphy has championed returning the JFK here before, when the ship visited Boston in March 2007 shortly before it was decommissioned and mothballed in Philadelphia.
The idea also appealed to U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry, who told the Herald in 2007 the JFK would make a superb bookend to another historic ship moored here, Old Ironsides, and that he’d planned to lobby then-U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy to keep the vessel here.
Calls to a Kerry spokeswoman were not returned, while Paul G. Kirk, the Kennedy confidant granted an interim appointment to the late senator’s seat, could not be reached.
So far, no one has expressed interest in the legendary warship, which saw 18 deployments and 30 commanding officers over 38 years of service.
“There have been no queries or interest yet,” said a U.S. Navy spokeswoman, Lt. Lara Bollinger. Ensuring the JFK’s final port of call is Boston won’t be easy, Murphy cautioned.
There’s no taxpayer money available - it would require Boston businesses to step up.
There is also no clear place to moor it. Back in 2007, attention turned to the water by the Kennedy Museum as a natural location, but Murphy said it would “cost a fortune“ to dredge the harbor’s bottom to make room.
Also, the Navy might not pick Boston, Murphy said. Warm-weather ports like Miami with year-long tourist seasons could have an edge, he said.
“We have a few challenges,” Murphy said.
Still, he said, “It has a place in history here more than anywhere else.”
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1214666
By Edward Mason | Thursday, November 26, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Coverage
A one-of-a-kind warship named in honor of President John F. Kennedy is suddenly available - for free - if Boston wants it.
The U.S. Navy is looking to donate the decommissioned aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy, under the condition it be used only as a museum or memorial.
City Councilor Stephen J. Murphy said he plans to float the idea of shipping the JFK up to Boston before the City Council, saying the Hub would be a fitting final resting place for the carrier.
“If it belongs anywhere, it belongs at the birthplace of John F. Kennedy,” Murphy said.
Murphy has championed returning the JFK here before, when the ship visited Boston in March 2007 shortly before it was decommissioned and mothballed in Philadelphia.
The idea also appealed to U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry, who told the Herald in 2007 the JFK would make a superb bookend to another historic ship moored here, Old Ironsides, and that he’d planned to lobby then-U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy to keep the vessel here.
Calls to a Kerry spokeswoman were not returned, while Paul G. Kirk, the Kennedy confidant granted an interim appointment to the late senator’s seat, could not be reached.
So far, no one has expressed interest in the legendary warship, which saw 18 deployments and 30 commanding officers over 38 years of service.
“There have been no queries or interest yet,” said a U.S. Navy spokeswoman, Lt. Lara Bollinger. Ensuring the JFK’s final port of call is Boston won’t be easy, Murphy cautioned.
There’s no taxpayer money available - it would require Boston businesses to step up.
There is also no clear place to moor it. Back in 2007, attention turned to the water by the Kennedy Museum as a natural location, but Murphy said it would “cost a fortune“ to dredge the harbor’s bottom to make room.
Also, the Navy might not pick Boston, Murphy said. Warm-weather ports like Miami with year-long tourist seasons could have an edge, he said.
“We have a few challenges,” Murphy said.
Still, he said, “It has a place in history here more than anywhere else.”
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1214666
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
City Councilor wants to bring USS JFK to Boston
City councilor: Bring USS John F. Kennedy to Boston
November 25, 2009 03:14 PM
Hundreds of people gathered at Castle Island to welcome the gigantic carrier during her 2007 visit.
By Michaela Stanelun, Globe Correspondent
A Boston city councilor says he would like the decommissioned aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy to be brought to Massachusetts and made into a museum.
"I still think Boston should be the home port," Boston City Councilor Stephen Murphy said.
On Monday, the US Navy announced that it was offering the the carrier, which is 1,052 feet long and weighs 164 million pounds, for free to any state, municipality, or non-profit that wants to use it as a museum or memorial.
In 2007, when the carrier came to Boston a month before its decommissioning ceremony, it attracted mile-long lines of people.
Murphy said at the time that he thought bringing the carrier to the city would be great for tourism.
The Kennedy family's strong Massachusetts ties make Boston the best place for a carrier bearing the Kennedy name to have a home, he reiterated today.
"Obviously, Boston and Massachusetts are proud of our associations with the Kennedys, and we just lost the lion of the Senate a few months ago," Murphy said, referring to the death of the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy. "The Kennedys are synonymous with Boston, and it's very fitting for us to bring that ship here."
Murphy said he will refile a resolution next week to look into the possibility of having the ship stay in Boston. He hopes to put together a group of businesspeople, philanthropic groups, and other supporters of the proposal and file a proposal with the Navy. However, Murphy acknowledged, there are some hurdles to clear.
"It will be hard for us to compete with a city that has a warmer climate that could attract visitors every month of the year, or one with a deep-water port," Murphy said. "Right now, we do not have a suitable location inside the harbor."
Ideas floated in the past have included mooring the carrier near the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Dorchester. "But there would be a great amount of money needed for dredging, since it's shallow," Murphy said. He said he wouldn't advocate using taxpayer money to pay for the project and preferred a charitable foundation.
Massachusetts is already home to one decommissioned ship. The USS Massachusetts battleship is located off the coast of Fall River and was turned into a museum over 40 years ago.
"If some city or town is going to get a Kennedy ship, it should be us," Murphy said. "This is home."
November 25, 2009 03:14 PM
Hundreds of people gathered at Castle Island to welcome the gigantic carrier during her 2007 visit.
By Michaela Stanelun, Globe Correspondent
A Boston city councilor says he would like the decommissioned aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy to be brought to Massachusetts and made into a museum.
"I still think Boston should be the home port," Boston City Councilor Stephen Murphy said.
On Monday, the US Navy announced that it was offering the the carrier, which is 1,052 feet long and weighs 164 million pounds, for free to any state, municipality, or non-profit that wants to use it as a museum or memorial.
In 2007, when the carrier came to Boston a month before its decommissioning ceremony, it attracted mile-long lines of people.
Murphy said at the time that he thought bringing the carrier to the city would be great for tourism.
The Kennedy family's strong Massachusetts ties make Boston the best place for a carrier bearing the Kennedy name to have a home, he reiterated today.
"Obviously, Boston and Massachusetts are proud of our associations with the Kennedys, and we just lost the lion of the Senate a few months ago," Murphy said, referring to the death of the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy. "The Kennedys are synonymous with Boston, and it's very fitting for us to bring that ship here."
Murphy said he will refile a resolution next week to look into the possibility of having the ship stay in Boston. He hopes to put together a group of businesspeople, philanthropic groups, and other supporters of the proposal and file a proposal with the Navy. However, Murphy acknowledged, there are some hurdles to clear.
"It will be hard for us to compete with a city that has a warmer climate that could attract visitors every month of the year, or one with a deep-water port," Murphy said. "Right now, we do not have a suitable location inside the harbor."
Ideas floated in the past have included mooring the carrier near the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Dorchester. "But there would be a great amount of money needed for dredging, since it's shallow," Murphy said. He said he wouldn't advocate using taxpayer money to pay for the project and preferred a charitable foundation.
Massachusetts is already home to one decommissioned ship. The USS Massachusetts battleship is located off the coast of Fall River and was turned into a museum over 40 years ago.
"If some city or town is going to get a Kennedy ship, it should be us," Murphy said. "This is home."
Globe restuarant critic's memorable dishes of 2009
DINING OUT
Thanks for the sense memories
2009’s roster of memorable dishes
By Devra First, Globe Staff | November 25, 2009
It’s Thanksgiving, time to reflect on the things for which we are grateful: family and friends, good fortune, and - of course - good food. Here are some of the dishes I was most thankful for in 2009. (All things must pass, even the delicious: Call before you head out if your heart is set on a certain selection.)
Steak frites at Beacon Hill Bistro I love this bistro’s bistro for its duality: Both innovative and traditional fare excel here, and I can’t decide which side of chef Jason Bond’s cooking I prefer. His steak frites was just about perfect, from the first whiff as the plate approached to the last slender, golden McDonaldian fry. (For those who must have a chewy cut, abstain. This was a tender strip steak, topped with herb butter.) I could just as easily choose a different dish: a vegetable herb broth with raviolini that was served in the spring. It sounds spare, but the broth was round and lush, the pasta stuffed with bracing green nettles and light ricotta. It couldn’t have been more different from the steak frites, but it was every bit as wonderful. 25 Charles St., Boston. 617-723-7575. www.beaconhillhotel.com.
Gnocchi at Bina Osteria Chef Brian Konefal’s stint at Bina was all too short. When he left the kitchen, I mourned for his gnocchi, tiny, tender, nearly as fluffy as snow. To make them that light, staffers bundled up and headed for the walk-in freezer; the cold kept the texture consistent. The gnocchi were served with Meyer lemon confit, clams, lobster, delicate rings of calamari, and chorizo. I’m not sure whether I miss them or Konefal’s carbonara more. Fresh pasta topped with a slow-cooked hen egg, pecorino sauce, and house-made pancetta, it was rich, golden, and dreamy. 581 Washington St., Boston. 617-956-0888. www.binaboston.com.
Smelts at Craigie on Main I’m pretty sure the folks in the Craigie kitchen can do anything they set their minds to, no matter how technically complicated. Yet one of the dishes I enjoyed most at the restaurant was one of the simplest. During Maine smelt season (nearly upon us again), chef Tony Maws took the tiny fish, fried them up, and served them with squid ink anchoiade. They were fresh and sweet, aquatic candy. 853 Main St., Cambridge. 617-497-5511. www.craigieonmain.com.
Miang kum at Dok Bua Thai Kitchen I can always count on a really good Thai restaurant to surprise my palate. Dok Bua, one I often recommend, did that with an appetizer called miang kum. This little bite featured a wild array of tastes and textures wrapped together in a spinach leaf: dried shrimp, peanuts, coconut, chili, bits of lime rind, and more. It was a flavor explosion. (You can find a good version nearby at Khao Sarn.) 411 Harvard St., Brookline. 617-232-2955. www.dokbua-thai.com.
Fish tacos at Dorado Tacos & Cemitas Fish tacos were once hard to come by in Boston, but no longer. At this taqueria alone there are four kinds on offer. I was a big fan of the traditional fried fish tacos: the Ensenada, for example, which came with green cabbage, fresh salsa, pickled onions, crema, and lime. But my favorite was the grilled swordfish taco. The fish was meaty, with lovely charred flavor, and it came with an enchanting dark green, tangy tomatillo-avocado salsa. Bottle the stuff. Please. 401 Harvard St., Brookline. 617-566-2100. www.doradotacos.com.
Pizza all over town This summer, I went on an extended pizza crawl, finding some of the best slices around. (I could pretend I did this purely for your edification, but really I did it because I wanted an excuse to eat pizza nonstop for the better part of a month.) I had a strong suspicion certain places would make the list: Regina, Santarpio’s, and Galleria Umberto, for example. Others were surprises. I didn’t know how much I loved the double-wide slices at Ernesto’s in the North End, or the classic New York pizza parlor version at Presto in Brighton. Ernesto’s, 69 Salem St., 617-523-1373. www.ernestosnorthend.com. Presto, 1936 Beacon St., 617-232-4545.
Trota at Il Casale The wood-grilled trout at chef Dante de Magistris’s excellent new restaurant was one of the best fish preparations I ate all year. It came with the head on, but with the bones removed. In their place were lemon and orange slices, which kept the flesh moist, tasting of citrus, wood smoke, and salt. The trout sat atop a pesto of green olives, capers, parsley, and more citrus, all of the flavors perfectly layered. 50 Leonard St., Belmont. 617-209-4942. www.ilcasalebelmont.com.
Prune gnocchi at No. 9 Park What more can be said about this dish? If it weren’t so good, it would be the most over-hyped plate in Boston. But I ate it again this year, for the first time in a while, and it was so good. The prune-filled gnocchi were glazed with a sauce of vin santo, foie gras, and butter, topped with rosy little slices of seared foie gras. The combination was salty, sweet, and rich. 9 Park St., Boston. 617-742-9991. www.no9park.com.
Lemon and yuzu crystalline at Sensing Dessert can be so dull. Will you have the molten chocolate cake, the crème brûlée, the molten chocolate cake, or the crème brûlée? I will have the lemon and yuzu crystalline at Sensing. The dessert surprised and delighted. It came in a goblet sealed with a thin sheet of citrus-flavored hard candy. You shattered it with your spoon, sending shards into the glass below, to be eaten along with lemon sorbet, yuzu gelée, and bits of cookie. It was full of great flavors and textures, and it was fun to eat. Other desserts should creep away in shame. Fairmont Battery Wharf, 3 Battery Wharf, Boston. 617-994-9001. www.sensingrestaurant.com.
Strozzapreti at Sportello Barbara Lynch and her yummy pasta strike again. Her prune gnocchi at No. 9 Park are so snazzy they practically wear a bow tie. At Sportello, things get a little more rustic. These pasta twists - “strozzapreti’’ means “priest stranglers’’ - were served with bits of braised rabbit, green olives, and a rosemary-spiked rabbit jus. They were the weekly habit to the gnocchi’s special occasion. 348 Congress St., Boston. 617-737-1234. www.sportelloboston.com.
Polvo guisado at T.A. Restaurant The word that comes to mind when I think of this dish is “righteous.’’ Octopus and potatoes stewed in a wine-dark sauce until tender, it was rich and mysterious, simple but much more than the sum of its parts. The restaurant is frequented by old guys drinking tiny cups of coffee at the bar during the day, and by families and couples at night. If you haven’t explored the Azorean fare of Fall River (not to mention the chow mein sandwiches, Coney dogs, and other regional foodstuffs), you’re missing out. 408 South Main St., Fall River. 508-673-5890. www.tarestaurant.com.
Boudin blanc at Ten Tables I’m not sure I’ve ever had ethereal sausage before, or since. It was made in house at Ten Tables in Cambridge from Berkshire pork, and served with chewy spaetzle, turnip greens, and carrots. Chef David Punch told me later that making this boudin blanc was incredibly time-consuming. The effort paid off. 5 Craigie Circle, Cambridge. 617-576-5444. www.tentables.net.
Yassa guinaar at Teranga Senegalese food came to Boston and managed to make grilled chicken interesting again. Yassa guinaar featured moist, smoky meat and a fantastic sauce of lemon juice and caramelized onions. Or maybe it’s that Teranga made onions interesting again; the menu offered five totally different treatments of them. Also no slouch was the dibi, thin-cut grilled lamb chops with raw onions marinated in mustard, lime, white pepper, and olive oil. 1746 Washington St., Boston. 617-266-0003. www.terangaboston.com.
Chicken and waffles at Trina's Starlite Lounge I admit it. I do have a weakness for chicken and waffles. The dish combines my love of breakfast for dinner with the naughty glee of eating something really delicious and not that good for you. (With four different hot dogs on the menu, I think Trina’s gets that.) The fried chicken was crunchy and juicy, the waffle more herb-y than sweet, and a mildly hot pepper syrup brought spice into play. 3 Beacon St., Somerville. 617-576-0006. www.trinastarlitelounge.com.
Daube of beef at Tupelo This dish showcased the beauty of slow cooking: humble brisket doused with red wine and braised until it was tender and mellow. For me, pozole is a comfort food in the way potatoes are for other people; here hominy was combined with mashed potatoes, making things doubly cozy. 1193 Cambridge St., Cambridge. 617-868-0004. www.tupelo02139.com.
Devra First can be reached at dfirst@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Thanks for the sense memories
2009’s roster of memorable dishes
By Devra First, Globe Staff | November 25, 2009
It’s Thanksgiving, time to reflect on the things for which we are grateful: family and friends, good fortune, and - of course - good food. Here are some of the dishes I was most thankful for in 2009. (All things must pass, even the delicious: Call before you head out if your heart is set on a certain selection.)
Steak frites at Beacon Hill Bistro I love this bistro’s bistro for its duality: Both innovative and traditional fare excel here, and I can’t decide which side of chef Jason Bond’s cooking I prefer. His steak frites was just about perfect, from the first whiff as the plate approached to the last slender, golden McDonaldian fry. (For those who must have a chewy cut, abstain. This was a tender strip steak, topped with herb butter.) I could just as easily choose a different dish: a vegetable herb broth with raviolini that was served in the spring. It sounds spare, but the broth was round and lush, the pasta stuffed with bracing green nettles and light ricotta. It couldn’t have been more different from the steak frites, but it was every bit as wonderful. 25 Charles St., Boston. 617-723-7575. www.beaconhillhotel.com.
Gnocchi at Bina Osteria Chef Brian Konefal’s stint at Bina was all too short. When he left the kitchen, I mourned for his gnocchi, tiny, tender, nearly as fluffy as snow. To make them that light, staffers bundled up and headed for the walk-in freezer; the cold kept the texture consistent. The gnocchi were served with Meyer lemon confit, clams, lobster, delicate rings of calamari, and chorizo. I’m not sure whether I miss them or Konefal’s carbonara more. Fresh pasta topped with a slow-cooked hen egg, pecorino sauce, and house-made pancetta, it was rich, golden, and dreamy. 581 Washington St., Boston. 617-956-0888. www.binaboston.com.
Smelts at Craigie on Main I’m pretty sure the folks in the Craigie kitchen can do anything they set their minds to, no matter how technically complicated. Yet one of the dishes I enjoyed most at the restaurant was one of the simplest. During Maine smelt season (nearly upon us again), chef Tony Maws took the tiny fish, fried them up, and served them with squid ink anchoiade. They were fresh and sweet, aquatic candy. 853 Main St., Cambridge. 617-497-5511. www.craigieonmain.com.
Miang kum at Dok Bua Thai Kitchen I can always count on a really good Thai restaurant to surprise my palate. Dok Bua, one I often recommend, did that with an appetizer called miang kum. This little bite featured a wild array of tastes and textures wrapped together in a spinach leaf: dried shrimp, peanuts, coconut, chili, bits of lime rind, and more. It was a flavor explosion. (You can find a good version nearby at Khao Sarn.) 411 Harvard St., Brookline. 617-232-2955. www.dokbua-thai.com.
Fish tacos at Dorado Tacos & Cemitas Fish tacos were once hard to come by in Boston, but no longer. At this taqueria alone there are four kinds on offer. I was a big fan of the traditional fried fish tacos: the Ensenada, for example, which came with green cabbage, fresh salsa, pickled onions, crema, and lime. But my favorite was the grilled swordfish taco. The fish was meaty, with lovely charred flavor, and it came with an enchanting dark green, tangy tomatillo-avocado salsa. Bottle the stuff. Please. 401 Harvard St., Brookline. 617-566-2100. www.doradotacos.com.
Pizza all over town This summer, I went on an extended pizza crawl, finding some of the best slices around. (I could pretend I did this purely for your edification, but really I did it because I wanted an excuse to eat pizza nonstop for the better part of a month.) I had a strong suspicion certain places would make the list: Regina, Santarpio’s, and Galleria Umberto, for example. Others were surprises. I didn’t know how much I loved the double-wide slices at Ernesto’s in the North End, or the classic New York pizza parlor version at Presto in Brighton. Ernesto’s, 69 Salem St., 617-523-1373. www.ernestosnorthend.com. Presto, 1936 Beacon St., 617-232-4545.
Trota at Il Casale The wood-grilled trout at chef Dante de Magistris’s excellent new restaurant was one of the best fish preparations I ate all year. It came with the head on, but with the bones removed. In their place were lemon and orange slices, which kept the flesh moist, tasting of citrus, wood smoke, and salt. The trout sat atop a pesto of green olives, capers, parsley, and more citrus, all of the flavors perfectly layered. 50 Leonard St., Belmont. 617-209-4942. www.ilcasalebelmont.com.
Prune gnocchi at No. 9 Park What more can be said about this dish? If it weren’t so good, it would be the most over-hyped plate in Boston. But I ate it again this year, for the first time in a while, and it was so good. The prune-filled gnocchi were glazed with a sauce of vin santo, foie gras, and butter, topped with rosy little slices of seared foie gras. The combination was salty, sweet, and rich. 9 Park St., Boston. 617-742-9991. www.no9park.com.
Lemon and yuzu crystalline at Sensing Dessert can be so dull. Will you have the molten chocolate cake, the crème brûlée, the molten chocolate cake, or the crème brûlée? I will have the lemon and yuzu crystalline at Sensing. The dessert surprised and delighted. It came in a goblet sealed with a thin sheet of citrus-flavored hard candy. You shattered it with your spoon, sending shards into the glass below, to be eaten along with lemon sorbet, yuzu gelée, and bits of cookie. It was full of great flavors and textures, and it was fun to eat. Other desserts should creep away in shame. Fairmont Battery Wharf, 3 Battery Wharf, Boston. 617-994-9001. www.sensingrestaurant.com.
Strozzapreti at Sportello Barbara Lynch and her yummy pasta strike again. Her prune gnocchi at No. 9 Park are so snazzy they practically wear a bow tie. At Sportello, things get a little more rustic. These pasta twists - “strozzapreti’’ means “priest stranglers’’ - were served with bits of braised rabbit, green olives, and a rosemary-spiked rabbit jus. They were the weekly habit to the gnocchi’s special occasion. 348 Congress St., Boston. 617-737-1234. www.sportelloboston.com.
Polvo guisado at T.A. Restaurant The word that comes to mind when I think of this dish is “righteous.’’ Octopus and potatoes stewed in a wine-dark sauce until tender, it was rich and mysterious, simple but much more than the sum of its parts. The restaurant is frequented by old guys drinking tiny cups of coffee at the bar during the day, and by families and couples at night. If you haven’t explored the Azorean fare of Fall River (not to mention the chow mein sandwiches, Coney dogs, and other regional foodstuffs), you’re missing out. 408 South Main St., Fall River. 508-673-5890. www.tarestaurant.com.
Boudin blanc at Ten Tables I’m not sure I’ve ever had ethereal sausage before, or since. It was made in house at Ten Tables in Cambridge from Berkshire pork, and served with chewy spaetzle, turnip greens, and carrots. Chef David Punch told me later that making this boudin blanc was incredibly time-consuming. The effort paid off. 5 Craigie Circle, Cambridge. 617-576-5444. www.tentables.net.
Yassa guinaar at Teranga Senegalese food came to Boston and managed to make grilled chicken interesting again. Yassa guinaar featured moist, smoky meat and a fantastic sauce of lemon juice and caramelized onions. Or maybe it’s that Teranga made onions interesting again; the menu offered five totally different treatments of them. Also no slouch was the dibi, thin-cut grilled lamb chops with raw onions marinated in mustard, lime, white pepper, and olive oil. 1746 Washington St., Boston. 617-266-0003. www.terangaboston.com.
Chicken and waffles at Trina's Starlite Lounge I admit it. I do have a weakness for chicken and waffles. The dish combines my love of breakfast for dinner with the naughty glee of eating something really delicious and not that good for you. (With four different hot dogs on the menu, I think Trina’s gets that.) The fried chicken was crunchy and juicy, the waffle more herb-y than sweet, and a mildly hot pepper syrup brought spice into play. 3 Beacon St., Somerville. 617-576-0006. www.trinastarlitelounge.com.
Daube of beef at Tupelo This dish showcased the beauty of slow cooking: humble brisket doused with red wine and braised until it was tender and mellow. For me, pozole is a comfort food in the way potatoes are for other people; here hominy was combined with mashed potatoes, making things doubly cozy. 1193 Cambridge St., Cambridge. 617-868-0004. www.tupelo02139.com.
Devra First can be reached at dfirst@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
New book explores Harvard Square's food history
G FORCE
Square meals
By Mark Feeney, Globe Staff | November 25, 2009
A self-described “quirky individualist,’’ Mo Lotman has done all sorts of things: writing, acting, music, even comedy. This makes the Somerville resident an ideal chronicler of Harvard Square, a very quirky place defined by all sorts of things. Lotman spent 4 1/2 years researching and writing “Harvard Square: An Illustrated History Since 1950’’ (www.harvardsquarebook.com). Lotman’s profusely illustrated book shows a commercial district - a state of mind, really - in which continuity and change go together like ivy and brick. Nowhere is that more the case than as regards food. The square is inseparable from the names of such establishments past and present as the Tasty, Elsie’s, the Hayes-Bickford’s, Cardullo’s, Bartley’s Burger Cottage, and Rialto.
Lotman, 40, recently talked about Harvard Square and its eating history.
Q. Eating in Harvard Square didn’t used to be at all pricey.
A. When I think of food in Harvard Square I think of egalitarian. If you go back to 1950, your average food choice is a cafeteria. The square was full of places where you’d get a really cheap cup of coffee, toast, a burger, a milkshake - oops, frappe. I think the cheap food in Harvard Square is still there, and always will be. One of my favorite places is Sabra Grill, on Eliot Street, where you can get your basic falafel or a rollup. But now you have more midscale places, like Daedalus and Grafton Street.
Q. It was a long time before the dining became very fine.
A. The range of options is much larger than you’d have had in 1950. You had two French restaurants, Henri IV, which became the House of Blues, and Chez Dreyfus. Chez Dreyfus would have been your one upscale choice.
Q. If it was someone else’s treat, where would you want to eat out in the square?
A. I’ve only been to Rialto once, but I have to say the food was quite delicious. I’d probably want a hot chocolate at Burdick’s. That’s pretty amazing. I really like the food at Daedalus. You can’t top a Bartley’s burger. Oh, and I’d like to put in a little plug for Pamplona, too. It’s such a great little cafe, hidden away in the basement at 12 Bow St.
Q. Ice cream’s been an important part of square cuisine.
A. Definitely. I’m really bummed, actually: Herrell’s is closing. That was my favorite. I’d get the chocolate pudding ice cream. I have yet to taste a better flavor than that. Now, granted, there’s plenty of delicious ice cream there still: J.P. Licks, Lizzy’s. There were eight [ice cream places] at one time in the ‘80s, which is pretty remarkable.
Q. There’s been retail as well as dining.
A. There used to be markets: Sage’s, Brattle Market, an IGA. Cardullo’s - what a great place! - opened in 1950. It’s still very similar to how it was then. There’s certainly more of an emphasis on chocolate than there would have been then. But I had the pleasure of looking through one of their catalogs from the ’60s, and it was just fascinating. Lampreys, aspic.
Q. Not things you’d find at Whole Foods.
A. No.
Interview was condensed and edited.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Square meals
By Mark Feeney, Globe Staff | November 25, 2009
A self-described “quirky individualist,’’ Mo Lotman has done all sorts of things: writing, acting, music, even comedy. This makes the Somerville resident an ideal chronicler of Harvard Square, a very quirky place defined by all sorts of things. Lotman spent 4 1/2 years researching and writing “Harvard Square: An Illustrated History Since 1950’’ (www.harvardsquarebook.com). Lotman’s profusely illustrated book shows a commercial district - a state of mind, really - in which continuity and change go together like ivy and brick. Nowhere is that more the case than as regards food. The square is inseparable from the names of such establishments past and present as the Tasty, Elsie’s, the Hayes-Bickford’s, Cardullo’s, Bartley’s Burger Cottage, and Rialto.
Lotman, 40, recently talked about Harvard Square and its eating history.
Q. Eating in Harvard Square didn’t used to be at all pricey.
A. When I think of food in Harvard Square I think of egalitarian. If you go back to 1950, your average food choice is a cafeteria. The square was full of places where you’d get a really cheap cup of coffee, toast, a burger, a milkshake - oops, frappe. I think the cheap food in Harvard Square is still there, and always will be. One of my favorite places is Sabra Grill, on Eliot Street, where you can get your basic falafel or a rollup. But now you have more midscale places, like Daedalus and Grafton Street.
Q. It was a long time before the dining became very fine.
A. The range of options is much larger than you’d have had in 1950. You had two French restaurants, Henri IV, which became the House of Blues, and Chez Dreyfus. Chez Dreyfus would have been your one upscale choice.
Q. If it was someone else’s treat, where would you want to eat out in the square?
A. I’ve only been to Rialto once, but I have to say the food was quite delicious. I’d probably want a hot chocolate at Burdick’s. That’s pretty amazing. I really like the food at Daedalus. You can’t top a Bartley’s burger. Oh, and I’d like to put in a little plug for Pamplona, too. It’s such a great little cafe, hidden away in the basement at 12 Bow St.
Q. Ice cream’s been an important part of square cuisine.
A. Definitely. I’m really bummed, actually: Herrell’s is closing. That was my favorite. I’d get the chocolate pudding ice cream. I have yet to taste a better flavor than that. Now, granted, there’s plenty of delicious ice cream there still: J.P. Licks, Lizzy’s. There were eight [ice cream places] at one time in the ‘80s, which is pretty remarkable.
Q. There’s been retail as well as dining.
A. There used to be markets: Sage’s, Brattle Market, an IGA. Cardullo’s - what a great place! - opened in 1950. It’s still very similar to how it was then. There’s certainly more of an emphasis on chocolate than there would have been then. But I had the pleasure of looking through one of their catalogs from the ’60s, and it was just fascinating. Lampreys, aspic.
Q. Not things you’d find at Whole Foods.
A. No.
Interview was condensed and edited.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Convention center expanson could help boost Seaport District development
Developers envision a waterfront jump-start
Convention center’s expansion plan could boost stalled projects
By Casey Ross, Globe Staff | November 25, 2009
The proposed expansion of the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center has a built-in cheering section: local developers who hope a larger convention hall will jump-start building in a waterfront neighborhood struggling through the recession.
Construction in the area around the South Boston convention center has slowed dramatically over the past two years, with tight credit markets leaving some builders unable to advance developments that were expected to transform the area into an economic juggernaut.
But the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority’s announcement that it wants to double the size of the center offers a new glimmer of hope. Developers of nearby projects said the expansion would result in an influx of business travelers and tourists, whose spending would help support additional hotels, restaurants, and retail shops.
“The trick is getting people down here,’’ said John Hynes, who had proposed building Seaport Square, a 23-acre development of residences, hotels, and stores. “Expanding the convention center is not a panacea for our capital woes, but it is going to be a help.’’
Overall, the city has approved more than 3 million square feet of development on the South Boston Waterfront, where Mayor Thomas M. Menino wants to see a modern mixed-use community on land once covered by industrial yards, warehouses, and fish piers.
Many of those new building plans originated during the construction of the first convention center facility, which was completed in 2004.
The authority’s expansion plan calls for another exhibit hall, a new ballroom, a 5,000-seat auditorium, and a 1,000-room hotel.
The expansion, which could cost up to $1 billion, is a long way from starting. Officials acknowledged that if approved it may take from five to 15 years to finish.
Despite the time frame, neighboring developers said that just the unveiling of the center’s expansion plan will make it easier for them to pitch their projects to potential lenders and would-be tenants.
“There is no question the convention center has been a major catalyst for Boston,’’ said developer Joseph Fallon, who is building Fan Pier, a 21-acre, $2.5 billion complex of stores, a hotel, residences, and a marina on the waterfront. Construction has been slowed by the recession, but Fallon said new facilities at the convention hall could mean millions of new visitors strolling the streets around a finished Fan Pier.
Developer Ed Nardi, who is building Liberty Wharf, a development of offices and a new flagship restaurant for Legal Sea Foods at the site of the former Jimmy’s Harborside, said the convention center plans promise street-level improvements that would make the neighborhood easier to navigate.
“It seems to break down the uses and incorporate them into the neighborhood, so it’s not just another huge addition onto the convention center,’’ he said.
Gregory Bialecki, Governor Deval Patrick’s top development aide, said the state is counting on the success of Nardi’s projects and other developments to help pay for the expansion.
“For a facility like this, the first thing you want to look at is the degree to which you can recapture some of the dollars that are being created by the economic activity associated with it,’’ he said.
“We really do believe that this attracts people not only down to the South Boston Waterfront, but all around the city and all around the state.’’
Casey Ross can be reached at cross@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Convention center’s expansion plan could boost stalled projects
By Casey Ross, Globe Staff | November 25, 2009
The proposed expansion of the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center has a built-in cheering section: local developers who hope a larger convention hall will jump-start building in a waterfront neighborhood struggling through the recession.
Construction in the area around the South Boston convention center has slowed dramatically over the past two years, with tight credit markets leaving some builders unable to advance developments that were expected to transform the area into an economic juggernaut.
But the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority’s announcement that it wants to double the size of the center offers a new glimmer of hope. Developers of nearby projects said the expansion would result in an influx of business travelers and tourists, whose spending would help support additional hotels, restaurants, and retail shops.
“The trick is getting people down here,’’ said John Hynes, who had proposed building Seaport Square, a 23-acre development of residences, hotels, and stores. “Expanding the convention center is not a panacea for our capital woes, but it is going to be a help.’’
Overall, the city has approved more than 3 million square feet of development on the South Boston Waterfront, where Mayor Thomas M. Menino wants to see a modern mixed-use community on land once covered by industrial yards, warehouses, and fish piers.
Many of those new building plans originated during the construction of the first convention center facility, which was completed in 2004.
The authority’s expansion plan calls for another exhibit hall, a new ballroom, a 5,000-seat auditorium, and a 1,000-room hotel.
The expansion, which could cost up to $1 billion, is a long way from starting. Officials acknowledged that if approved it may take from five to 15 years to finish.
Despite the time frame, neighboring developers said that just the unveiling of the center’s expansion plan will make it easier for them to pitch their projects to potential lenders and would-be tenants.
“There is no question the convention center has been a major catalyst for Boston,’’ said developer Joseph Fallon, who is building Fan Pier, a 21-acre, $2.5 billion complex of stores, a hotel, residences, and a marina on the waterfront. Construction has been slowed by the recession, but Fallon said new facilities at the convention hall could mean millions of new visitors strolling the streets around a finished Fan Pier.
Developer Ed Nardi, who is building Liberty Wharf, a development of offices and a new flagship restaurant for Legal Sea Foods at the site of the former Jimmy’s Harborside, said the convention center plans promise street-level improvements that would make the neighborhood easier to navigate.
“It seems to break down the uses and incorporate them into the neighborhood, so it’s not just another huge addition onto the convention center,’’ he said.
Gregory Bialecki, Governor Deval Patrick’s top development aide, said the state is counting on the success of Nardi’s projects and other developments to help pay for the expansion.
“For a facility like this, the first thing you want to look at is the degree to which you can recapture some of the dollars that are being created by the economic activity associated with it,’’ he said.
“We really do believe that this attracts people not only down to the South Boston Waterfront, but all around the city and all around the state.’’
Casey Ross can be reached at cross@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
North Shore Music Theater could reopen by spring
At North Shore, the show may go on
By Geoff Edgers, Globe Staff | November 25, 2009
The former North Shore Music Theatre - closed earlier this year after accumulating $10 million in debt - could be singing and dancing again by spring.
William Hanney, who owns Theatre By the Sea in Rhode Island as well as the chain of 10 New England multiplexes known as Entertainment Cinemas, has reached a purchase agreement with Citizens Bank, which acquired the Beverly theater last month.
“This theater is literally ready to reopen,’’ said Hanney, 40, who lives in Brewster. “The phone lines are still there, the computers are still humming.’’
Since opening in 1955, North Shore has brought Broadway-style theater to the suburbs. It was once the largest theater in the region with close to 350,000 people attending each year. In October, Citizens Bank, which held a $5 million note on the property, bid $3.6 million at an auction for the now-shuttered theater.
Neither party would say how much Hanney offered for the theater, which is situated on a 22-acre site. But Hanney has made a habit of buying closed or distressed properties and quickly reviving them.
Those purchases include Theatre By the Sea, a summer-stock house in Matunuck, R.I.; Fresh Pond Cinema in Cambridge; and Falmouth Cinema Pub.
Like North Shore, Theatre By the Sea produces musicals, though on a far smaller scale and not year-round. Its upcoming season includes “A Chorus Line,’’ “Little Shop of Horrors,’’ and “Hello, Dolly!’’ There is also a restaurant on site.
Hanney said he still has to go through a permitting process and to examine the property before reopening North Shore. But he promised that its programming would remain largely the same, noting that he enjoyed the few North Shore performances he attended.
He didn’t give positive reviews to the organization’s business structure.
“It was just so top-heavy,’’ he said. “It just had too many people. It was unnecessary. We do [theater] every single year at Theatre By the Sea. We get great reviews and we make money every single year. We run a very successful 200-seat restaurant, which also makes money.’’
But Theatre By the Sea is a much smaller operation, with 500 seats to North Shore’s 1,500.
That doesn’t concern former artistic director Jon Kimbell, who has met with Hanney several times leading up to the sale.
“From the meetings that we’ve had, I think he’s a very smart, savvy businessman,’’ Kimbell said yesterday. “He’s certainly got a better shot than perhaps some others. I’m encouraged. I have great hope it will spring back to life in the spring.’’
North Shore opened in 1955 as a summer-stock theater in what was once a gravel pit off Route 128. Permanent walls were added in the 1960s and, in the following decades, so were educational programs and the annual production of “A Christmas Carol.’’ At its peak, North Shore had 10,000 subscribers.
But a 2005 fire and poor ticket sales to “Disney High School Musical 2’’ in 2008 left the theater with what turned out to be crushing debt.
North Shore’s leaders suspended operations and tried to raise enough money to reopen earlier this year, but eventually gave up, leading to the October auction. Many longtime patrons, who had sent in money to buy tickets for a season that never happened, were never given refunds.
But Danvers resident Janet Guerette, a 17-year subscriber who lost $279 after the closing, said she would definitely return to the theater.
“I lost my $300, but that’s over with,’’ she said. “It’s a beautiful property and grounds, and we can see theater without going into Boston.’’
Hanney said he had been observing North Shore’s struggles for some time. Raised in Randolph, he got his start ripping tickets at local movie houses before leasing his first cinema in Hyde Park. In the late ’80s, Hanney and a group of investors converted a former Sears building in Quincy into the first branch of Entertainment Cinemas.
He sold that theater eventually but today owns 10 multiplexes in Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.
He bought Theatre By the Sea in 2007. The theater, founded in 1933, had closed four years earlier.
Six weeks later, Hanney opened a production of Stephen Sondheim’s “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.’’ Today, the theater has a nearly $2 million budget with close to 6,000 subscribers.
Beverly Mayor Bill Scanlon, who has met with Hanney, said he’s impressed by plans to link productions between North Shore and the Rhode Island theater.
“He’s going to be able to rehearse for a production and then play in Rhode Island then move it to Beverly with a minimum of rehearsal to run it again,’’ said Scanlon. “You have less overhead, more paydays. This kind of partnership was being talked about by [North Shore] before it went under. Now, here’s a guy in a position to actually make it happen.’’
Scanlon said he was impressed enough by Hanney that he called a special meeting of Beverly’s Zoning Board of Appeals on Dec. 10 to consider whether to grant him the special permit he needs to operate as a theater.
Geoff Edgers can be reached at gedgers@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
By Geoff Edgers, Globe Staff | November 25, 2009
The former North Shore Music Theatre - closed earlier this year after accumulating $10 million in debt - could be singing and dancing again by spring.
William Hanney, who owns Theatre By the Sea in Rhode Island as well as the chain of 10 New England multiplexes known as Entertainment Cinemas, has reached a purchase agreement with Citizens Bank, which acquired the Beverly theater last month.
“This theater is literally ready to reopen,’’ said Hanney, 40, who lives in Brewster. “The phone lines are still there, the computers are still humming.’’
Since opening in 1955, North Shore has brought Broadway-style theater to the suburbs. It was once the largest theater in the region with close to 350,000 people attending each year. In October, Citizens Bank, which held a $5 million note on the property, bid $3.6 million at an auction for the now-shuttered theater.
Neither party would say how much Hanney offered for the theater, which is situated on a 22-acre site. But Hanney has made a habit of buying closed or distressed properties and quickly reviving them.
Those purchases include Theatre By the Sea, a summer-stock house in Matunuck, R.I.; Fresh Pond Cinema in Cambridge; and Falmouth Cinema Pub.
Like North Shore, Theatre By the Sea produces musicals, though on a far smaller scale and not year-round. Its upcoming season includes “A Chorus Line,’’ “Little Shop of Horrors,’’ and “Hello, Dolly!’’ There is also a restaurant on site.
Hanney said he still has to go through a permitting process and to examine the property before reopening North Shore. But he promised that its programming would remain largely the same, noting that he enjoyed the few North Shore performances he attended.
He didn’t give positive reviews to the organization’s business structure.
“It was just so top-heavy,’’ he said. “It just had too many people. It was unnecessary. We do [theater] every single year at Theatre By the Sea. We get great reviews and we make money every single year. We run a very successful 200-seat restaurant, which also makes money.’’
But Theatre By the Sea is a much smaller operation, with 500 seats to North Shore’s 1,500.
That doesn’t concern former artistic director Jon Kimbell, who has met with Hanney several times leading up to the sale.
“From the meetings that we’ve had, I think he’s a very smart, savvy businessman,’’ Kimbell said yesterday. “He’s certainly got a better shot than perhaps some others. I’m encouraged. I have great hope it will spring back to life in the spring.’’
North Shore opened in 1955 as a summer-stock theater in what was once a gravel pit off Route 128. Permanent walls were added in the 1960s and, in the following decades, so were educational programs and the annual production of “A Christmas Carol.’’ At its peak, North Shore had 10,000 subscribers.
But a 2005 fire and poor ticket sales to “Disney High School Musical 2’’ in 2008 left the theater with what turned out to be crushing debt.
North Shore’s leaders suspended operations and tried to raise enough money to reopen earlier this year, but eventually gave up, leading to the October auction. Many longtime patrons, who had sent in money to buy tickets for a season that never happened, were never given refunds.
But Danvers resident Janet Guerette, a 17-year subscriber who lost $279 after the closing, said she would definitely return to the theater.
“I lost my $300, but that’s over with,’’ she said. “It’s a beautiful property and grounds, and we can see theater without going into Boston.’’
Hanney said he had been observing North Shore’s struggles for some time. Raised in Randolph, he got his start ripping tickets at local movie houses before leasing his first cinema in Hyde Park. In the late ’80s, Hanney and a group of investors converted a former Sears building in Quincy into the first branch of Entertainment Cinemas.
He sold that theater eventually but today owns 10 multiplexes in Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.
He bought Theatre By the Sea in 2007. The theater, founded in 1933, had closed four years earlier.
Six weeks later, Hanney opened a production of Stephen Sondheim’s “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.’’ Today, the theater has a nearly $2 million budget with close to 6,000 subscribers.
Beverly Mayor Bill Scanlon, who has met with Hanney, said he’s impressed by plans to link productions between North Shore and the Rhode Island theater.
“He’s going to be able to rehearse for a production and then play in Rhode Island then move it to Beverly with a minimum of rehearsal to run it again,’’ said Scanlon. “You have less overhead, more paydays. This kind of partnership was being talked about by [North Shore] before it went under. Now, here’s a guy in a position to actually make it happen.’’
Scanlon said he was impressed enough by Hanney that he called a special meeting of Beverly’s Zoning Board of Appeals on Dec. 10 to consider whether to grant him the special permit he needs to operate as a theater.
Geoff Edgers can be reached at gedgers@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Bridges will connect Boston's green spaces thanks to stimulus money
Bridges planned to connect Boston's green spaces
Posted by Boston Globe Business Team November 20, 2009 11:32 AM
By Peter DeMarco
It was touted as the Big Dig's greatest open-space gift to Boston: a spectacular ribbon of parks, paths, and pedestrian footbridges linking the Esplanade to both the Rose Kennedy Greenway and Boston Harbor. But when the Central Artery/Tunnel Project officially wrapped up two years ago, only half of what was promised had been built.
This week, state environmental officials, flush with $30 million from the federal stimulus package and a renewed political will, took a huge step toward addressing that failure.
Construction bids were opened Tuesday for the first of three promised footbridges, a 700-foot expanse that will rise over railroad tracks on the Cambridge-Charlestown line to link parklands on opposite sides of the Leonard P. Zakim Bridge. The federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will pay for the entire bridge, called the North Bank Bridge, and other riverfront paths.
More important, the infusion of federal dollars will be combined with another $30.5 million left over in the Central Artery's coffers to build the other footbridges and paths promised to Bostonians nearly two decades ago, state officials said.
Once that happens - the new goal is about four years - Bostonians will be able to walk, jog, and bike from Watertown to Charlestown to South Boston without leaving the water's edge. The city will be opened to recreational users like never before, with multiuse trails under both sides of the Zakim Bridge to explore on any journey.
The idea that you can walk all the way down the Charles, but not to the harbor, is frustrating for people who care about the history and recreational use of the river, said Ian Bowles, secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. You're going to finally see the Commonwealth moving forward to reclaim this last half-mile. Being able to do the North Bank Footbridge with the recovery funds has unlocked the whole rest of the deal.
While the Big Dig spent $100 million on parks - including North Point Park in Cambridge, Paul Revere Park in Charlestown, and Nashua Street Park in Boston - it failed to build the all-important links between the parks, the Esplanade, the Greenway, and the Harbor. As a result, the parks have seen little use.
Those missing links all lie in the so-called lost half-mile of the Charles River, officially known as the New Charles River Basin. The area extends from Monsignor O'Brien Highway between the Museum of Science and Leverett Circle to the Charlestown Bridge, where the dam sits.
When the Central Artery/Tunnel Project officially closed on Dec. 31, 2007, most parks and recreation advocates figured the missing links would remain missing for a long time. The recession further sapped any hope of the state's covering the full $60 million in remaining construction costs. And there was no guarantee that $30.5 million left over from the Central Artery, even though it was earmarked for parks, would not be siphoned off to pay other state debts.
Now, those advocates say they are both shocked and full of joy.
These are really difficult economic times, and things are dropping right and left, so people have been disappointed about many things,said Vivien Li, executive director of the Boston Harbor Association since 1991. But this is really good news. I've got a big smile on my face.
Dan Wilson, a longtime volunteer member of the Citizens Advisory Committee for the New Charles River Basin, praised Bowles and the governor for their renewed commitment to finishing the work. But Wilson cautioned that promises to complete the missing links have amounted to little in the past, and budgets that were thought to be more than enough have fallen far short.
My concern is that we may repeat the same mistake, Wilson said.
Bowles and Rick Sullivan, commissioner of the Department of Conservation and Recreation, said that this time the work will be done. State Transportation Secretary Jeffrey Mullan is also supporting the effort.
We intend to keep every commitment we've made, Mullan said.
The North Bank Footbridge, which will link North Point Park in Cambridge to Paul Revere Park in Charlestown, should be built within two years, Sullivan said, as will a multiuse path on Beverly Street Extension connecting the Rose Kennedy Greenway to the Charles River.
Bowles and Sullivan said they intend to revive plans to attach a second footbridge to an existing railroad bridge across the Charles. That footbridge, which Sullivan estimated would cost $5 million, would link North Point Park in Cambridge to Nashua Street Park in Boston.
A third missing bridge, estimated at $12 million, is expected to rise over railroad tracks on the southern side of the Charles near the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital.
Noah Bierman of the Globe staff contributed to this report
Posted by Boston Globe Business Team November 20, 2009 11:32 AM
By Peter DeMarco
It was touted as the Big Dig's greatest open-space gift to Boston: a spectacular ribbon of parks, paths, and pedestrian footbridges linking the Esplanade to both the Rose Kennedy Greenway and Boston Harbor. But when the Central Artery/Tunnel Project officially wrapped up two years ago, only half of what was promised had been built.
This week, state environmental officials, flush with $30 million from the federal stimulus package and a renewed political will, took a huge step toward addressing that failure.
Construction bids were opened Tuesday for the first of three promised footbridges, a 700-foot expanse that will rise over railroad tracks on the Cambridge-Charlestown line to link parklands on opposite sides of the Leonard P. Zakim Bridge. The federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will pay for the entire bridge, called the North Bank Bridge, and other riverfront paths.
More important, the infusion of federal dollars will be combined with another $30.5 million left over in the Central Artery's coffers to build the other footbridges and paths promised to Bostonians nearly two decades ago, state officials said.
Once that happens - the new goal is about four years - Bostonians will be able to walk, jog, and bike from Watertown to Charlestown to South Boston without leaving the water's edge. The city will be opened to recreational users like never before, with multiuse trails under both sides of the Zakim Bridge to explore on any journey.
The idea that you can walk all the way down the Charles, but not to the harbor, is frustrating for people who care about the history and recreational use of the river, said Ian Bowles, secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. You're going to finally see the Commonwealth moving forward to reclaim this last half-mile. Being able to do the North Bank Footbridge with the recovery funds has unlocked the whole rest of the deal.
While the Big Dig spent $100 million on parks - including North Point Park in Cambridge, Paul Revere Park in Charlestown, and Nashua Street Park in Boston - it failed to build the all-important links between the parks, the Esplanade, the Greenway, and the Harbor. As a result, the parks have seen little use.
Those missing links all lie in the so-called lost half-mile of the Charles River, officially known as the New Charles River Basin. The area extends from Monsignor O'Brien Highway between the Museum of Science and Leverett Circle to the Charlestown Bridge, where the dam sits.
When the Central Artery/Tunnel Project officially closed on Dec. 31, 2007, most parks and recreation advocates figured the missing links would remain missing for a long time. The recession further sapped any hope of the state's covering the full $60 million in remaining construction costs. And there was no guarantee that $30.5 million left over from the Central Artery, even though it was earmarked for parks, would not be siphoned off to pay other state debts.
Now, those advocates say they are both shocked and full of joy.
These are really difficult economic times, and things are dropping right and left, so people have been disappointed about many things,said Vivien Li, executive director of the Boston Harbor Association since 1991. But this is really good news. I've got a big smile on my face.
Dan Wilson, a longtime volunteer member of the Citizens Advisory Committee for the New Charles River Basin, praised Bowles and the governor for their renewed commitment to finishing the work. But Wilson cautioned that promises to complete the missing links have amounted to little in the past, and budgets that were thought to be more than enough have fallen far short.
My concern is that we may repeat the same mistake, Wilson said.
Bowles and Rick Sullivan, commissioner of the Department of Conservation and Recreation, said that this time the work will be done. State Transportation Secretary Jeffrey Mullan is also supporting the effort.
We intend to keep every commitment we've made, Mullan said.
The North Bank Footbridge, which will link North Point Park in Cambridge to Paul Revere Park in Charlestown, should be built within two years, Sullivan said, as will a multiuse path on Beverly Street Extension connecting the Rose Kennedy Greenway to the Charles River.
Bowles and Sullivan said they intend to revive plans to attach a second footbridge to an existing railroad bridge across the Charles. That footbridge, which Sullivan estimated would cost $5 million, would link North Point Park in Cambridge to Nashua Street Park in Boston.
A third missing bridge, estimated at $12 million, is expected to rise over railroad tracks on the southern side of the Charles near the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital.
Noah Bierman of the Globe staff contributed to this report
Rhode Island theater owner seeks to buy North Shore Music Theater
Businessman seeks to buy North Shore Music Theatre
By Associated Press | Tuesday, November 24, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
BEVERLY — A Rhode Island theater owner plans to buy the defunct North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly and reopen for performances by spring.
William Hanney tells The Salem News he has signed a purchase and sales agreement with Citizens Bank to buy the property and expects to close the deal soon. Citizens bought the theater at auction last month for $3.6 million.
The 54-year-old facility went out of business in June under $10 million in debt. The property, including 26 acres and three buildings, is assessed at $12 million.
The city has scheduled a hearing for Dec. 10 on a request by Hanney to continue to operate the property as a theater.
Hanney owns Theatre by the Sea in the Matunuck section of South Kingstown, R.I., as well as 10 cinemas across New England.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1214187
By Associated Press | Tuesday, November 24, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
BEVERLY — A Rhode Island theater owner plans to buy the defunct North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly and reopen for performances by spring.
William Hanney tells The Salem News he has signed a purchase and sales agreement with Citizens Bank to buy the property and expects to close the deal soon. Citizens bought the theater at auction last month for $3.6 million.
The 54-year-old facility went out of business in June under $10 million in debt. The property, including 26 acres and three buildings, is assessed at $12 million.
The city has scheduled a hearing for Dec. 10 on a request by Hanney to continue to operate the property as a theater.
Hanney owns Theatre by the Sea in the Matunuck section of South Kingstown, R.I., as well as 10 cinemas across New England.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1214187
Union head blasts expansion plans
Convention center union blasts expansion plan
By Thomas Grillo and Jay Fitzgerald | Tuesday, November 24, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
A proposal by the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority to expand its sprawling South Boston complex is being blasted by a top labor official despite months of secret meetings in a failed effort to shore up support.
“I’m fed up with broken promises,” said Janice Loux, president of Unite Here Local 26, the union representing 500 workers at the MCCA’s Back Bay and newer South Boston facilities. “We’ve gotten nothing but labor strife (at the new center) and now they want to expand. . . . I will oppose any expansion if it doesn’t take into account the welfare of the workers.”
The plan to expand the Southie convention center was first floated more than two years ago.
A $700,000 study by architectural firm Sasaki Associates was released yesterday at a hastily assembled press conference that the governor and mayor, recuperating from surgery, both skipped.
No details about how the expansion would be paid for were revealed in the 80-page report or a five-page press release.
Despite a 21 percent decline in events over the last three years, MCCA officials said yesterday that the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center in Southie could support a 1,000-room hotel in addition to the existing Westin Waterfront, 400,000 square feet of added exhibit space, as well as 125,000 square feet of added meeting space, up to 75,000 square feet to accommodate a variety of uses and a 5,000-seat auditorium - to be built next to the Fort Point Channel neighborhood.
Loux, whose union has bitterly battled the Southie center’s concessions vendor, criticized the six-figure salaries and lucrative benefits of center executives, while she said food-service workers are barely surviving.
MCCA Executive Director James Rooney made just under $280,000 last year and was the top earner among more than a dozen MCCA staffers who made over six figures in 2008, according to payroll records obtained by the Herald.
Yesterday, Rooney said he was astounded by Loux’s comments.
“We have created thousands of jobs in food service, housekeeping and security,” said Rooney, whose center has drawn criticism for allowing felons to work at shows.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1214113
By Thomas Grillo and Jay Fitzgerald | Tuesday, November 24, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
A proposal by the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority to expand its sprawling South Boston complex is being blasted by a top labor official despite months of secret meetings in a failed effort to shore up support.
“I’m fed up with broken promises,” said Janice Loux, president of Unite Here Local 26, the union representing 500 workers at the MCCA’s Back Bay and newer South Boston facilities. “We’ve gotten nothing but labor strife (at the new center) and now they want to expand. . . . I will oppose any expansion if it doesn’t take into account the welfare of the workers.”
The plan to expand the Southie convention center was first floated more than two years ago.
A $700,000 study by architectural firm Sasaki Associates was released yesterday at a hastily assembled press conference that the governor and mayor, recuperating from surgery, both skipped.
No details about how the expansion would be paid for were revealed in the 80-page report or a five-page press release.
Despite a 21 percent decline in events over the last three years, MCCA officials said yesterday that the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center in Southie could support a 1,000-room hotel in addition to the existing Westin Waterfront, 400,000 square feet of added exhibit space, as well as 125,000 square feet of added meeting space, up to 75,000 square feet to accommodate a variety of uses and a 5,000-seat auditorium - to be built next to the Fort Point Channel neighborhood.
Loux, whose union has bitterly battled the Southie center’s concessions vendor, criticized the six-figure salaries and lucrative benefits of center executives, while she said food-service workers are barely surviving.
MCCA Executive Director James Rooney made just under $280,000 last year and was the top earner among more than a dozen MCCA staffers who made over six figures in 2008, according to payroll records obtained by the Herald.
Yesterday, Rooney said he was astounded by Loux’s comments.
“We have created thousands of jobs in food service, housekeeping and security,” said Rooney, whose center has drawn criticism for allowing felons to work at shows.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1214113
Convention business down nationwide but Boston fares better
Meeting plans
Convention industry has slumped, but Boston fares better
By Katie Johnston Chase, Globe Staff | November 24, 2009
It may not seem like the best time to talk about a massive expansion for the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.
The economic downturn has pummeled the convention industry for the past two years. The size, the number of exhibitors, and attendance have fallen in nearly every quarter, according to the industry publication Tradeshow Week.
But the convention business has fared better in Boston than in the nation as a whole, as the medical and life science sectors, which account for about a third of the convention business in the city, have stayed relatively strong compared to other industries during the economic downturn.
Attendance at conventions and trade shows at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center rose about 1.5 percent from fiscal year 2008 to 2009, after several years of double-digit growth, according to the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority. Nationally, attendance dipped about 7 percent during the same period.
Of course, the picture isn’t all that rosy in Boston. The number of nights that attendees at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center stayed in local hotel rooms fell by 15 percent from fiscal year 2008 to 2009, an important measure of the overall economic impact of a convention because cities look for attendees to spend money by eating, shopping, and staying in local hotels. Local conventions have also been shorter: The number of occupied days at the convention center fell by 10 percent.
But the worst for the convention industry as a whole appears to be over, according to Tradeshow Week.
Attendance at conventions and trade shows improved across the country in the third quarter of this year - the best news the convention industry has had in almost two years. The national outlook for next year is also encouraging. After an 8.3 percent decline in revenue this year, Tradeshow Week is forecasting 3.3 percent growth in 2010.
“We probably are bottoming right about now,’’ said Michael Hughes, vice president of research and consulting at Tradeshow Week.
Boston’s expanded convention center could as much as double the size of the current 516,000-square-foot facility, the ninth-busiest convention center in the country (tied with Dallas). The top convention city is Las Vegas, which had 252 conventions and trade shows on its schedule this year. And a million square feet bumps Boston into the top tier - something Hughes calls “the mega category.’’ That kind of space means the center can market itself to an additional 200 to 300 conventions and trade shows, Hughes said.
Boston’s convention center needs to attract three to five big conventions each year - with around 20,000 attendees each - for the expansion to be considered successful, Hughes said. The extra space will also allow the convention center to hold more events simultaneously.
According to Tradeshow Week, convention center space has increased dramatically in the past two decades, growing 90 percent nationally. Hughes estimates that there are 50 expansion plans in the works.
Heywood Sanders, a professor of public administration at the University of Texas at San Antonio and a prominent critic of convention centers, is skeptical about the need for more space. He points to recent convention center expansions in Las Vegas and Orlando that generated minimal increases in business.
“The actual performance and the reality has been far, far less than the promises and forecasts,’’ he said. “And at the very least, that should raise the question about what an expansion might well do for Boston.’’
Even the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority’s James Rooney admits there is more supply than demand. But it’s a $122 billion industry, he said, and he wants Boston to get as much of it as it can, which means taking away business from other cities. “Boston’s gain,’’ Rooney said, “is somebody else’s loss.’’
Katie Johnston Chase can be reached at johnstonchase@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Convention industry has slumped, but Boston fares better
By Katie Johnston Chase, Globe Staff | November 24, 2009
It may not seem like the best time to talk about a massive expansion for the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.
The economic downturn has pummeled the convention industry for the past two years. The size, the number of exhibitors, and attendance have fallen in nearly every quarter, according to the industry publication Tradeshow Week.
But the convention business has fared better in Boston than in the nation as a whole, as the medical and life science sectors, which account for about a third of the convention business in the city, have stayed relatively strong compared to other industries during the economic downturn.
Attendance at conventions and trade shows at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center rose about 1.5 percent from fiscal year 2008 to 2009, after several years of double-digit growth, according to the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority. Nationally, attendance dipped about 7 percent during the same period.
Of course, the picture isn’t all that rosy in Boston. The number of nights that attendees at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center stayed in local hotel rooms fell by 15 percent from fiscal year 2008 to 2009, an important measure of the overall economic impact of a convention because cities look for attendees to spend money by eating, shopping, and staying in local hotels. Local conventions have also been shorter: The number of occupied days at the convention center fell by 10 percent.
But the worst for the convention industry as a whole appears to be over, according to Tradeshow Week.
Attendance at conventions and trade shows improved across the country in the third quarter of this year - the best news the convention industry has had in almost two years. The national outlook for next year is also encouraging. After an 8.3 percent decline in revenue this year, Tradeshow Week is forecasting 3.3 percent growth in 2010.
“We probably are bottoming right about now,’’ said Michael Hughes, vice president of research and consulting at Tradeshow Week.
Boston’s expanded convention center could as much as double the size of the current 516,000-square-foot facility, the ninth-busiest convention center in the country (tied with Dallas). The top convention city is Las Vegas, which had 252 conventions and trade shows on its schedule this year. And a million square feet bumps Boston into the top tier - something Hughes calls “the mega category.’’ That kind of space means the center can market itself to an additional 200 to 300 conventions and trade shows, Hughes said.
Boston’s convention center needs to attract three to five big conventions each year - with around 20,000 attendees each - for the expansion to be considered successful, Hughes said. The extra space will also allow the convention center to hold more events simultaneously.
According to Tradeshow Week, convention center space has increased dramatically in the past two decades, growing 90 percent nationally. Hughes estimates that there are 50 expansion plans in the works.
Heywood Sanders, a professor of public administration at the University of Texas at San Antonio and a prominent critic of convention centers, is skeptical about the need for more space. He points to recent convention center expansions in Las Vegas and Orlando that generated minimal increases in business.
“The actual performance and the reality has been far, far less than the promises and forecasts,’’ he said. “And at the very least, that should raise the question about what an expansion might well do for Boston.’’
Even the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority’s James Rooney admits there is more supply than demand. But it’s a $122 billion industry, he said, and he wants Boston to get as much of it as it can, which means taking away business from other cities. “Boston’s gain,’’ Rooney said, “is somebody else’s loss.’’
Katie Johnston Chase can be reached at johnstonchase@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Monday, November 23, 2009
1,000 room hotel proposed as part of convention center expansion
Convention center aims to double its capacity
Plans call for campus with new exhibit hall, hotel, ballroom, more
By Casey Ross, Globe Staff | November 24, 2009
The Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, already the largest building of its kind in New England, would double in size under an expansion plan unveiled yesterday by state officials, eventually becoming a 1-million-square-foot tourism “campus’’ on the South Boston Waterfront.
The blueprint adds a 400,000-square-foot exhibit hall behind the main center, a 1,000-room hotel, a 5,000-seat auditorium, and a 65,000- to 75,000-square-foot ballroom elsewhere on the property.
The announcement kicks off a yearlong planning process in which a 25-member committee of public officials and business leaders will try to finalize the build-out. But already some major hurdles have emerged: The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority does not own much of the adjoining land on which it plans to build, nor have state officials determined how to pay for a project that could top $1 billion.
One official acknowledged state and city leaders will have to examine whether to raise travel and tourism taxes and fees to finance construction.
Moreover, other cities across the country - Nashville, Oklahoma City, San Diego, and San Francisco - are also weighing major convention center expansions, prompting a prominent industry analyst to question whether Boston would be adding to a glut of meeting space.
“In a market that is already overbuilt, [Boston] is pouring in more space and more hotel rooms that are unlikely to yield much benefit,’’ said Heywood Sanders, a University of Texas professor of public administration who tracks the convention market.
But local officials say the expansion is needed to vault Boston into the top five of meeting destinations in the nation, competing with the 1-million-square-foot-plus facilities in Chicago, Las Vegas, Atlanta, and New Orleans.
“Over the last year, Boston has lost the opportunity to host 72 future events that wanted to come here, because we lacked enough exhibit space, hotel rooms, and the ability to host more than one show simultaneously,’’ said James Rooney, the convention center authority’s executive director. That, he added, cost the region hundreds of millions of dollars in lost spending from conventioneers.
The newly appointed committee will spend the next year reviewing the need for a bigger facility, consulting with neighbors and residential leaders about the placement of buildings, and then determining the final configuration. Its recommendation is due by the end of 2010.
After that, the Legislature would need to authorize additional borrowing to pay for any expansion. The whole process could take from five to 15 years, officials said yesterday.
The cost could be hefty. Sanders, the Texas professor, estimated the expansion would cost $800 million to $1 billion, not including the 1,000-room hotel.
Opened in 2004, the Boston convention center was financed by an increase in the hotel tax, and fees on taxis, rental cars, and tourist tours.
While its business has steadily increased since opening, on one measure the convention center hasn’t lived up to a forecast Massachusetts officials made more than a decade ago. In 1997, a consultant estimated the center would generate 670,000 hotel room stays per year by 2009; figures released yesterday show that for the 12-month period that ended June 30, it generated only about 313,000 room stays.
Rooney said the lack of hotels in the immediate vicinity is part of the problem: Planners of big conventions won’t come to Boston because there aren’t enough hotel rooms nearby.
The 790-room Westin Hotel is attached to the center on the D Street side, while the 465-room Marriott Renaissance is several blocks away across Summer Street. A study released by state officials yesterday concluded that the Westin could expand by 330 rooms and that another 1,000- to 1,200-room hotel should be built next to the facility. The study found that the convention center also requires a 5,000-seat auditorium for presentations and special events, and a second ballroom would accommodate simultaneous conventions.
The study recommended a number of street-level improvements to make the area - a windswept block surrounded by highways and railroad tracks - more pedestrian-friendly.
The authority would need to acquire several parcels of land owned by the Massachusetts Port Authority, the Boston Redevelopment Authority, and the US Postal Service. Officials from Massport and the BRA attended the announcement yesterday, saying they were eager to cooperate because of the additional development in the area it could trigger.
“Mayor Menino and the BRA are excited to participate in this well-planned expansion of the BCEC’s campus, an effort that will make it among the most competitive facilities in the nation,’’ said BRA director John Palmieri.
Casey Ross can be reached at cross@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Plans call for campus with new exhibit hall, hotel, ballroom, more
By Casey Ross, Globe Staff | November 24, 2009
The Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, already the largest building of its kind in New England, would double in size under an expansion plan unveiled yesterday by state officials, eventually becoming a 1-million-square-foot tourism “campus’’ on the South Boston Waterfront.
The blueprint adds a 400,000-square-foot exhibit hall behind the main center, a 1,000-room hotel, a 5,000-seat auditorium, and a 65,000- to 75,000-square-foot ballroom elsewhere on the property.
The announcement kicks off a yearlong planning process in which a 25-member committee of public officials and business leaders will try to finalize the build-out. But already some major hurdles have emerged: The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority does not own much of the adjoining land on which it plans to build, nor have state officials determined how to pay for a project that could top $1 billion.
One official acknowledged state and city leaders will have to examine whether to raise travel and tourism taxes and fees to finance construction.
Moreover, other cities across the country - Nashville, Oklahoma City, San Diego, and San Francisco - are also weighing major convention center expansions, prompting a prominent industry analyst to question whether Boston would be adding to a glut of meeting space.
“In a market that is already overbuilt, [Boston] is pouring in more space and more hotel rooms that are unlikely to yield much benefit,’’ said Heywood Sanders, a University of Texas professor of public administration who tracks the convention market.
But local officials say the expansion is needed to vault Boston into the top five of meeting destinations in the nation, competing with the 1-million-square-foot-plus facilities in Chicago, Las Vegas, Atlanta, and New Orleans.
“Over the last year, Boston has lost the opportunity to host 72 future events that wanted to come here, because we lacked enough exhibit space, hotel rooms, and the ability to host more than one show simultaneously,’’ said James Rooney, the convention center authority’s executive director. That, he added, cost the region hundreds of millions of dollars in lost spending from conventioneers.
The newly appointed committee will spend the next year reviewing the need for a bigger facility, consulting with neighbors and residential leaders about the placement of buildings, and then determining the final configuration. Its recommendation is due by the end of 2010.
After that, the Legislature would need to authorize additional borrowing to pay for any expansion. The whole process could take from five to 15 years, officials said yesterday.
The cost could be hefty. Sanders, the Texas professor, estimated the expansion would cost $800 million to $1 billion, not including the 1,000-room hotel.
Opened in 2004, the Boston convention center was financed by an increase in the hotel tax, and fees on taxis, rental cars, and tourist tours.
While its business has steadily increased since opening, on one measure the convention center hasn’t lived up to a forecast Massachusetts officials made more than a decade ago. In 1997, a consultant estimated the center would generate 670,000 hotel room stays per year by 2009; figures released yesterday show that for the 12-month period that ended June 30, it generated only about 313,000 room stays.
Rooney said the lack of hotels in the immediate vicinity is part of the problem: Planners of big conventions won’t come to Boston because there aren’t enough hotel rooms nearby.
The 790-room Westin Hotel is attached to the center on the D Street side, while the 465-room Marriott Renaissance is several blocks away across Summer Street. A study released by state officials yesterday concluded that the Westin could expand by 330 rooms and that another 1,000- to 1,200-room hotel should be built next to the facility. The study found that the convention center also requires a 5,000-seat auditorium for presentations and special events, and a second ballroom would accommodate simultaneous conventions.
The study recommended a number of street-level improvements to make the area - a windswept block surrounded by highways and railroad tracks - more pedestrian-friendly.
The authority would need to acquire several parcels of land owned by the Massachusetts Port Authority, the Boston Redevelopment Authority, and the US Postal Service. Officials from Massport and the BRA attended the announcement yesterday, saying they were eager to cooperate because of the additional development in the area it could trigger.
“Mayor Menino and the BRA are excited to participate in this well-planned expansion of the BCEC’s campus, an effort that will make it among the most competitive facilities in the nation,’’ said BRA director John Palmieri.
Casey Ross can be reached at cross@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Boston Convention Center looks to expand
Convention center looks to expand
Wants to spur investment, be competitive
By Casey Ross, Globe Staff | November 23, 2009
State and city leaders today will unveil a blueprint for dramatically expanding the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, part of an effort to make the city one of the nation’s premier meeting destinations and spur private investment on the South Boston Waterfront, two officials briefed on the matter said.
James Rooney, head of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, will outline plans for adding exhibit space, an auditorium for special events, and at least one more hotel with hundreds of rooms, said the officials, who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly before the plan’s release.
They said the expansion plan is preliminary and will not move forward until the public has a chance to weigh in. A committee of public officials and private individuals will be appointed to consider the plan and to recommend whether to move forward with an expansion.
The five-year-old, $800 million facility has allowed Boston to attract big conventions but so far has failed to generate a building boom on the waterfront. Spurring private development in the area was one of the original reasons for building the center.
Officials with the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, which runs the facility, declined to comment last night.
One local official who was able to speak publicly, state Representative Brian Wallace, said an addition is needed to compete with cities like Las Vegas, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.
“This would help us compete with the big boys,’’ Wallace, a South Boston Democrat, said last night. “So far, the convention center has worked out beyond anyone’s expectations. They’ve really done their homework and kept the community involved.’’
Still, it is unclear how an expansion plan would be received by neighbors in South Boston and the Fort Point Channel district, where residents have been pushing for the development of homes and parks before more commercial development is allowed. It is also unclear how much the expansion would cost, and how it would be paid for.
The quasi-public convention center authority probably would need state funding to pay for an expansion, at a time when Massachusetts is deep in a budget crisis.
To build the current South Boston center, the city and state adopted tourist-targeted taxes, and state taxpayers have paid millions in subsidies to cover operating deficits.
Convention center officials have argued that an expansion would pay for itself through the additional spending from tourists and visitors, which would result in more tax revenue from purchases in stores, restaurants, and hotels.
Gregory Bialecki, Governor Deval Patrick’s top economic aide, is among the officials expected to attend today’s event. Bialecki has been seeking to use stimulus funds and other government aid to reignite development halted by the economic downturn.
Officials at the convention center authority have long envisioned a significant expansion of the South Boston facility. Rising costs forced officials during construction to reduce the size of the center by nearly 100,000 square feet. Officials have been studying elements of the plan for the past two years and have previously suggested an overall expansion of 200,000 to 300,000 square feet. The 516,000-square-foot convention center sits on 62 acres, with about 22 acres available for expansion.
In recent years, overseers of the convention center have said a bigger facility is crucial to snagging lucrative gatherings and competing with other large cities. Boston has cracked the top 10 list of convention cities by Tradeshow Week, an influential industry magazine. Between 2005 and 2008, annual attendance at convention center events increased to about 550,000 from 200,000, according to the most recent annual report by the convention center authority.
But while convention traffic has increased, private development around the facility has stagnated. Bold plans for dozens of acres of hotels, residences, and stores have failed to materialize.
The recession has further delayed those efforts. Developer Joe Fallon has proceeded slowly with plans for 23 acres of offices, stores, and residences at nearby Fan Pier, but other projects, including a proposed retail mall to be called Waterside Place, are on hold.
Donovan Slack of the Globe staff also contributed to this report. Casey Ross can be reached at cross@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Wants to spur investment, be competitive
By Casey Ross, Globe Staff | November 23, 2009
State and city leaders today will unveil a blueprint for dramatically expanding the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, part of an effort to make the city one of the nation’s premier meeting destinations and spur private investment on the South Boston Waterfront, two officials briefed on the matter said.
James Rooney, head of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, will outline plans for adding exhibit space, an auditorium for special events, and at least one more hotel with hundreds of rooms, said the officials, who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly before the plan’s release.
They said the expansion plan is preliminary and will not move forward until the public has a chance to weigh in. A committee of public officials and private individuals will be appointed to consider the plan and to recommend whether to move forward with an expansion.
The five-year-old, $800 million facility has allowed Boston to attract big conventions but so far has failed to generate a building boom on the waterfront. Spurring private development in the area was one of the original reasons for building the center.
Officials with the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, which runs the facility, declined to comment last night.
One local official who was able to speak publicly, state Representative Brian Wallace, said an addition is needed to compete with cities like Las Vegas, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.
“This would help us compete with the big boys,’’ Wallace, a South Boston Democrat, said last night. “So far, the convention center has worked out beyond anyone’s expectations. They’ve really done their homework and kept the community involved.’’
Still, it is unclear how an expansion plan would be received by neighbors in South Boston and the Fort Point Channel district, where residents have been pushing for the development of homes and parks before more commercial development is allowed. It is also unclear how much the expansion would cost, and how it would be paid for.
The quasi-public convention center authority probably would need state funding to pay for an expansion, at a time when Massachusetts is deep in a budget crisis.
To build the current South Boston center, the city and state adopted tourist-targeted taxes, and state taxpayers have paid millions in subsidies to cover operating deficits.
Convention center officials have argued that an expansion would pay for itself through the additional spending from tourists and visitors, which would result in more tax revenue from purchases in stores, restaurants, and hotels.
Gregory Bialecki, Governor Deval Patrick’s top economic aide, is among the officials expected to attend today’s event. Bialecki has been seeking to use stimulus funds and other government aid to reignite development halted by the economic downturn.
Officials at the convention center authority have long envisioned a significant expansion of the South Boston facility. Rising costs forced officials during construction to reduce the size of the center by nearly 100,000 square feet. Officials have been studying elements of the plan for the past two years and have previously suggested an overall expansion of 200,000 to 300,000 square feet. The 516,000-square-foot convention center sits on 62 acres, with about 22 acres available for expansion.
In recent years, overseers of the convention center have said a bigger facility is crucial to snagging lucrative gatherings and competing with other large cities. Boston has cracked the top 10 list of convention cities by Tradeshow Week, an influential industry magazine. Between 2005 and 2008, annual attendance at convention center events increased to about 550,000 from 200,000, according to the most recent annual report by the convention center authority.
But while convention traffic has increased, private development around the facility has stagnated. Bold plans for dozens of acres of hotels, residences, and stores have failed to materialize.
The recession has further delayed those efforts. Developer Joe Fallon has proceeded slowly with plans for 23 acres of offices, stores, and residences at nearby Fan Pier, but other projects, including a proposed retail mall to be called Waterside Place, are on hold.
Donovan Slack of the Globe staff also contributed to this report. Casey Ross can be reached at cross@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Planned BCEC expansion may result in higher hotel taxes
Plans to expand convention center could include hotel tax increase
By Thomas Grillo | Monday, November 23, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority is expected to reveal plans this morning to expand the complex on Summer Street to include more hotel rooms and meeting space at the Seaport location.
A source told the Herald that the proposal includes expansion of the center’s existing space on Summer Street and an addition to the Westin Waterfront or a second hotel connected to the center.
Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the plan is a hotel tax increase to pay for the project, the source said.
“There’s not much appetite for a tax hike,” said the industry veteran who declined to be identified. “At a time when hotel tax revenues are plummeting, hotels are laying off people and business travelers are concerned about prices, hiking the tax won’t go over well on Beacon Hill.”
Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who is at home following surgery to repair a knee injury he sustained in a fall earlier this month, will not attend the morning press conferences, according to the mayor’s spokeswoman.
Dorothy Joyce said the mayor would not comment on the plan because he is recovering.
This summer, Menino told the Herald that he had not been briefed on the project, but noted that an expansion of the convention center is a “great opportunity for us.”
“The convention center is doing extremely well and they’re trying to figure out how to be competitive down the road,” Menino said at the time.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1213959
By Thomas Grillo | Monday, November 23, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority is expected to reveal plans this morning to expand the complex on Summer Street to include more hotel rooms and meeting space at the Seaport location.
A source told the Herald that the proposal includes expansion of the center’s existing space on Summer Street and an addition to the Westin Waterfront or a second hotel connected to the center.
Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the plan is a hotel tax increase to pay for the project, the source said.
“There’s not much appetite for a tax hike,” said the industry veteran who declined to be identified. “At a time when hotel tax revenues are plummeting, hotels are laying off people and business travelers are concerned about prices, hiking the tax won’t go over well on Beacon Hill.”
Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who is at home following surgery to repair a knee injury he sustained in a fall earlier this month, will not attend the morning press conferences, according to the mayor’s spokeswoman.
Dorothy Joyce said the mayor would not comment on the plan because he is recovering.
This summer, Menino told the Herald that he had not been briefed on the project, but noted that an expansion of the convention center is a “great opportunity for us.”
“The convention center is doing extremely well and they’re trying to figure out how to be competitive down the road,” Menino said at the time.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1213959
Hampton Inn development may go into default
Crosstown letdown
Firm cuts Roxbury project’s bond rating as revenues fall short
By Thomas Grillo | Monday, November 23, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
Crosstown Center, one of the Menino administration’s pet projects to enhance a gritty section of Roxbury, keeps getting bad reviews on its finances.
For the second time in a year, Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded the city’s $33.9 million bonds, giving a “negative” outlook for the hotel development.
Once heralded by the mayor as a way to jump-start construction around Boston Medical Center, Crosstown faces challenges ranging from booking rooms and filling retail spaces to saving money for hotel maintenance and improvements.
The $151 million project, bounded by Albany Street, Melnea Cass Boulevard, Massachusetts Avenue, and Hampden Street, features a 175-room Hampton Inn & Suites hotel, a nine-story, 225,000-square-foot office building, ground floor retail and parking for more than 1,000 cars.
In an October rating report on the hotel and garage portion of the project, Moody’s said the 10-story Hampton Inn, which opened in 2004, has room rental rates and revenues that have been consistently lower than originally forecast. It noted that, based on recent performance, the hotel is projecting insufficient cash to meet its debt service next year.
Moody’s noted the project has been drawing from reserve funds to make its senior debt payments and that “it is possible that the ($7.44 million) unrated subordinate bonds will experience a payment default.”
Marty Jones, president of Corcoran Jennison Cos., the project’s co-developer, did not return calls seeking comment. In May, the company’s Bayside Associates LP forfeited the Bayside Exposition Center in a foreclosure auction.
Kirk Sykes, a Crosstown co-developer, acknowledged that the project has failed to meet the financial projections that were the basis for the bonds that were issued by the Boston Industrial Development Financing Agency, an arm of the Boston Redevelopment Authority.
“I hope to someday turn a profit on this thing,” Sykes told the Herald. “These are challenging times, but I’m confident that we’ve got an attractive product at a good price and my bondholders are willing to work with us.”
Sykes declined to name the companies holding the bonds and said he doubts investors would force a foreclosure. “They see Crosstown as a successful, long-term venture to be in,” he said.
He noted that last year Rudi’s Resto Cafe & Bar took the space vacated by Ground Round Grill & Bar and the restaurant recently opened Verve Lounge. Other retailers include Dunkin’ Donuts, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Halisi Day Spa & Salon.
While the office building is 100 percent occupied, Sykes acknowledged there’s 8,000 square feet of vacant retail space available at the hotel and two empty spaces totaling 22,000 square feet on the ground floor of the office building.
Mayor Thomas M. Menino and local leaders, including then-state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson, launched the Crosstown project in 1999. Three years later the city chipped in nearly $17 million in cash and land costs - to help get the stalled project going again.
The “gateway” location was aimed at revitalizing a so-called “brownfield” in Roxbury, and the hotel was hailed as the first black-owned national lodging franchise in town.
The project has had its share of setbacks, including early delays and the death of an ironworker who fell during the 2007 construction of the second phase of offices, which are now leased to Hub hospitals.
And last fall, Crosstown Center’s name came up in an FBI affidavit that laid out bribery charges against Wilkerson. She and Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner were indicted on charges of accepting cash bribes to help secure a liquor license for a nightclub called Deja Vu that was in the works for Crosstown Center. The pair pleaded not guilty in December to conspiracy and extortion charges.
Sykes disputed assertions by federal authorities that Crosstown Center was a potential site for the bar. “I never had any discussions with anyone about locating a Deja Vu here,” he said, adding that the nightclub was proposed for a space five blocks away.
Francesco Tocci, the Boston Redevelopment Authority’s deputy director for financial services, the agency that issued the bonds to spur development, said even if the hotel defaulted, taxpayers are not on the hook for financial losses.
“If it goes to foreclosure, the city has no monetary stake in this,” he said. “The bonds are purchased by investors on Wall Street.”
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1213886
Firm cuts Roxbury project’s bond rating as revenues fall short
By Thomas Grillo | Monday, November 23, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
Crosstown Center, one of the Menino administration’s pet projects to enhance a gritty section of Roxbury, keeps getting bad reviews on its finances.
For the second time in a year, Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded the city’s $33.9 million bonds, giving a “negative” outlook for the hotel development.
Once heralded by the mayor as a way to jump-start construction around Boston Medical Center, Crosstown faces challenges ranging from booking rooms and filling retail spaces to saving money for hotel maintenance and improvements.
The $151 million project, bounded by Albany Street, Melnea Cass Boulevard, Massachusetts Avenue, and Hampden Street, features a 175-room Hampton Inn & Suites hotel, a nine-story, 225,000-square-foot office building, ground floor retail and parking for more than 1,000 cars.
In an October rating report on the hotel and garage portion of the project, Moody’s said the 10-story Hampton Inn, which opened in 2004, has room rental rates and revenues that have been consistently lower than originally forecast. It noted that, based on recent performance, the hotel is projecting insufficient cash to meet its debt service next year.
Moody’s noted the project has been drawing from reserve funds to make its senior debt payments and that “it is possible that the ($7.44 million) unrated subordinate bonds will experience a payment default.”
Marty Jones, president of Corcoran Jennison Cos., the project’s co-developer, did not return calls seeking comment. In May, the company’s Bayside Associates LP forfeited the Bayside Exposition Center in a foreclosure auction.
Kirk Sykes, a Crosstown co-developer, acknowledged that the project has failed to meet the financial projections that were the basis for the bonds that were issued by the Boston Industrial Development Financing Agency, an arm of the Boston Redevelopment Authority.
“I hope to someday turn a profit on this thing,” Sykes told the Herald. “These are challenging times, but I’m confident that we’ve got an attractive product at a good price and my bondholders are willing to work with us.”
Sykes declined to name the companies holding the bonds and said he doubts investors would force a foreclosure. “They see Crosstown as a successful, long-term venture to be in,” he said.
He noted that last year Rudi’s Resto Cafe & Bar took the space vacated by Ground Round Grill & Bar and the restaurant recently opened Verve Lounge. Other retailers include Dunkin’ Donuts, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Halisi Day Spa & Salon.
While the office building is 100 percent occupied, Sykes acknowledged there’s 8,000 square feet of vacant retail space available at the hotel and two empty spaces totaling 22,000 square feet on the ground floor of the office building.
Mayor Thomas M. Menino and local leaders, including then-state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson, launched the Crosstown project in 1999. Three years later the city chipped in nearly $17 million in cash and land costs - to help get the stalled project going again.
The “gateway” location was aimed at revitalizing a so-called “brownfield” in Roxbury, and the hotel was hailed as the first black-owned national lodging franchise in town.
The project has had its share of setbacks, including early delays and the death of an ironworker who fell during the 2007 construction of the second phase of offices, which are now leased to Hub hospitals.
And last fall, Crosstown Center’s name came up in an FBI affidavit that laid out bribery charges against Wilkerson. She and Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner were indicted on charges of accepting cash bribes to help secure a liquor license for a nightclub called Deja Vu that was in the works for Crosstown Center. The pair pleaded not guilty in December to conspiracy and extortion charges.
Sykes disputed assertions by federal authorities that Crosstown Center was a potential site for the bar. “I never had any discussions with anyone about locating a Deja Vu here,” he said, adding that the nightclub was proposed for a space five blocks away.
Francesco Tocci, the Boston Redevelopment Authority’s deputy director for financial services, the agency that issued the bonds to spur development, said even if the hotel defaulted, taxpayers are not on the hook for financial losses.
“If it goes to foreclosure, the city has no monetary stake in this,” he said. “The bonds are purchased by investors on Wall Street.”
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1213886
International restauranteurs see opportunity in Boston
Boston eats’ star rises
Fancy foreign restaurants see opportunity
By Donna Goodison | Monday, November 23, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
International restaurateurs are starting to see Boston in a different light.
London-based Marlon Abela Restaurant Corp. has partnered with Boston’s Himmel Hospitality Group to debut Bistro du Midi today in the Hub. The Provencal-inspired restaurant and bar will open in the former Excelsior space in the Heritage on the Garden with MARC managing it.
“We always felt that Boston - although it’s a maturing market when it comes to restaurants, because there’s a lot more choice - is still one of the markets that’s been overlooked,” chairman Marlon Abela said. “At one time, you didn’t have many groups from outside Boston looking at it as a market to open in, but that’s changing.”
Abela points to two recent imports to Boston, both from French Michelin-starred chefs, as evidence: Chef Guy Martin opened Sensing at the Fairmont Battery Wharf earlier this year, and Jean-Georges Vongerichten opened Market by Jean-Georges at the new W Boston Hotel last month.
Wagamama, a UK chain of Japanese noodle bars, paved the way in 2007 with the opening of its first U.S. restaurant at Faneuil Hall Marketplace. And next year, Vapiano, a fast-casual chain based in Germany that serves Italian food, will open a restaurant at the Transportation Building.
For his part, Abela says he had been interested in entering Boston for a few years, and a second Hub restaurant could be in his company’s plans down the line.
“We think Boston is a dynamic market with a lot of potential,” he said.
The 8-year-old MARC’s lineup includes two A Voce restaurants in New York, Morello Bistro in Greenwich, Conn., the Michelin-starred London restaurants Umu and The Greenhouse, and Morton’s, a private members’ club in London.
Bistro du Midi is MARC’s second partnership with Himmel, whose other local eateries are Grill 23 & Bar and the new Post 390 in Boston and Harvest in Cambridge. MARC and Himmel also partnered on A Voce Columbus, which opened in September at New York’s Time Warner Center.
“Bistro du Midi is a MARC concept, and it’s MARC’s approach to dining,” said Abela, who plans to open a second Bistro du Midi in London in the first half of next year. “Provence, to me, means more than just the food. It’s about a comfort level, too - a style of service and approach to dining.”
Abela says MARC has been “very careful” about the bistro’s menu prices, with $6 to $9 “small bites,” $9 to $14 appetizers and main courses running from $15 to the high $20s.
“If someone wants to go all out, one can, but if someone wants to have a light meal, one can do that,” he said. “We want to be a really good value for the money.”
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1213887
Fancy foreign restaurants see opportunity
By Donna Goodison | Monday, November 23, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
International restaurateurs are starting to see Boston in a different light.
London-based Marlon Abela Restaurant Corp. has partnered with Boston’s Himmel Hospitality Group to debut Bistro du Midi today in the Hub. The Provencal-inspired restaurant and bar will open in the former Excelsior space in the Heritage on the Garden with MARC managing it.
“We always felt that Boston - although it’s a maturing market when it comes to restaurants, because there’s a lot more choice - is still one of the markets that’s been overlooked,” chairman Marlon Abela said. “At one time, you didn’t have many groups from outside Boston looking at it as a market to open in, but that’s changing.”
Abela points to two recent imports to Boston, both from French Michelin-starred chefs, as evidence: Chef Guy Martin opened Sensing at the Fairmont Battery Wharf earlier this year, and Jean-Georges Vongerichten opened Market by Jean-Georges at the new W Boston Hotel last month.
Wagamama, a UK chain of Japanese noodle bars, paved the way in 2007 with the opening of its first U.S. restaurant at Faneuil Hall Marketplace. And next year, Vapiano, a fast-casual chain based in Germany that serves Italian food, will open a restaurant at the Transportation Building.
For his part, Abela says he had been interested in entering Boston for a few years, and a second Hub restaurant could be in his company’s plans down the line.
“We think Boston is a dynamic market with a lot of potential,” he said.
The 8-year-old MARC’s lineup includes two A Voce restaurants in New York, Morello Bistro in Greenwich, Conn., the Michelin-starred London restaurants Umu and The Greenhouse, and Morton’s, a private members’ club in London.
Bistro du Midi is MARC’s second partnership with Himmel, whose other local eateries are Grill 23 & Bar and the new Post 390 in Boston and Harvest in Cambridge. MARC and Himmel also partnered on A Voce Columbus, which opened in September at New York’s Time Warner Center.
“Bistro du Midi is a MARC concept, and it’s MARC’s approach to dining,” said Abela, who plans to open a second Bistro du Midi in London in the first half of next year. “Provence, to me, means more than just the food. It’s about a comfort level, too - a style of service and approach to dining.”
Abela says MARC has been “very careful” about the bistro’s menu prices, with $6 to $9 “small bites,” $9 to $14 appetizers and main courses running from $15 to the high $20s.
“If someone wants to go all out, one can, but if someone wants to have a light meal, one can do that,” he said. “We want to be a really good value for the money.”
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1213887
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Brigham's restaurants owner will try to save half of closed restaurants
Brigham’s chain owner vows to try to save jobs
By Megan Woolhouse, Globe Staff | November 21, 2009
Luke T. Cooper, managing director of the Baltimore equity firm that owns more than a dozen Brigham’s restaurants, issued a statement last night saying the chain plans to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, but he will “attempt to keep the small number of profitable restaurants in the chain open to preserve as many jobs as possible.’’
As of press time, no filing was publicly available through the federal court system. Cooper did not return a phone call seeking comment. It’s unclear how Cooper plans to keep some restaurants open; a Chapter 7 filing means a company is going out of business and liquidates assets to pay creditors.
Cooper purchased the 95-year-old New England institution 18 months ago but said in last night’s statement the chain had “significant internal issues’’ that contributed to its “lackluster financial performance in recent years.’’ He also said the recession had a “devastating impact’’ on business.
Cooper’s company, Deal Metrics LLC, owns and manages 13 Brigham’s restaurants. Fourteen other Brigham’s locations that are independently operated by licensees will remain in business. Brigham’s ice cream, manufactured by HP Hood, will also remain in production.
“Our hope is that the bankruptcy filing will allow us to preserve and retain up to 50 percent’’ of the Brigham’s restaurant workforce, Cooper said in his statement. In an interview earlier this week, Cooper said 200 people would lose their jobs because of closings.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
By Megan Woolhouse, Globe Staff | November 21, 2009
Luke T. Cooper, managing director of the Baltimore equity firm that owns more than a dozen Brigham’s restaurants, issued a statement last night saying the chain plans to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, but he will “attempt to keep the small number of profitable restaurants in the chain open to preserve as many jobs as possible.’’
As of press time, no filing was publicly available through the federal court system. Cooper did not return a phone call seeking comment. It’s unclear how Cooper plans to keep some restaurants open; a Chapter 7 filing means a company is going out of business and liquidates assets to pay creditors.
Cooper purchased the 95-year-old New England institution 18 months ago but said in last night’s statement the chain had “significant internal issues’’ that contributed to its “lackluster financial performance in recent years.’’ He also said the recession had a “devastating impact’’ on business.
Cooper’s company, Deal Metrics LLC, owns and manages 13 Brigham’s restaurants. Fourteen other Brigham’s locations that are independently operated by licensees will remain in business. Brigham’s ice cream, manufactured by HP Hood, will also remain in production.
“Our hope is that the bankruptcy filing will allow us to preserve and retain up to 50 percent’’ of the Brigham’s restaurant workforce, Cooper said in his statement. In an interview earlier this week, Cooper said 200 people would lose their jobs because of closings.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Fenway Restaurant Row owners agree to rebuild
Owners set rebuild pact in Fenway
Restaurant Row, sense of character were lost in fire
By Eric Moskowitz, Globe Staff | November 21, 2009
Nearly a year after an early morning fire destroyed the Fenway neighborhood’s Restaurant Row, the property owners reached an agreement yesterday in a meeting at City Hall for new construction they say will restore the character of the street.
The resolution, reached in a meeting organized by City Council president Michael P. Ross, ended a disagreement among the partners about what to do with the property, now a charred shell where six restaurants and a dry cleaner once provided a gathering place and sense of community, apart from the lights and crowds of Fenway Park.
Students recently brightened the remaining facades with a row of murals, and neighbors held a block party in late September to keep spirits high, but that had not stilled the frustration and confusion among residents over the lack of progress. Displaced business tenants have been saying they were eager to hear from their landlords.
News of yesterday’s agreement gladdened Jim Hoben, owner of the popular El Pelón Taqueria. “I can’t believe it! That’s awesome,’’ he said.
Hoben has tried unsuccessfully to open a new restaurant elsewhere while maintaining hope of serving his signature fish tacos in the Fenway again. “We’re ready to go, absolutely,’’ he said. “Just waiting on these guys.’’
A few weeks after the January fire, more than 100 residents crowded a neighborhood meeting to call for the row of connected storefronts on Peterborough Street to be rebuilt quickly, hoping to avoid prolonged blight - and hoping the property owners would not replace it with a landscape-altering high-rise.
Monty Gold, spokesman for the ownership group 84-100 Peterborough Realty Trust, told the Globe in March that he shared the community’s interest in building structures similar to the originals but had to sort out insurance issues before committing to that goal. In September, Gold attended the neighborhood party, organized by the Fenway Community Development Corporation, but declined to comment at that time on future plans.
Gold’s lawyer, Edward C. Cooley, said private conflicts among trust partners proved a more substantial hurdle to a development plan than insurance. He credited Ross with shepherding the partners and their lawyers into a room and presiding over yesterday’s five-hour meeting, plying them with coffee and sandwiches and calming tempers that flared. They left with a confidential agreement to draw up plans for a project that will maintain the spirit of the old row, Cooley said.
“I will be very candid with you: I went into the meeting figuring it would be 45 minutes to an hour, and that nothing of substance would be accomplished,’’ Cooley said.
Ross, who represents the neighborhood, said he came away from the September block party determined to get the partners into a room. “I mean guys, come on. We’re having a celebration for a mural? We should be having ribbon cuttings for these buildings to be opened,’’ Ross said. “I think when you appeal to people on that level, they step up, and here they did.’’
Lori Frankian, a Fenway CDC board member and 20-year resident, organized the community party. She called yesterday’s agreement “amazing news . . . I’m just so pleased and proud and elated.’’
Cooley said it is too early to provide details about the project and would not say whether it could contain new elements such as residential units, or when plans would be submitted to the city. But the “stumbling block’’ is lifted, he said.
The fire displaced El Pelón, Thornton’s Fenway Grille, Greek Isles Restaurant, Rod-Dee Thai Cuisine, Umi Japanese Cuisine and Sushi Bar, Sorento’s Italian Gourmet, and Bon Cleaners.
The tenants were covered by insurance except for the cleaner and Greek Isles, whose owners were preparing to sell when the fire hit, said Evelyn Friedman, Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s cabinet chief for housing and director of the Department of Neighborhood Development. The city helped Bon relocate to a temporary home and will offer loans or technical assistance to the other businesses as the development materializes, she said.
“We’re really looking forward to seeing a real building there,’’ Friedman said.
Eric Moskowitz can be reached at emoskowitz@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Restaurant Row, sense of character were lost in fire
By Eric Moskowitz, Globe Staff | November 21, 2009
Nearly a year after an early morning fire destroyed the Fenway neighborhood’s Restaurant Row, the property owners reached an agreement yesterday in a meeting at City Hall for new construction they say will restore the character of the street.
The resolution, reached in a meeting organized by City Council president Michael P. Ross, ended a disagreement among the partners about what to do with the property, now a charred shell where six restaurants and a dry cleaner once provided a gathering place and sense of community, apart from the lights and crowds of Fenway Park.
Students recently brightened the remaining facades with a row of murals, and neighbors held a block party in late September to keep spirits high, but that had not stilled the frustration and confusion among residents over the lack of progress. Displaced business tenants have been saying they were eager to hear from their landlords.
News of yesterday’s agreement gladdened Jim Hoben, owner of the popular El Pelón Taqueria. “I can’t believe it! That’s awesome,’’ he said.
Hoben has tried unsuccessfully to open a new restaurant elsewhere while maintaining hope of serving his signature fish tacos in the Fenway again. “We’re ready to go, absolutely,’’ he said. “Just waiting on these guys.’’
A few weeks after the January fire, more than 100 residents crowded a neighborhood meeting to call for the row of connected storefronts on Peterborough Street to be rebuilt quickly, hoping to avoid prolonged blight - and hoping the property owners would not replace it with a landscape-altering high-rise.
Monty Gold, spokesman for the ownership group 84-100 Peterborough Realty Trust, told the Globe in March that he shared the community’s interest in building structures similar to the originals but had to sort out insurance issues before committing to that goal. In September, Gold attended the neighborhood party, organized by the Fenway Community Development Corporation, but declined to comment at that time on future plans.
Gold’s lawyer, Edward C. Cooley, said private conflicts among trust partners proved a more substantial hurdle to a development plan than insurance. He credited Ross with shepherding the partners and their lawyers into a room and presiding over yesterday’s five-hour meeting, plying them with coffee and sandwiches and calming tempers that flared. They left with a confidential agreement to draw up plans for a project that will maintain the spirit of the old row, Cooley said.
“I will be very candid with you: I went into the meeting figuring it would be 45 minutes to an hour, and that nothing of substance would be accomplished,’’ Cooley said.
Ross, who represents the neighborhood, said he came away from the September block party determined to get the partners into a room. “I mean guys, come on. We’re having a celebration for a mural? We should be having ribbon cuttings for these buildings to be opened,’’ Ross said. “I think when you appeal to people on that level, they step up, and here they did.’’
Lori Frankian, a Fenway CDC board member and 20-year resident, organized the community party. She called yesterday’s agreement “amazing news . . . I’m just so pleased and proud and elated.’’
Cooley said it is too early to provide details about the project and would not say whether it could contain new elements such as residential units, or when plans would be submitted to the city. But the “stumbling block’’ is lifted, he said.
The fire displaced El Pelón, Thornton’s Fenway Grille, Greek Isles Restaurant, Rod-Dee Thai Cuisine, Umi Japanese Cuisine and Sushi Bar, Sorento’s Italian Gourmet, and Bon Cleaners.
The tenants were covered by insurance except for the cleaner and Greek Isles, whose owners were preparing to sell when the fire hit, said Evelyn Friedman, Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s cabinet chief for housing and director of the Department of Neighborhood Development. The city helped Bon relocate to a temporary home and will offer loans or technical assistance to the other businesses as the development materializes, she said.
“We’re really looking forward to seeing a real building there,’’ Friedman said.
Eric Moskowitz can be reached at emoskowitz@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Friday, November 20, 2009
Hotel partners celebrate opening of the Ames
NAMES
Enjoying their stay at the Ames
By Mark Shanahan & Meredith Goldstein | November 20, 2009
The doors are officially open at Ames Boston, which is why hotel execs spent most of last night celebrating. The opening party for the Ames drew a long list of VIP guests including the project’s celebrated architect and designer David Rockwell, hotel partner Seth Greenberg, former “Top Chef’’ contestant Sam Talbot, who’ll be at the Ames restaurant, Woodward, until he moves on to another job in SoHo. Staffers were expecting a number of prominent locals to attend the party, including John Henry and his wife, Linda Pizzuti Henry. They were also expecting a number of VIPs from Morgans Hotel Group, which runs Ames, the Delano in Miami, and the Hudson in New York.
Enjoying their stay at the Ames
By Mark Shanahan & Meredith Goldstein | November 20, 2009
The doors are officially open at Ames Boston, which is why hotel execs spent most of last night celebrating. The opening party for the Ames drew a long list of VIP guests including the project’s celebrated architect and designer David Rockwell, hotel partner Seth Greenberg, former “Top Chef’’ contestant Sam Talbot, who’ll be at the Ames restaurant, Woodward, until he moves on to another job in SoHo. Staffers were expecting a number of prominent locals to attend the party, including John Henry and his wife, Linda Pizzuti Henry. They were also expecting a number of VIPs from Morgans Hotel Group, which runs Ames, the Delano in Miami, and the Hudson in New York.
Channel Cafe review
Channel Cafe: On (Fort) Point
By Mat Schaffer | Friday, November 20, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Dining Reviews
CHANNEL CAFE: B
Channel Cafe doesn’t feel like Boston. With its painted-brick and rock walls, impossibly high ceiling, mismatched furniture, worn floorboards and eclectic artwork, it feels more like Seattle, the East Village or Harvard Square, back in the day.
At once a dining room, art gallery and local hangout, this two-story tall basement restaurant in the Artist Building co-op at 300 Summer St. is little-known outside the community of artists, architects, attorneys and businesspeople who live and work in the Fort Point Channel neighborhood.
Some secrets should be revealed.
For many years, Channel Cafe served only lunch - vegetarian-friendly soups,salads, sandwiches and light entrees. A year ago, owner Ana Crowley opened for dinner, Thursdays through Saturdays. Six months ago, Crowley hired former Alchemist Lounge sous-chef Brian Van Etten to run the kitchen. In October, she extended dinner to Wednesday nights.
The vibe is laid-back. The fare is rustic, flavorful and fresh.
Many dishes utilize the year-round, weekly farm share from Enterprise Farm. (Channel Cafe is the share pick-up location in downtown Boston for the South Deerfield organic farm.)
Enjoy the last of the year’s corn in sweet-corn gnocchi ($9), tossed with corn-scented cream, roasted garlic, cubed tomatoes and squares of bacon - an unadvertised substitute for promised pancetta. A pear and apple salad ($9) with baby arugula and creamy gorgonzola dressing celebrates autumnal fruit.
From the daily specials chalkboard, we order spicy fried chicken taquitos ($8), fried tortilla cigarillos stuffed with monterey jack and hot sauce. They’re a gooey pleasure. Crumbly, house-made lamb sausage ($9) is served, bruschetta-style, on rounds of toast, schmeared with Sriracha-flavored whipped feta and topped with roasted red-pepper-and-honey aioli.
Van Etten doesn’t cook fancily. He eschews glitz for simplicity. He cooks with his soul. I’m enrolling in his fan club.
Dinner doesn’t get more Sunday supper satisfying than chicken cutlet paillard ($17) on mashed potatoes with steamed green beans and a ladle of garlicky chicken jus. The chicken is moist, the potatoes creamy and the beans crunchy. If only promised braised leeks weren’t AWOL.
I wish more Hub eateries would offer seitan - a chewy wheat gluten that’s a marvelous alternative to meat. Channel Cafe’s balsamic-braised seitan ($17) is a fab combination of savory-sweet seitan, braised cipollini onions, slivered carrots, cubes of fried butternut squash, green beans and almonds, delectably jumbled together in the same bowl.
Slices of seared duck breast ($19) painted in truffle honey are wonderfully juicy. They’re excellent with curly kale sauteed in pancetta fat and white wine and a scallion-potato croquette - an oversized tater tot rolled in bread crumbs.
Braised Moroccan lamb and chickpea stew ($18) is a homey stew of lamb, carrots, bell pepper, onion, squash, celery and tomatoes incumin-cinnamon gravy. It’s great with toasted walnut brown rice dolloped with a tablespoon of cilantro creme fraiche.
Cloth napkins would be nice. And how about a basket of bread plus butter or olive oil?
My beer buddies will applaud Channel Cafe’s extensive suds selection. My wine friends will scratch their heads at the limited wine list.
Try a citrusy 2008 Dario D’Angelo TrebbianoD’Abruzzo ($28) with the chicken and seitan. Or a fruit-filled, high-octane 2006 Stray Dog Zinfandel ($28) with the duck and lamb stew.
Daily desserts may include fried-to-order doughnuts ($4.50), three cinnamon-sugar-dusted beauties, and Thanksgiving-worthy pear raspberry pie ($4.50). There’s no need to nuke a chocolate-chunky Toll House cookie ($1.50).
Service is friendly and unobtrusively attentive.
On Friday nights, a DJ spins. Saturdays, there’s live acoustic music.
At Channel Cafe, food meets the arts with delicious results.
300 Summer St. (Fort Point Channel). 617-426-0695; channel-cafe.com.
Price: $20-$40
Hours: Breakfast: Mon.-Fri., 8-11 a.m.; Lunch: Mon.-Fri., 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m.; Dinner: Wed.-Sat., 5-10 p.m.
Bar: Beer and Wine
Recession specials: No
Accessibility: Accessible
Parking: On street
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/food_dining/reviews/view.bg?articleid=1213188
By Mat Schaffer | Friday, November 20, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Dining Reviews
CHANNEL CAFE: B
Channel Cafe doesn’t feel like Boston. With its painted-brick and rock walls, impossibly high ceiling, mismatched furniture, worn floorboards and eclectic artwork, it feels more like Seattle, the East Village or Harvard Square, back in the day.
At once a dining room, art gallery and local hangout, this two-story tall basement restaurant in the Artist Building co-op at 300 Summer St. is little-known outside the community of artists, architects, attorneys and businesspeople who live and work in the Fort Point Channel neighborhood.
Some secrets should be revealed.
For many years, Channel Cafe served only lunch - vegetarian-friendly soups,salads, sandwiches and light entrees. A year ago, owner Ana Crowley opened for dinner, Thursdays through Saturdays. Six months ago, Crowley hired former Alchemist Lounge sous-chef Brian Van Etten to run the kitchen. In October, she extended dinner to Wednesday nights.
The vibe is laid-back. The fare is rustic, flavorful and fresh.
Many dishes utilize the year-round, weekly farm share from Enterprise Farm. (Channel Cafe is the share pick-up location in downtown Boston for the South Deerfield organic farm.)
Enjoy the last of the year’s corn in sweet-corn gnocchi ($9), tossed with corn-scented cream, roasted garlic, cubed tomatoes and squares of bacon - an unadvertised substitute for promised pancetta. A pear and apple salad ($9) with baby arugula and creamy gorgonzola dressing celebrates autumnal fruit.
From the daily specials chalkboard, we order spicy fried chicken taquitos ($8), fried tortilla cigarillos stuffed with monterey jack and hot sauce. They’re a gooey pleasure. Crumbly, house-made lamb sausage ($9) is served, bruschetta-style, on rounds of toast, schmeared with Sriracha-flavored whipped feta and topped with roasted red-pepper-and-honey aioli.
Van Etten doesn’t cook fancily. He eschews glitz for simplicity. He cooks with his soul. I’m enrolling in his fan club.
Dinner doesn’t get more Sunday supper satisfying than chicken cutlet paillard ($17) on mashed potatoes with steamed green beans and a ladle of garlicky chicken jus. The chicken is moist, the potatoes creamy and the beans crunchy. If only promised braised leeks weren’t AWOL.
I wish more Hub eateries would offer seitan - a chewy wheat gluten that’s a marvelous alternative to meat. Channel Cafe’s balsamic-braised seitan ($17) is a fab combination of savory-sweet seitan, braised cipollini onions, slivered carrots, cubes of fried butternut squash, green beans and almonds, delectably jumbled together in the same bowl.
Slices of seared duck breast ($19) painted in truffle honey are wonderfully juicy. They’re excellent with curly kale sauteed in pancetta fat and white wine and a scallion-potato croquette - an oversized tater tot rolled in bread crumbs.
Braised Moroccan lamb and chickpea stew ($18) is a homey stew of lamb, carrots, bell pepper, onion, squash, celery and tomatoes incumin-cinnamon gravy. It’s great with toasted walnut brown rice dolloped with a tablespoon of cilantro creme fraiche.
Cloth napkins would be nice. And how about a basket of bread plus butter or olive oil?
My beer buddies will applaud Channel Cafe’s extensive suds selection. My wine friends will scratch their heads at the limited wine list.
Try a citrusy 2008 Dario D’Angelo TrebbianoD’Abruzzo ($28) with the chicken and seitan. Or a fruit-filled, high-octane 2006 Stray Dog Zinfandel ($28) with the duck and lamb stew.
Daily desserts may include fried-to-order doughnuts ($4.50), three cinnamon-sugar-dusted beauties, and Thanksgiving-worthy pear raspberry pie ($4.50). There’s no need to nuke a chocolate-chunky Toll House cookie ($1.50).
Service is friendly and unobtrusively attentive.
On Friday nights, a DJ spins. Saturdays, there’s live acoustic music.
At Channel Cafe, food meets the arts with delicious results.
300 Summer St. (Fort Point Channel). 617-426-0695; channel-cafe.com.
Price: $20-$40
Hours: Breakfast: Mon.-Fri., 8-11 a.m.; Lunch: Mon.-Fri., 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m.; Dinner: Wed.-Sat., 5-10 p.m.
Bar: Beer and Wine
Recession specials: No
Accessibility: Accessible
Parking: On street
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/food_dining/reviews/view.bg?articleid=1213188
Ames hotel opens
Ames hotel opens in Boston
By Herald Staff | Friday, November 20, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
Morgans Hotel Group celebrated the opening of the Ames, a 114-room hotel featuring the Woodward restaurant-bar, at 1 Court St. in Boston last night.
Morgans is offering introductory rates from $165. The original Romanesque-Byzantine building once served as headquarters for the Ames families’ agricultural tool company.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1213248
By Herald Staff | Friday, November 20, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
Morgans Hotel Group celebrated the opening of the Ames, a 114-room hotel featuring the Woodward restaurant-bar, at 1 Court St. in Boston last night.
Morgans is offering introductory rates from $165. The original Romanesque-Byzantine building once served as headquarters for the Ames families’ agricultural tool company.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1213248
Brigham's Breakdown
Breakdown at Brigham’s chain
Despite reassurances, workers saw warning signs
By Donna Goodison | Friday, November 20, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
News of a looming bankruptcy filing by the Brigham’s restaurant chain didn’t come as a surprise to some of its workers.
Employees were paid irregularly and in cash, and the company wasn’t covering its share of their health insurance, according to Kathy Hogan, a waitress for 37 years at Brigham’s in Arlington. Vendors were only accepting cash for deliveries, and broken items weren’t getting fixed, she said.
“We had wonderful managers who did all they could to keep everything going,” said Hogan, 61. “Everybody stepped up to the plate right to the very end, because we didn’t want to let the customers down.”
Yet Hogan and co-workers were still shocked when the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office served eviction papers last Friday and forced the shutdown of the Arlington Brigham’s for nonpayment of rent. Only days earlier, Boston’s last Brigham’s closed for the same reason, but employees there were warned.
Luke Cooper, the founder of Deal Metrics LLC, the Baltimore private equity firm that bought Brigham’s restaurants last year, blamed their troubles on a 5 percent sales drop, rising dairy and gas prices, and lease deals that couldn’t be reworked.
Hogan called Cooper a “smooth talker” who only weeks before had been reassuring worried Brigham’s managers. “He came in a couple of weeks ago and told the people that everything was going to be fine, and then poof,” she said.
Cooper declined further comment yesterday. Deal Metrics, which he founded in 2007, has only one other portfolio company, Charity Home Raffle, according to its Web site: .
Robert Wexler, a turnaround expert from the Tron Group who was Brigham’s interim CEO for 60 days before it was sold, met with Deal Metrics executives several times.
“I thought they were good people and pretty straight shooters,” he said. “What I liked about them was they had the real desire, and they were really focused and had the energy to give this business what was needed. I don’t know what went wrong with their business model and why it didn’t work.”
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1213252
Despite reassurances, workers saw warning signs
By Donna Goodison | Friday, November 20, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
News of a looming bankruptcy filing by the Brigham’s restaurant chain didn’t come as a surprise to some of its workers.
Employees were paid irregularly and in cash, and the company wasn’t covering its share of their health insurance, according to Kathy Hogan, a waitress for 37 years at Brigham’s in Arlington. Vendors were only accepting cash for deliveries, and broken items weren’t getting fixed, she said.
“We had wonderful managers who did all they could to keep everything going,” said Hogan, 61. “Everybody stepped up to the plate right to the very end, because we didn’t want to let the customers down.”
Yet Hogan and co-workers were still shocked when the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office served eviction papers last Friday and forced the shutdown of the Arlington Brigham’s for nonpayment of rent. Only days earlier, Boston’s last Brigham’s closed for the same reason, but employees there were warned.
Luke Cooper, the founder of Deal Metrics LLC, the Baltimore private equity firm that bought Brigham’s restaurants last year, blamed their troubles on a 5 percent sales drop, rising dairy and gas prices, and lease deals that couldn’t be reworked.
Hogan called Cooper a “smooth talker” who only weeks before had been reassuring worried Brigham’s managers. “He came in a couple of weeks ago and told the people that everything was going to be fine, and then poof,” she said.
Cooper declined further comment yesterday. Deal Metrics, which he founded in 2007, has only one other portfolio company, Charity Home Raffle, according to its Web site: .
Robert Wexler, a turnaround expert from the Tron Group who was Brigham’s interim CEO for 60 days before it was sold, met with Deal Metrics executives several times.
“I thought they were good people and pretty straight shooters,” he said. “What I liked about them was they had the real desire, and they were really focused and had the energy to give this business what was needed. I don’t know what went wrong with their business model and why it didn’t work.”
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1213252
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Some Boston chefs miffed by Governor's invite
Chefs: Deval Patrick’s invite in bad taste
By Gayle Fee and Laura Raposa | Thursday, November 19, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | The Inside Track
Gov. Deval Patrick’s re-election campaign committee has sent out “invitations” to Boston chefs to dish out free food for 350 guests at a $500-a-head holiday cocktail bash Dec. 17 at the Westin Copley Place .
Ho, ho, ho . . .
But not everyone who received the summons was overwhelmed by the spirit of giving to the gov!
“This time of year, and nevermind in this economy, chefs and restaurants are hit up by charities and organizations for donations - such as gift certificates and auction items, but those requests are usually for the needy and hungry - not the fat cats on the Hill,” said one put-out foodie. “The restaurants are being pressured literally from the top. I mean, how do they say no to the governor? And don’t even get me started about the new meals tax.”
Chefs won’t be charged to take part in “A Culinary Affair,” the two-hour cocktails-and-canapes soiree before the less pricey $100-a-head Governor’s Holiday Gala, the invite states. Isn’t that nice???
And the toqued titans will be given two free tickets to the event. Because, you know, it’s the season of giving.
Speaking of which, the chefs’ in-kind donations are, as you can imagine, likely to exceed the legal limit of $500. So whatever the cooks pony up above and beyond that will be credited to the Massachusetts Democratic Party, to keep everything on the up and up.
“So, it’s really another great benefit,” event planner A.J. Williams told the Track .
Hollywood politico Ben Affleck, whose name tops the DPC Gala Committee list, has RSVP’d “yes” to the Deval ’do, we’re told. And there will be a video from Patrick’s D.C. BFF, President Obama .
Williams, who reports the new re-election slogan is, “I’m With Deval,” said the committee is looking for at least 30 chefs to serve up gala grub for the political party. The first to sign up was No. 9 Park’s Barbara Lynch, who is no stranger to politics, being a Southie gal and the cousin of U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch .
“We also have Gordon Hamersley, Ken Oringer, Oishii’s Ting San, Jody Adams and others,” she said. “But I’m sure there will be even more signing up.”
File Under: Food Fight.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/track/inside_track/view.bg?articleid=1213000
Related Articles:
By Gayle Fee and Laura Raposa | Thursday, November 19, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | The Inside Track
Gov. Deval Patrick’s re-election campaign committee has sent out “invitations” to Boston chefs to dish out free food for 350 guests at a $500-a-head holiday cocktail bash Dec. 17 at the Westin Copley Place .
Ho, ho, ho . . .
But not everyone who received the summons was overwhelmed by the spirit of giving to the gov!
“This time of year, and nevermind in this economy, chefs and restaurants are hit up by charities and organizations for donations - such as gift certificates and auction items, but those requests are usually for the needy and hungry - not the fat cats on the Hill,” said one put-out foodie. “The restaurants are being pressured literally from the top. I mean, how do they say no to the governor? And don’t even get me started about the new meals tax.”
Chefs won’t be charged to take part in “A Culinary Affair,” the two-hour cocktails-and-canapes soiree before the less pricey $100-a-head Governor’s Holiday Gala, the invite states. Isn’t that nice???
And the toqued titans will be given two free tickets to the event. Because, you know, it’s the season of giving.
Speaking of which, the chefs’ in-kind donations are, as you can imagine, likely to exceed the legal limit of $500. So whatever the cooks pony up above and beyond that will be credited to the Massachusetts Democratic Party, to keep everything on the up and up.
“So, it’s really another great benefit,” event planner A.J. Williams told the Track .
Hollywood politico Ben Affleck, whose name tops the DPC Gala Committee list, has RSVP’d “yes” to the Deval ’do, we’re told. And there will be a video from Patrick’s D.C. BFF, President Obama .
Williams, who reports the new re-election slogan is, “I’m With Deval,” said the committee is looking for at least 30 chefs to serve up gala grub for the political party. The first to sign up was No. 9 Park’s Barbara Lynch, who is no stranger to politics, being a Southie gal and the cousin of U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch .
“We also have Gordon Hamersley, Ken Oringer, Oishii’s Ting San, Jody Adams and others,” she said. “But I’m sure there will be even more signing up.”
File Under: Food Fight.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/track/inside_track/view.bg?articleid=1213000
Related Articles:
Brigham's faces Bankruptcy
Brigham’s is melting away
Restaurant chain nears bankruptcy
By Thomas Grillo | Thursday, November 19, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
After serving sweet treats for nearly 100 years, Brigham’s is facing bankruptcy.
Luke Cooper, managing director of New England Food Service, a division of Deal Metrics, which owns the Brigham’s restaurant chain, told the Herald that he expects to file for bankruptcy protection by week’s end.
“We hope to emerge from this decision and re-employ many of our 200 employees at a newly run, well-oiled machine that will be the new Brigham’s,” he said. “We hope to keep eight of the most profitable locations.”
Last year, Arlington-based Brigham’s sold the ice cream product lines to HP Hood LLC while the restaurants were scooped up by Baltimore-based Deal Metrics.
News of the bankruptcy comes one week after the 27-store chain closed its High Street shop after decades in the Boston’s Financial District.
Cooper blamed the impending bankruptcy on several factors, including the fact that sales were off by 5 percent amid a sagging economy. He said rising gasoline and dairy prices last year dramatically reduced profit margins and lease deals could not be re-negotiated.
“Before we bought it, the restaurants could lose money and make it back on ice cream sales in supermarkets,” he said. “But when we bought Brigham’s, the company was divided in two.”
Donna Weafer, a store manager who has been with Brigham’s for over 30 years, said she can’t believe the company was not profitable.
“They stopped paying rent at all of the locations a long time ago - how can they not be making money?” said Weafer, who works at the South Shore Plaza Brigham’s. “Our phone lines were cut for nonpayment. The story doesn’t make sense.”
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1213001
Restaurant chain nears bankruptcy
By Thomas Grillo | Thursday, November 19, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
After serving sweet treats for nearly 100 years, Brigham’s is facing bankruptcy.
Luke Cooper, managing director of New England Food Service, a division of Deal Metrics, which owns the Brigham’s restaurant chain, told the Herald that he expects to file for bankruptcy protection by week’s end.
“We hope to emerge from this decision and re-employ many of our 200 employees at a newly run, well-oiled machine that will be the new Brigham’s,” he said. “We hope to keep eight of the most profitable locations.”
Last year, Arlington-based Brigham’s sold the ice cream product lines to HP Hood LLC while the restaurants were scooped up by Baltimore-based Deal Metrics.
News of the bankruptcy comes one week after the 27-store chain closed its High Street shop after decades in the Boston’s Financial District.
Cooper blamed the impending bankruptcy on several factors, including the fact that sales were off by 5 percent amid a sagging economy. He said rising gasoline and dairy prices last year dramatically reduced profit margins and lease deals could not be re-negotiated.
“Before we bought it, the restaurants could lose money and make it back on ice cream sales in supermarkets,” he said. “But when we bought Brigham’s, the company was divided in two.”
Donna Weafer, a store manager who has been with Brigham’s for over 30 years, said she can’t believe the company was not profitable.
“They stopped paying rent at all of the locations a long time ago - how can they not be making money?” said Weafer, who works at the South Shore Plaza Brigham’s. “Our phone lines were cut for nonpayment. The story doesn’t make sense.”
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1213001
Kelly's to open in Allston
Kelly’s beefing up in Boston
By Donna Goodison / Restaurant Of The Year | Thursday, November 19, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
Bostonians looking to satisfy their cravings for a Kelly’s Roast Beef fix should be able to avoid a road trip by next April.
The 58-year-old restaurant chain that takes credit for inventing the roast beef sandwich plans to revamp the former Marty’s Liquor store in Allston into its first Hub location. The 140-seat eatery will be the sixth for the Saugus chain that’s been named the 2009 Restaurant of the Year by the Retailers Association of Massachusetts.
The company that got its start when founders Frank McCarthy and Ray Carey opened the first Kelly’s at Revere Beach in 1951 now rakes in some $26 million annually. It sells almost 1 million pounds of roast beef and 45,000 pounds of lobster meat per year.
The business has been led since McCarthy’s death in 1982 by his son, president and CEO Brian McCarthy, who got his start as a 13-year-old cleaner in the Revere takeout location. The second-generation McCarthy, 62, credits the company’s success to “having a father who had a great concept and not screwing it up.”
“It’s paying attention to business and serving one customer at a time and actually trying to care,” said McCarthy, who co-owns Kelly’s with the Carey family.
With its Allston location at the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Harvard Street, Kelly’s hopes to finally tap into the college market, which it’s been serving by catering for Boston College athletic teams and visiting schools.
McCarthy did some “research” on his plan’s viability by spending weekday nights in April through July having a few beers at Boston bars and quizzing college students about where they go to eat.
“We think it’s a great opportunity to break into that market,” he said. “The population density is incredible. There are over 8,000 people who live within a quarter of a mile of this proposed store.”
If the restaurant is successful, McCarthy said he’d consider a second Boston location near Northeastern University, where he has two kids enrolled.
Kelly’s also started selling branded clothing this year, and McCarthy hopes to see a bump in sales when “The Company Men” is released in 2010. The film, which stars Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones and Kevin Costner, shot scenes in McCarthy’s Marblehead home, and Costner was wearing a blue Kelly’s T-shirt during filming.
“I negotiated with them,” McCarthy said. “I gave them quite a bit of money back . . . so this shirt could be worn in the movie.”
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1213016
By Donna Goodison / Restaurant Of The Year | Thursday, November 19, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets
Bostonians looking to satisfy their cravings for a Kelly’s Roast Beef fix should be able to avoid a road trip by next April.
The 58-year-old restaurant chain that takes credit for inventing the roast beef sandwich plans to revamp the former Marty’s Liquor store in Allston into its first Hub location. The 140-seat eatery will be the sixth for the Saugus chain that’s been named the 2009 Restaurant of the Year by the Retailers Association of Massachusetts.
The company that got its start when founders Frank McCarthy and Ray Carey opened the first Kelly’s at Revere Beach in 1951 now rakes in some $26 million annually. It sells almost 1 million pounds of roast beef and 45,000 pounds of lobster meat per year.
The business has been led since McCarthy’s death in 1982 by his son, president and CEO Brian McCarthy, who got his start as a 13-year-old cleaner in the Revere takeout location. The second-generation McCarthy, 62, credits the company’s success to “having a father who had a great concept and not screwing it up.”
“It’s paying attention to business and serving one customer at a time and actually trying to care,” said McCarthy, who co-owns Kelly’s with the Carey family.
With its Allston location at the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Harvard Street, Kelly’s hopes to finally tap into the college market, which it’s been serving by catering for Boston College athletic teams and visiting schools.
McCarthy did some “research” on his plan’s viability by spending weekday nights in April through July having a few beers at Boston bars and quizzing college students about where they go to eat.
“We think it’s a great opportunity to break into that market,” he said. “The population density is incredible. There are over 8,000 people who live within a quarter of a mile of this proposed store.”
If the restaurant is successful, McCarthy said he’d consider a second Boston location near Northeastern University, where he has two kids enrolled.
Kelly’s also started selling branded clothing this year, and McCarthy hopes to see a bump in sales when “The Company Men” is released in 2010. The film, which stars Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones and Kevin Costner, shot scenes in McCarthy’s Marblehead home, and Costner was wearing a blue Kelly’s T-shirt during filming.
“I negotiated with them,” McCarthy said. “I gave them quite a bit of money back . . . so this shirt could be worn in the movie.”
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1213016
Sheraton Ferncroft to become Crowne Plaza
Danvers hotel will change name to Crowne Plaza
November 18, 2009 12:35 PM E-mail|
The Sheraton Ferncroft in Danvers will be officially rebranded tomorrow as the Crowne Plaza Boston North Shore, said the hotel's owner.
The owner is Colorado-based Sage Hospitality, which bought the 366-room hotel in 2005 and added an attached 65,000-square-foot indoor water park to the property two years later, a company spokeswoman said.
Sage Hospitality operates over 50 hotels, including 10 with water parks, and the Crowne Plaza brand is a better fit for a hotel that is pursuing both business travelers and a water park audience, the spokeswoman said.
The water park is called the the CoCo Key Water Resort, and besides activity pools, slides, and water cannons, it features an arcade, family dining options, a bar, and party rooms.
A Sage press release included a statement from Bill Croke, the general manager of the company's Danvers hotel who noted that the rebranding will be accompanied by a "number of upgrades, including new bedding, featuring the popular Crowne Plaza Sleep Advantage standards."
Apparently, sleeping is a serious pursuit at Crowne Plaza hotels, which offer such "sleep amenities" as "relaxation tips, eye mask, earplugs to ensure silence, lavender spray to promote relaxation, and nightlights to provide soft lighting during the night," the press release said. (Globe Staff)
November 18, 2009 12:35 PM E-mail|
The Sheraton Ferncroft in Danvers will be officially rebranded tomorrow as the Crowne Plaza Boston North Shore, said the hotel's owner.
The owner is Colorado-based Sage Hospitality, which bought the 366-room hotel in 2005 and added an attached 65,000-square-foot indoor water park to the property two years later, a company spokeswoman said.
Sage Hospitality operates over 50 hotels, including 10 with water parks, and the Crowne Plaza brand is a better fit for a hotel that is pursuing both business travelers and a water park audience, the spokeswoman said.
The water park is called the the CoCo Key Water Resort, and besides activity pools, slides, and water cannons, it features an arcade, family dining options, a bar, and party rooms.
A Sage press release included a statement from Bill Croke, the general manager of the company's Danvers hotel who noted that the rebranding will be accompanied by a "number of upgrades, including new bedding, featuring the popular Crowne Plaza Sleep Advantage standards."
Apparently, sleeping is a serious pursuit at Crowne Plaza hotels, which offer such "sleep amenities" as "relaxation tips, eye mask, earplugs to ensure silence, lavender spray to promote relaxation, and nightlights to provide soft lighting during the night," the press release said. (Globe Staff)
Boston Cruise Terminal getting upgrade
Black Falcon Cruise Terminal is getting an upgrade
November 18, 2009 03:25 PM
By Katie Johnston Chase, Globe Staff
Passengers at the Black Falcon Cruise Terminal in South Boston will be waiting for their ships to come in at a new $8 million check-in area by the end of next year, a renovation that will expand the terminal by 40 percent.
An unused 83,000-square-foot warehouse space on the third floor will be converted into a waiting area with separate spaces for loading and unloading passengers of a single ship. The renovation, which was approved by the Massachusetts Port Authority board today, is the second phase of an $11 million makeover of the terminal. It will be funded by a $3 increase in the $11 facility charge each cruise customer currently pays, effective for the 2011 cruise season.
The cruise industry is on the upswing in Boston, with the 2009 season marking the third year in a row of passenger increases, according to Cruiseport Boston; nearly 300,000 travelers passed through the cruise terminal this year, an 11 percent increase over last year.
Separately, the Massport board approved spending $8 million to add another gate in Terminal E at Logan International Airport, in the area adjacent to where Southwest Airlines operates. "It's likely that Southwest will go in there," said Massport spokesman Matthew Brelis.
The board also approved three security projects at the Port of Boston funded by $1.9 million in federal stimulus money: providing radio equipment to improve communication during emergencies, replacing an old boat used for water rescues and surveillance patrols with a bigger water craft, and building a pedestrian walkway at Conley Terminal that will allow sailors on container ships to access the street without having to walk across the loading area.
November 18, 2009 03:25 PM
By Katie Johnston Chase, Globe Staff
Passengers at the Black Falcon Cruise Terminal in South Boston will be waiting for their ships to come in at a new $8 million check-in area by the end of next year, a renovation that will expand the terminal by 40 percent.
An unused 83,000-square-foot warehouse space on the third floor will be converted into a waiting area with separate spaces for loading and unloading passengers of a single ship. The renovation, which was approved by the Massachusetts Port Authority board today, is the second phase of an $11 million makeover of the terminal. It will be funded by a $3 increase in the $11 facility charge each cruise customer currently pays, effective for the 2011 cruise season.
The cruise industry is on the upswing in Boston, with the 2009 season marking the third year in a row of passenger increases, according to Cruiseport Boston; nearly 300,000 travelers passed through the cruise terminal this year, an 11 percent increase over last year.
Separately, the Massport board approved spending $8 million to add another gate in Terminal E at Logan International Airport, in the area adjacent to where Southwest Airlines operates. "It's likely that Southwest will go in there," said Massport spokesman Matthew Brelis.
The board also approved three security projects at the Port of Boston funded by $1.9 million in federal stimulus money: providing radio equipment to improve communication during emergencies, replacing an old boat used for water rescues and surveillance patrols with a bigger water craft, and building a pedestrian walkway at Conley Terminal that will allow sailors on container ships to access the street without having to walk across the loading area.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)