Business

By Carol Masshardt If the opening day of October 7, 2023 is any indication, South Boston is returning the affection for the transformation of Joseph’s Bakery on K. St. to the new location at the corner of L. and Broadway. Annie Nikollo, and her husband, Vani, with daughter, Vicky, were determined to carry on a long tradition started in Greece, and to the continue the work they love. Annie’s has much that is well-loved and familiar, but with a refreshing new space. “This is what I love and I’m excited. We will have most of the old favorites, cupcakes, cannoli, all baked goods, and pies for Thanksgiving, made right here along with more breakfast sandwiches and some lunch choices. What is most important to me [...]

Carpenter Latisha McQueen 50, has built a life around her trade, including having a hand in the new Old Colony Development. Both practical and thoughtful, she is as at home in beautiful buildings, including the Boston Public Library, as in construction sites. “It hasn’t always been easy, but I do love what I do, and it gave me a way to support my son,” she said. “Carpentry in particular means understanding numbers, and math, and sometimes you get on a job that you know is going right, and you can feel proud to be part of it. Of all the trades, carpentry was the best because I love beautiful buildings.” Life, beyond work, has had its share of challenges for Latisha, who grew up in [...]

By Carol Masshardt Healing and relaxation are indisputably needed, and If Lilah Evans is correct, there will be a customer base in South Boston just looking for a holistic way to deal with stress. Offering Tarot Card readings, Meditation, Reiki, (transfer energy through palm healing) Chakra (exploring centers of vital energy in the body) are age old practices now available in the neighborhood. “We moved here in May after being on Tremont St. in downtown for twenty-seven years. The building was sold to developers, and we needed a new location. My older son had been in school at Tynan, and I thought it might work,” she said. Lilah found the location, former home of Neatly Nested, on the corner of E. and West Broadway and [...]

By Carol Masshardt The Calnan name is synonymous with jewelry in South Boston, and in recent months Joe Calnan’s nephew, Carson, has opened at 705 E. Broadway. His emphasis on expert repair and using the newest technology for custom design reflects the changes in the possibilities of jewelry and his own impressive talents. He also holds the imagine of an uncle connected to the community and the people he served. Carson Calnan Pitts grew up near Albany, NY, but he seems double rooted in South Boston, where his extended family lives. In fact, his middle name was intended as legacy for his mother’s family. “I used to see my Uncle Joe work at the North Bennett St. School, where jewelry making was taught, and it [...]

By Carol Masshardt It is rare for a community to have an auto mechanic that seems to be universally trusted, and one in love what he has been doing since the early 1970’s. South Boston can count itself among the lucky with Fran Dempsey of Fran’s Auto Body on 43 Preble St. “I’m a Southie guy,” said Fran as if this phrase alone told the story of his growing up on L. St., working at “Billy Higgins Exon” and Emerson Auto before opening his own place in 1993. “It’s pretty simple,” he said. “This is my town and I love what I have been doing, and all my customers. I do the right thing and word gets around.” Now at sixty-eight, a father of four [...]