Business

By Carol Masshardt There are flashier places than Broadway Pastry and Coffee Shop on 258 West Broadway. But, as a customer, has there ever been a generation that didn’t like the storekeeper to know your name, and maybe even what kind of coffee you preferred? There is also something refreshing about having the same person greet you for years. All apply to Diego Silva, a fixture for nearly five years, who with his long-time co-worker, Bona, worked with a minor exception for health, during the entire pandemic. “I came here from Colombia at age 16 and lived with my aunt and cousin while going to Charlestown High School,” he said. “This kind of work is good for me because I like meeting people and being [...]

By Carol Masshardt “Working hands do this work,” said South Boston daughter and Union 223 Laborer, Leanne Boylan, 57, and no one can tell the story better than she can. She has worked on a number of projects that have recreated the city while living her long-evolved dream. Graduating from Gate of Heaven and Cardinal Cushing High School, she began working at Joseph’s Bakery and stayed there for twenty-seven years. “My mother was old school, she wouldn’t go beyond H. St,” she said laughing and agreed that she followed suit but had her eye on becoming a tradeswoman for years. “Someone came into the bakery who had a union hat on, and it was Martin Walsh!  I was hoping to meet up with him and [...]

An exciting new medical service is coming to the Seaport on September 6th. South Boston Health Seaport will be reopening as South Boston Health Seaport URGENT CARE at 505 Congress Street. “We’re thrilled to be able to offer these services to people who live in, work in or visit the South Boston Seaport” said Bill Halpin, CEO of South Boston Community Health Center. “Everything we do is patient centered. This new urgent care center will allow patients to walk-in and receive high quality, compassionate and timely professional medical care.” The new urgent care center, part of South Boston Community Health Center family, will be staffed with medical providers who can see both adults and children and can treat a broad range of non-life- threatening conditions. [...]

The space doesn’t have to be large, and the chef/creator need not come from afar to become a Best Neighborhood Restaurant as named by Boston Magazine. Chef Shi Mei, 44, came to Boston from China at age four, lived in the South End throughout his childhood, and lives there now with his wife and young son. A Boston Latin School and UMass/Amherst graduate his concept for Lennox Sophia is altogether different than other fine restaurants lining South Boston streets, and at 87 A St., just a three-minute walk from Broadway Station, it is surely one of the smallest. Seating for twenty and a limited five course only, pre fixe menu, one entrée for the omnivores and one for the vegetarians, this confident and committed chef [...]

After a year and a half of careful consideration, contemplation, and discussions, along with another year and a half of logistics and paperwork, I have sold our family funeral home (O’Brien Funeral Home) to John Reen of Brighton.  John owns and operates his family’s funeral home in Brighton.  He worked for Jack when he was here, and for me in South Boston for more than 20 years.     This was not an easy decision. Stepping away from the full-time operations of the O’Brien Funeral Home has been the most difficult decision I have ever had to make – both personally and professionally.  However, I continue to struggle with ongoing issues with my sight and overall well-being; my children need me to be more available. So, it [...]

For Chef Erick Medrano, cooking has always been more than a career choice. It’s been an expression of love and gratitude, instilled in him since he was a young boy. Raised in Guatemala, Erick grew up watching his mother and grandmother cook in a wood fire arcilla (clay oven), filling the house with the sweet smell of fresh baked bread and unique family recipes. It would be those memories that would fuel his childhood dream of one day becoming a chef. Like countless others, Erick would venture to the U.S. with the hopes of a brighter future for himself and his family. Landing in Massachusetts, he would unwittingly a take a fateful stroll down a local street, taking notice of a spot called 224 Boston. [...]