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By Ginger DeShaney After an almost year-long hiatus, Cafe Polonia is open again! The famed South Boston Polish restaurant is under new management with a pair of hard-working Polish brothers at the helm: Marcin, 32, and Damian Biedrzycki, 24.   But the small, homey restaurant looks the same, the menu is the same, the cooks are the same (amazing Polish mamas), and the food is as good as ever.  “We’ll blow your mind with the taste,” said Marcin. “We offer traditional Polish meals,” Damian said. “It’s nice and filling.” “And you get a solid portion,” Marcin added.  What makes polish food so special? “Everything,” said Marcin, who loves pierogi. The restaurant offers different styles of pierogi: cheese; potato and cheese; cabbage and mushroom; and meat. Damian [...]

By Ginger DeShaney When Pam Santorelli opened her boutique Habit at 703 E. Broadway almost 15 years ago, she received amazing support from the neighborhood.  “There was a lot of positive energy. We had a successful opening,” Pam said. “We got such a great response from the neighborhood. It pushed us to move forward.” That support remains strong today. When COVID-19 forced Habit, a women's clothing, accessories, and gift boutique, to close its doors for two and half months, right at the start of the busy season, the tight-knit Southie community was there for Pam. “We’re hanging in there,” she said. “We had a great response from the neighborhood. People want to shop small, which is so appreciated.” Christmas sales were good, again thanks to [...]

By Ginger DeShaney Erica Hagler Erica Hagler uses her superpowers for good.  The South Boston artist has a passion for employing her talent to give back to the community. “If you have a talent, you should share it with people,” she said. “It feels really good to give back.” Erica’s mom instilled in her family the importance of giving back. The family fed the homeless every Thanksgiving; they donated toys to families in need; they saved extra toiletries to give out to people in need.  So it’s no surprise that Erica is involved in charitable giving every chance she gets. In November and December, Erica organized “The Art of Giving.” This project was born when Erica was sitting in her kitchen thinking, “I [...]

By Ginger DeShaney Kizito Paganini When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, management at Sullivan’s at Castle Island rallied to keep serving its loyal customers. “It’s been pretty good for a bad year,” said Kizito Paganini, director of operations for Sullivan’s, a South Boston institution. “We made the best of a bad time.” Paganini started with Sullivan’s in January 2020. The restaurant opened in February as usual but by March 13had to shut its doors because of the pandemic.  “We needed time to close down and rearrange how we do business,” Paganini said. Management discussed safety measures, social distancing, flow, and new ways of doing things.  That creative process came up with: A new way to order in person; Online ordering; Catering services. Sully’s opened [...]