November 30, 2025 • 42 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You are listening to Food for Thought with Billy and Jenny,
brought to you by the Box Center. For more than
fifteen years, this dining duo has been eating their way
through New England, mixing it up with top chefs, jumping
behind the line of the hottest restaurants, and giving you
the inside scoop on where to whine, dine and spend
your time. So get ready, it's Food for Thought giving
(00:20):
you something to chew on.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Hey, everybody, welcome into Food for Thought, brought to you
by the Box Center. I'm excited for this guest because
I've had him on the show, but I have never
met him in person. And I have known this company
for all twenty years of its existence, have respected and
loved and enjoyed the deliciouss that comes out of this company,
Burton's Grill, which has now twenty four locations and is
(00:46):
celebrating its twentieth year. And I am so excited to
have its CEO and studio with me right now. John, Hey, gee,
I how are you. It's ring it really years. I
love it. I love it so much, and I love
this business and I love what you guys have done.
I love the culture that you've created, and I love
(01:07):
how so much of it takes place in our beautiful
state of Massachusetts. But John, I want to know a
little bit about you before we talk about Burtons and
all the exciting things you guys have going on. So
give me a little bit of a background. Where'd you
come from, How'd you get into this, how'd you get
connected with Burtons?
Speaker 3 (01:23):
Grew up in Texas, spent my early years in Texas,
and then moved to Florida in my high school years.
Started my career in restaurants in high school at Outback Steakhouse,
believe it or not, and I spent twenty years with
that company. I was that guy. I was that guy
who's just that guy who started as a dishwasher bus boy,
(01:43):
worked my way up to a pretty high level in
out Back, and I kind of oversaw the whole Virginia market.
So I planted in Richmond over twenty about twenty years
ago and been there ever since. Love it. I love
this industry. I love the restaurant industry. I grew up
in it, and I'm Lebanese also, so I a name
(02:05):
right though. That was great.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
It took a while, but I got it. I got it.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
So you know, my culture is food, family, cooking, kitchen table,
so all that is in my DNA.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
We'll talk a little bit about that background. So what
was the food scene like for you at home growing up?
And and was that where the love for food came from?
Speaker 3 (02:25):
No doubt for sure, you know, kitchen table. Lebanese's grandmother
baked bread for the church, you know, constantly baking. She
taught me how to bake. She taught me love of
great food she cooked or she grew on herbs and
grape leaves and all that stuff. So early on, I
had just this affinity for great food. And also around
(02:45):
that is like the family, the table, the gathering, everything
goes along with that. So that was kind of instilled
really early in me. So I've always loved that. But
when I got in the industry, you know, it was like,
you know, first job in high school restaurants, so it
was a little different, but quickly fell in love with hospitality,
(03:06):
food service, connecting with people, growing a team. So all
of that was kind of instilled early. And then you know,
the out there, run it out back was kind of
my you know, my PhD and hospitality and restaurant education
of kind of working my way upon an organization and
kind of getting the skill sets to like lead a company.
(03:29):
And then I left out back in twenty ten after
twenty years, and then I started my own company, my
own restaurant company with two other partners, and that was
called Taza Kitchen, and that's based in Richmond, Virginia. And
that was a fantastic, you know, ten year entrepreneurial run
for me. So it was Baja California meets Campania, Italy.
It was pizzas and tacos, and we traveled all over
(03:51):
and love of great food, craft, cocktails, wood fired cooking.
So that was kind of my entrepreneurial run for ten
years to do that. And yeah, and then oddly enough,
during COVID, I made a life career change and came
to join the Burtons team. So it was the stars
kind of aligned. I've I've known Kevin Harron, our former
(04:14):
our founder and former CEO, Denise her Era of course
you know, well you know she's our chief coliny officer.
I knew her that I knew a lot of the team.
It made sense and and I kind of made that
move for an opportunity to run the organization in twenty
twenty and now five years later, you know, we built
seven restaurants since then. We're blowing and going. But Boston's
(04:38):
our home, our company's home. It's not my personal home.
I live in Richmond, Virginia.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Here you in.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
I was here two days ago, so you're second the city. Well,
you're home away and be up here.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Well, it's so interesting, like when you think about Outback,
if you think about what the culinary landscape was when
you were at Outback, like that was the place.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
Back in the day that was made from scratch food, yes,
high quality. It was great culture, great people. So it
was an organization that that I really was proud of
and I learned a lot and and and I was
very successful at It was a great, great run and
kind of instilled some of the really some of the
you know, institutional kind of philosophical things that I stand
(05:24):
for and it's still today.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Well, I think what's so unique is that you had
the love for food, right, which I think sometimes doesn't
always happen with these sort of big restaurant groups, right,
Like it's more like the love for the business or
love for growing a brand, or love for And it's
so nice that you had both of those, because those
are two of Billy and I's favorite stories, the ones
that come that start in the kitchen with Grandma or
(05:46):
mom around the you know, baking the bread Sunday night meals,
like that kind of thing is what fuels us from
a storytelling perspective. And then to couple that with starting
as the bus boy, like those are two favorite stories
in this industry.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
I think think that's why part and parcel of why
I've had some success to this business. As I you know,
I was that person and I can relate, and I
enjoy being the restaurants. I'm the CEO, but I'm in
I'm hardly ever in my office. We have a really
nice office in North Andover. It's beautiful, but I'm in
the restaurants and I'm with the teams and I spend
(06:19):
time with the people, and it's the It's the greatest
part of my day, no doubt about it. And if
you have that mindset of you know, quality and growth
and family and teamwork, and you're driven by that, then
it gives you this kind of drive for success around
growth sales, you know, and not so much the finance
part always comes later. But you know, sometimes we lose
(06:42):
our focus as an industry because it's so hard to
make money. It's so difficult, especially this year, like every
year it's something with our business and now it's supply
chain and tariffs and it's always something. So it's really
really hard. But at the end of the day, you've
got to have a happy customer that is just ravenous
about your food and your service, and we've built that
(07:03):
with Burtons.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Oh god, have you ever ravenous? And like this, Like
the commitment to the Burtons brand has been so consistent
for those twenty years, which you can't really say about
a lot of places. Really proud something to be incredibly
proud of. We're going to break down a little bit
more for the random person who hasn't been inside of
Burtons before what people can experience inside. We're going to
(07:25):
take a break and we'll be back with more Food
for Thought brought to you by the awesome Box Center.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
In just a minute, you're listening to Food for Thought
brought to you by the Box Center and Salem Waterfront
Hotel in Sweet.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Welcome back to Food for Thought brought to you by
the Box Center. So we are in studio today and
I am talking with Burton's CEO, John hagy I, and
we got a little bit about his background, a little
bit about the fact that you're passionate about food, a
little bit of fact that you're clearly passionate about the business.
You touched upon the fact that it's a hard industry
(07:59):
and this is some thing that Billy and I, I
think it's one of our biggest passions, is to be
able to educate the customer, the public about what this
business really means, because the conception of it is drastically
different than its reality. And if it's not one thing,
it's the other thing. You know, you mentioned some of
(08:19):
the challenges, but I want to I want to sort
of talk about that. And when you're educating the public
or you know, your family or whoever it is, about
this industry, how do you sort of describe its challenges
and why you have to have so much grit to
stick with it.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
Yeah, no doubt. If you're an owner operator, or a
mid sized company or a large you know, Global Fortune
five hundred company, you know, we all face the same challenges.
And what the public doesn't know that and it's just hard,
is that the you know, the profit margins for restaurants
are literally pennies on the dollar. If you make ten
(08:57):
cents on the dollar, everyone is high fiving and it
is the best thing in the world. And most people
just don't understand that. They look at the price that
they're paying, they look at the atmosphere and they say, God,
these they must be just making a fortune. This is great. Well,
especially with owner operators. Usually that person is there ninety
hours a week, you know, every single day. They're not
(09:18):
only running their business, but they also have to run
their business the finance part of the business. They accounting,
the payroll, the compliance. None of that part has anything
to do with making a customer happy, but they have
to spend time on that. So it does require you know,
a focus, but and a profit per employee. You know,
this is a very labor intensive industry. It requires a
(09:39):
lot of human you know capital, much less than a
tech tech company or you know, a retail brand. We
rely heavily on a job market, which is is you know,
quite challenging sometimes, especially right now with what's going on
with the economy and the workforce. It's it's really really difficult,
you know. And also I think our industry, i know,
(10:00):
our industry ten years ago, twenty years ago, it's always
got a bad rap for some reason about like earning
a place and having a career in the restaurant world.
I don't know why. It's a glorious industry. You can
make a lot of money, you can work your way up.
There's family, there's great culture, great pride. But for some reason,
we kind of got that bad rap, you know, and
(10:22):
I think we're overcoming it now and a lot of
people are finding do you come work for Burdens or
any restaurant. You can make a lot of money. It
could be very rewarding. It could be a special place
to work and you could work your way up and
do what you want, and it could be a wonderful,
wonderful career, or it could be a great stopping ground,
you know, on your way to something else, because you're
gonna learn great traits along their way in our business,
(10:43):
communication and problem solving and hospitality and dealing with people,
because now everyone's on this.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Right with their phones, so they don't know how to talk.
Speaker 3 (10:50):
They don't know my children don't know how to speak.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
Well.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
It's so funny that you're saying this, John, because my
husband's like one thing that will unequivocally happen to my children.
Says to my children all the time, you will work
in the restaurant industry because it will prepare you in
ways that no other industry can prepare you for life,
like for literally what life is. And I love that
so much because I think it's true and that people
(11:13):
person component is is so important. And the truth is,
that's what we want, that's what we need, that's what
we're fueled by.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
And guess what that's it's coming back to Remember in COVID,
it's like we all were isolated for so we don't
like to talk about it. We're all isolated. Now everyone's
back and they want to gather. But you remember, like
we were gonna the tech was gonna take over the world.
There was gonna be no menus and there's gonna be
no service, and it's everything at a counter. And people
want the hospitality, They want some sort of connection and
our customers are wanting it to so you got to
(11:43):
be careful, Like I really believe that that there is
that need still for connectivity even on the a on
the consumer side, they want when they go out for dinner,
they want to enjoy a nice dinner and have someone
serve them and have someone give them great hospitality and
great service. And if you do that, you can be.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Successul Well, we're a human beings that are wired for connection,
like literally, we are wired for connection. And this is
the place where we get the greatest connection. And this
is where memories are made, and this is where you
have the greatest celebrations of your life. But there's something
different about the Burtons culture. So we talked about kind
of the challenges, you know, like the challenges I suppose
if you're in any business. Although we say we think
(12:20):
hospitality is the every.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
Year, it's something different, it really is.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
I'm going to go record.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
I think I think it gets I think it takes
the cake, so to speak. But I want to talk
about the culture because that is something I think that
is paramount for the business and is also something that
has helped it not only sustain but thrive over the
past twenty years. So talk about what makes the Burtons
culture different.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
Well, people first culture, and a lot of people say it,
you know, it's it's not it's nothing new quite honestly,
but it's a people first take care of your of
your customers, your internal customers, your people first. That means
you have to pay them really well. Our GM should
make the most money possible. You know, they're in there
every single day, work in their butts off. They have
to be incentivized by performance. Also from a lifestyle standpoint,
(13:05):
you know, you've got to make sure they have the
right lifestyle that's commensurate to you know, everything else in
their life. And our industry was like you got to
go in there and work and kill yourself. Well, people
have families, they have children, so you know, really look
at that. What is their commitments at home, what is
their commitments with their spouse and their families and their community,
and really embrace that. You know, so by far Burns Hasten,
(13:25):
that started way before I got here. You know, that
was instilled. Not only was Burns just an operational just
like they were really good at executing, but they really
took care of their people and even still today, like
if anybody needs to do anything, we will all step up.
Someone's got something with their kids or we're not signing,
you know, formal stuff, I'm going to be out there.
Just go take care of their family and we cover it,
and we do it, and you instill that and you
(13:47):
deliver on that, and you got to get feedback. One
thing we made another change, a change we made a
few years ago was we had this just massive commitment
to to continuous feedback, you know, and and that's up
and down and all around. You know, really listen and
really listen to your staff. What what what are their concerns,
what are they happy about, what they're proud about, what
(14:07):
do they want to see in the business. And if
you can kind of you know, foster around that and
a culture on that, you will entail get a high
performance team culture that can really really deliver. So culture
is number one, first and foremost. It drives everything and
it's really part of what makes us really really special.
And there's a lot of great companies that have had
the same thing. I'm not saying that we're so far different,
but we really do. We really do.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Do you focus and you always have. I mean, I've
known Denise for she's been there for twenty years.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
Yeah, she was our founding chef and she used the
term employer of choice. You know. It's like we need
to be the employer of choice where people choose us
to come work.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
For Yeah, And I mean I've known her for all
of those twenty years and that has always been the message,
right like this, this was from day one the message.
And you know, as she was growing her family, as
she was expanding her family, it was like, how do
we make sure that all my employees are able to yes,
have thriving careers, but also be thriving parents, you know.
And I think in this day and age, it's amazing
to hear that there's such a commitment to that. Okay,
(15:05):
so I want to sort of walk people through the
doors of Burtons. I mean, obviously you have twenty four locations,
so they're different, they're they're different doors, but the experience
is the same. So tell people what they're going to
experience when they come through the doors, and talk a
little bit about your menu.
Speaker 3 (15:20):
Yeah, I mean Burtens is that, you know, it's still
an everyday place. It's an upscale, you know, kind of
a main street every day you know, American grill, you know,
with a twist. I'll say. The twist is that we
just take the greatest hits and people with food that
people love, and we execute it really well. So you
when you come to Burtons, where you're going to find
a crab cake, you're going to find a great steak,
You're going to find a great cheeseburger.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
You know.
Speaker 3 (15:41):
So we're not doing you know, Michelin, you know chef,
you know, far out dishes. We're doing dishes that people love,
people crave, but with really really high quality. It's something
that we really take a lot of pride in our
restaurants by design, and we've really worked on this. We
like them to be inspirational. When you walk in, you'll
feel really great at energy. It'll be a beautiful restaurant,
(16:01):
it will feel upscale, but it'll still be an everyday place.
You can come in, you know, you know, a suit,
you can come in golf shorts, you can come right
after church, right after school. So we really embrace, you know,
kind of an environment where everyone feels comfortable, but it
definitely feels upscale without being stuffy, if that makes any
sense at all. So it's not that steakhouse feel, which
(16:23):
there's nothing wrong with that, but we want to be
an everyday place. So when you pop in a Burdens,
whether it's for brunch or happy hour or lunch or catering, whatever,
it is you want to kind of feel comfortable, but
it feels really good, so you'll walk into a place
that's very inspiring. We spend a lot of care on
the environment, the music, the lighting, the all those things.
(16:43):
They teach us early on to make the intangible stuff
with the customer atmosphere is really important. It's all about
the food. It's all about the food and people. So
we're also allergy friendly in a huge way. We've embrace that,
you know, many many years ago, and we'll talk about that.
But people search us out and they come to us
because they trust us and they rely on us, and
(17:04):
we're really consistent on that.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
So so many different pillars to consider, and you just
touched upon so many of them. But I think that
is the great way to describe it is come as
you are to Burtons, no doubt, but know that when
you're inside, you're having an elevated experience, which is harder
to come by. To have that combination, you know, and
I think it is true from a visual perspective, it's
very comfortable and cozy, but it's also you know that
(17:27):
the food that you're getting is going to be absolutely delicious. Okay,
we're going to take a break. We're gonna come back.
I want to talk about some of those allergies because
the truth is, you guys were pioneers. Yeah, during a
time when people knew very little, They didn't know what
to make of it, but you brought in the opportunity
for everybody, no matter what, to be able to eat
and eat. Well, we're going to take a break. We'll
(17:49):
be back with more Food for Thought in just a minute.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
You're listening to Food for Thought brought to you by
the Box Center and sale in Waterfront Hotel and sweets.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
Welcome back to Food for Thought brought to you by
the Box Center. So John, we're talking Burtons. Why it's
one of everybody's favorite spots to go in the area.
Twenty four locations, twenty years in the industry. But we
mentioned allergies. So I remember this and you're going to
tell me when it was. But it was a long
time ago before this was on the forefront of everybody's mind.
(18:19):
You guys were committed to be able to have customers
come in who had allergies of all kinds. So talk
about that commitment.
Speaker 3 (18:26):
Yeah, it started almost twenty years ago. You know, our
founder Kevin Harron had Celiac disease. It wasn't something that
we led with early on, but it was something that
Denise embraced pretty soon after our second restaurant opened, and
making a commitment to say, hey, let's really you know,
embrace this. You know, our founder had Celiac disease. What
(18:47):
does that mean gluten allergy, Let's really embrace that. But
it really morphed into this like crazy, insane, you know,
commitment to being allergy friendly and for people that have
dietary restrictions, who have allergies, and it's really a commitment
to being inclusive, inclusive dying if you think about that.
(19:07):
So it morphed into a series after ten years of
building it of incredible protocols not just around you know,
gluten incissivities, but all the major allergies. You know, if
you have not allergy or soy allergy or dairy allergy,
or we're peanut free at Burdens. We don't have peanuts
in the building still today. So it turned into this
(19:28):
you know, crazy, just very ambitious at the time commitment
that everyone was kind of scared to do because there's
a lot of risk you know, around that, because if
you're gonna make a commitment like that, it's a serious commitment.
You're dealing with people's lives, livelihoods, health. You know, children
that have this terrible disease, or you know, you don't
eat chicken tenders because they're scared to death, they're gonna
(19:49):
get sick. You know, we people embrace that, and we
have become the go to spot, I'm not kidding, the
go to spot for people that have allergies or any
kind of dietaries.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
I know you're not kidding. I am. While my children
don't have it anymore, they did when they were young.
And I think that there's the way that you talk
about it is because you understand it because it is
about the person's not only health, but in some cases
person's a life or death situation. And one of the
great things about eating at Burtons is you don't have
to feel weird, Like I am one of those people
(20:19):
that from time to time is like not going to
do gluten or right now, dairy's just not feeling well
with me. And oftentimes I'm in a restaurant and they
look at me like I'm just a pain and that
you know what, And when you're at Burtons. You are embraced,
you are accepted, and you are like, let's do this.
Let's come up with whatever it is that we can
do to make you.
Speaker 3 (20:37):
Have a real because a lot of times you do that,
it's like and.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
It's and you because you've been doing it for so long.
The food is so well. Now, yeah, they definitely are.
We're going to take a break. We'll be back with
more Food for Thought in just a minute.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
You're listening to Food for Thought brought to you buy
the Box Center and sale in Waterfront Hotel and sweets.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
Welcome back to Food for Thought brought to you by
the Box. So, John, we just touched upon what I
think is one of the great components of Burtons is
this real sensitivity to allergies and doing it in a
delicious way. You're not leaving there feeling like you didn't
have an edible mill. You're leaving there like you feel
like you had exactly what you wanted to have, minus
the gluten, mius, the dairy, whatever it looks like. So
(21:18):
I applaud you guys for that commitment, longtime commitment there.
But I want to sort of talk about growth. I
want to talk about where things are twenty four locations,
and I'm saying twenty four because the twenty fourth just opened,
Am I right?
Speaker 3 (21:31):
We just opened in Mansfield, Mansfields Crossing Shopping Center, Mansfield,
right outside of Foxboro, four ninety five and ninety five.
Can't miss it. It's a pocket that we really didn't
have anything. Our closest location would have really hang them
in the South Shore or framing Ham, you know, something
like that. So it's an area that we don't have
a Burton's. We just opened, huge success. The customers, the
(21:55):
community has embraced us wholly. It's been fantastic. Come check
it out, and it's pretty fitting. That's our twentieth anniversary
and we wrap up the year with our twenty fourth
location in Mansfield and back home in Boston. So it
couldn't be better. But we're excited about this one. It's
going great.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
And so I'm not going to make your name all
twenty four because that's just mean, although you probably like
say them in your sleep every single night. But so
the majority of them are here in Massachusetts, but you
have some elsewhere.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
Yeah, I mean actually ten I call ten in the
Greater New England area. We have one in Nashville, New Hampshire,
one in South Windsor, Connecticut, so that's kind of ten
around here. We opened in Philadelphia earlier this summer in Wayne, Philadelphia,
which is a great town. We opened, and we're in
the Greater DC area. We're going to Baltimore next year.
(22:45):
We're under construction at Baltimore. We have three in Charlotte.
We're in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. We have two in
South Florida. We're in Atlanta. So we're kind of up
and down the East coast, which is a nice I
live in Richmond, so I'm like an hour and a half.
I have parameters. I have to give me more than
two hours.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
From my Yeah, that's going to get too crazy, but yeah.
Speaker 3 (23:02):
We opened four in the last twelve months, which is
a great i for the team. That's phenomenal that we
did that. And you know, we're kind of clipping along
at you know, three to four restaurants a year in
a real responsible way. We're not we don't have great
ambitions of building some major company right now. We're just
enjoying it. The consumers are asking for you know, people
that want us to build in their area. You know,
(23:24):
we're doing the best we can to.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
Well, I would still call you ambitious, but responsibly ambitious,
which I absolutely love. But it is you're right. I
mean I think of the majority as Massachusetts really not.
Speaker 3 (23:34):
You're It's really not over half the company we're outside
of outside of ASTI and I know.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
You have such a commitment to Massachusetts as a company.
I know you guys do a lot of different initiatives.
I'm assuming wherever you are in your location. But you know,
just since worse talking in Massachusetts, athough, I should say this.
This radio line goes from Maine to Florida, so anyone
can be listening anywhere along your East coast. But but
you know, focused here in New England, I know that
(23:59):
there's a big commitment to philanthropy for you guys and
making sure that you have a variety of initiation does
that take place throughout the year to give back so store.
Speaker 3 (24:08):
Really it's from a local effort. Our gms are really
committed to anything in the community that that's important to
their customers is going to be important to us Here
in New England. We have a we it's going on
a third year with Boston's Children Hospital. It's been going fantastic.
We have a in May, we have sale that awareness month.
This is a gluten Gluten Intolerance month here in November,
(24:30):
so we're actually doing a round up campaign in the
New England restaurants if they want to donate to that.
So really being part of the community isn't just something
that we feel like we have to do. We actually
want to do it. We love giving back. It's been
great the people that we've partnered with in the past,
and we're looking forward to more relationships in the future.
So every market's like that and it really stems from
(24:50):
our people that want to get involved. You know, it's
crazy to have such a local Rabbits following because our
communities really embrace us and the gms absolutely embrace the
com and it's really kind of an easy partnership quite honestly.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
I love that. Okay, So holidays are a pawn us
Oh my gosh, I know, dangerous. Yeah, I know, it's
already here. So what can people expect at Burtons.
Speaker 3 (25:12):
Well, first of all, holiday gift cards. Come and buy those,
I mean like everybody, and then we do a great
bounce back for that. So if you buy, you buy
one hundred, you get you get twenty back and you
can use that for yourself. So that's a nice little
gift for you. So that's a fun thing. Well, Denise
has also worked up a great Wago and whiskey uh program,
so come and do that. In the restaurants, we have
(25:35):
holiday cocktails, which is really fun. So we have a
really fun and spirited kind of holiday cocktail us. You know,
when you go out. Everyone loves to go out during
the holiday, so we want to make it as festive
as possible. We want to make it fun, a little
bit different. People love their favorites. We're never taking certain
things off, but we'll add some really great holiday items
on the menu and to have fun with because we
want people to come celebrate with us this holiday season.
(25:56):
Oh my gosh, I can't believe it. So it's only
a few weeks.
Speaker 2 (25:59):
And obviously of that, you guys do events, you know
for folks, and catering is also.
Speaker 3 (26:03):
We launched it. Catering has been great. We launched catering
earlier this year and it's been like a you know,
a project for us that we really kind of just
slowly got started. It has grown crazy. The restaurants, the
customers are really excited about that. So you can order
online catering. You can go through easy cater We're finding
it's not big, huge corporate events. It's like people at
(26:25):
their house. They want to have a party at their house,
yet they can't come to us, right, you know, we'll
come to them and we'll deliver to them. And of
course a lot of our restaurants have private dining rooms,
so the group of dining has become a thing once again,
especially post COVID. People love going out and hanging out together.
We embrace that. We want you to come have your
holiday party with us, so there's still there might still
be time to do.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
That, you know well, and do it in January. That's
the other thing, like we do our holiday party in
January because it's a little less stressful, it's a little
less going on. But John, it's such a pleasure to
be with you. I'm so happy to be with you
in the flesh, to be talking about a company that
I love so much and so dearly and have supporting
all these years, and to not be talking to you
just on the phone. So thank you for.
Speaker 3 (27:03):
Joining me, Thank you my pleasure, and happy.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
Holidays to everybody.
Speaker 3 (27:07):
We're going to come back.
Speaker 2 (27:07):
We have we have another guest coming up, but make
sure that you go to your local Burtons. Where do
people go for all things Burton. It's pretty easy and
it's pretty delicious and John, thanks so much. We'll be
back more Food for Thought in just a minute.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
You're listening to Food for Thought brought to you buy
the Box Center and Salem Waterfront Hotel and sweet.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
Welcome back to Food for That brought to you by
the Box Center. Okay, so the Box Center is one
of the great places in Boston for performing and our
next guest is bringing unbelievable performance to our Boston area.
I'm really excited about this. Susan Vance is our guest
and she has been with Due Portugal Circus for ten years,
(27:48):
which is currently in our city and something that people
can enjoy. So Susan, thanks so much for joining us.
Speaker 4 (27:54):
Thank you. Good morning.
Speaker 2 (27:55):
Well I love this history. First of all, where are
you from, because you're clearly not from Boston. You have
this beautiful accent.
Speaker 4 (28:02):
I am actually originally from Scotland.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
Oh wonderful, and I'm assuming not in Scotland most of
the time now because you're you're traveling so much. But
I want a little bit of history. So the Do
Portugal Circus is a fifth generation circus operation.
Speaker 5 (28:18):
Yes, so they're a fifth generation circus. The actual circus
has been running now for thirty years, but their history
goes back a lot.
Speaker 4 (28:25):
Longer than that.
Speaker 5 (28:26):
I think it can date back to like nineteen eleven.
They started in Mexico and they've been traveling all through Mexico,
Central America and they're in the USA. Wow.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
Okay, so when they started back in nineteen eleven, what
did it look like and then kind of bring us
up to speed with what it looks like today.
Speaker 5 (28:44):
Yeah, So it started members off the Portugal family sort
of working in other circuses, and then they started their
own circus, which at the time would have been very small,
like do.
Speaker 4 (28:57):
Just the basics of the ten They just they just
grew and grew and they try to keep it all.
Speaker 5 (29:05):
We do hire from with the family, but it is
still mainly a family circus, so they still have like
the owner's son is one of the motorcyclists in the Globe.
Another one of his sons is on the Flinch Peace,
like his nephew is the juggler. So it's very much
still family run and they try to keep their traditions.
Speaker 2 (29:22):
It's born into the circus like that is so magical. Okay,
so this talk about the circus, because there's so many
different iterations of the circus, what can people expect when
they come to see the show.
Speaker 4 (29:34):
So it's a very family friendly circus.
Speaker 5 (29:36):
It's suitable for all ages. Anybody can come. You know,
you can bring your kids, you can bring your grand
you can come on a date, go as friends. We
like to say there's something for everybody. So we have
some of our new access here. We have our human cannonball,
which is literally a man being shot.
Speaker 4 (29:53):
Off a cannonball.
Speaker 5 (29:54):
It's a very rare circus act. You don't get it
very much nowadays. We have our flying we have motorbikes
in the Globe of Death. We have aerialists, acrobats, jugglers, clowns, magic.
It's a really fun show and it's it's high energy
and it's it's just good to watch.
Speaker 2 (30:11):
And I love that it works for everyone. I have
two young kids, and so oftentimes when a lot of
these shows there, they're just not they're not as appropriate,
and so it's so nice to be able to be
so inclusive, and that's something great, certainly for the holidays.
So this is your second time in Boston, am I right?
How was your first experience here last year?
Speaker 4 (30:29):
It was amazing.
Speaker 5 (30:30):
We had a really good year last year and that's
that's main really why they wanted to come back here.
Speaker 4 (30:35):
Yeah, it was first time in Boston last year.
Speaker 2 (30:38):
So what does it look like? So you first of all,
I want to actually I want to start start by
talking about you personally, because you are actually an aerialist
with the circus. So tell me a little bit about
your background and how you got into this.
Speaker 5 (30:50):
I personally trained. Everyone comes from a little bit different background.
I trained as a professional dancer back in Scotland and
I actually joined the circus as a dancer when they
were in Mexico. And I was fortunate enough that my
dance captain at the time she also learned eurial silks
and she started to teach me a little bit and
then I graduate. While I was churing, I started training
(31:14):
and training and training and training, and after seven years
I was able to go into the show as an aerialist.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
What an awesome evolution and I love that such commitment.
I mean, that's one of the things that I'm always
so struck by in seeing shows with such talent like
this is you have to be so committed and so
present and so focused with everything that you're doing because
it's obviously so consequential and so impactful of the work
that you're doing. So all right, you're traveling. Give us
(31:41):
an idea of what it's like to be part of
a traveling circus and what places you've been to this
past year since you were last in Boston.
Speaker 5 (31:48):
So it's really it's a really amazing experience. You get
to see a lot of new places, you get to
travel to, meet lots of new people. It is obviously
difficult sometimes being on the road, like we're on the
road the whole time, but we have our own like
RV trailers that we travel with the show, So in
that way, it's kind of nice because you've got your
little home away from home, so you're traveling with your home.
Speaker 4 (32:10):
We're not.
Speaker 5 (32:11):
We we're lucky that we're not always staying in hotels
and so we have so that helps in that way.
Speaker 4 (32:17):
And this year we have been to Chicago.
Speaker 5 (32:21):
We've been we're mainly on the East coast, so we
only stay in a town for maybe one week or
two weeks. We've actually been to a lot of a
lot of towns in the past year. But it's kind
of like Boston to Chicago. We kind of run that route.
Speaker 2 (32:35):
Okay, And so here in Boston, where are you and
what and what's the experience? Like, like do you have
is there food that people can enjoy when they get
in there? And tell us a little bit more about
what the experiences look like.
Speaker 5 (32:44):
We are set up at three or five McLellan Highway
and the tent is right out the side of the
highway so you can't miss it. We have concessions as
you come in, so you've got like all your popcorns, snacks,
cotton candy, hot dogs. Now we open one hour before
the show, so you just leave yourself to get enough
(33:05):
time to get your snacks, and then we've got like
souvenirs for the kids as well.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
Oh I love that. Okay. So the tent is right there,
and the nice part about where it is is you
don't have to worry about the craziness of parking in Boston.
So it's parking pretty convenient.
Speaker 4 (33:17):
Yes, parking is free, and we've got a big parking look.
Speaker 2 (33:20):
So parking is free. I mean, how often do you
get to say something like that. Okay, and so, and
one of the things that you're also really committed to
is the affordability, Like that's something that you as a
circus have always wanted to make sure it's accessible for folks.
Speaker 5 (33:35):
Yes, definitely, we want to make sure it's accessible that
a lot of people, we understand have big families, and
we want it to be something that you can you
can bring all your kids, you can bring all your family,
you can buy everyone. So our tickets start from twenty
dollars for kids, thirty dollars for adults. But if you
buy online, we have like some family packs available, we
have friends packs available, which just make a little bit
cheaper for people.
Speaker 2 (33:55):
I love it so much. Okay, So you mentioned to
the human cannonball. You obviously are an area list, so
tell me a little bit more. You said magicians. What
are some other acts that people can experience when they
come to do Portugal Circus.
Speaker 5 (34:08):
So one of our favorite acs is the motorbikes in
the Globe of Death. So we have two motorbikes and
it's basically a big metal sphere and they're going to
round at like eight miles an hour and it's a
crowd pleaser, like every time.
Speaker 4 (34:22):
Everybody loves it.
Speaker 2 (34:23):
Oh my gosh, I can only imagine. And it's like
the nail bier too, you know. It's like you're just
always kind of on the edge of your seat and
it's just such a great way to experience, just experience
the holidays. So you're in Boston for some time? Tell
us a little bit more. You're at least here for
another week, so what are your dates?
Speaker 5 (34:40):
So we're gonna be here until December seventh, and we
have shows every single day. So Monday Friday we have
shows at seven thirty. Saturdays we have shows two pm,
five pm, and eight pm, and then Sundays shows at
two pm and five pm.
Speaker 4 (34:53):
So there's there's a time that every.
Speaker 2 (34:54):
Reason, like when do you sleep? But you do three
shows in a day sometimes, oh my, and you're doing
a show every single day. So I just need to ask, like,
is there a break after this, you know, November to
December run in Boston? Will you give yourselves a little
bit of time?
Speaker 5 (35:11):
Yes, So we'll be closed for the rest of December
and then we'll start up again in January.
Speaker 2 (35:15):
Where are you going to in January?
Speaker 4 (35:16):
So we'll be North Carolina.
Speaker 2 (35:18):
Wow, okay. And so do you get to experience the
cities that you're in, I mean, you do you feel
like you do a little bit? And how is Boston felt?
Has it been a welcoming place to be?
Speaker 4 (35:27):
I love Boston.
Speaker 5 (35:28):
I love Boston because as well, it reminds me a
lot off them Scotland, like the cities you can see,
like that kind of old orange charm and like it's
a very similar city.
Speaker 4 (35:37):
Like I feel like I could be in a city
in Britain sometimes.
Speaker 2 (35:40):
And I would agree. Although I haven't been to Scotland,
but it's very top of my list. My husband has
been so and when I get there, I'll have to
give you a call to get some to get some recommendations.
But I love the fact that this is family run
operated for so long because it's the kind of thing
where it's clear that the passion that you guys all
have is obviously coming through into the audience. And so
(36:01):
does this feel like a second family to you?
Speaker 4 (36:03):
I imagine, yeah, definitely.
Speaker 5 (36:05):
I think it's more like you are working on a show,
and you know, like you're working for a company, but
it's really it's more a community. Everybody gets involved in
everything and they really do accept you into the family,
like you feel like you've you've kind of joined their
family for that, and that's why I've stayed here for
ten years.
Speaker 4 (36:21):
So special.
Speaker 2 (36:22):
Well, I am very excited because I'm going to be
taking my family, so I cannot wait to say. I
interviewed Susan right there. And so are there a lot
of area lists in the show? Am I going to
find you easily? Are there many?
Speaker 1 (36:33):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (36:33):
So we've got two, well, we've got three different aerial acts.
So my aerial act is the aerial Silks, So it's
a big bit of fabric that goes to the very
top of the tent and then I climb up, I
do like I do, like drops, different tricks. And we've
got another aerial act which is Hannah and she does
the aerial hoop, so they are quite different. They're quite
(36:54):
different aerial acts. We also have another one that's the
Washington Tripe, which is another act that not many circuses
have nowadays, that instead of holding on to the piece
with hens, he's actually balancing on his head and you'll
see him he swing back going forward. It's one of
the ones that I think if all the audience members,
I love looking at them because they're all just sitting
there like.
Speaker 2 (37:15):
Like literally jaws trying this like so much suspense. Well,
I personally am very much looking forward to it. If
you are looking for something very special to do this
holiday season, just go online to do Portugal Circus d
o Portugal Circus dot com. Very accessible price point, very
approachable for the whole family. Susan, thank you so much
(37:36):
for joining us, and get to the circus. Guys. We'll
be back with more Food for Thought in just a minute.
Speaker 1 (37:42):
You're listening to Food for Thought brought to you Buy
the Box Center and Salem Waterfront Hotel and Sweet.
Speaker 2 (37:48):
Welcome back to Food for Thought brought to you Buy
the Box Center. This has been a really good show,
lots of ideas of things to do for the holidays.
I'm sure everyone's getting into that crazy holiday spirit and
also getting a little bit of stress. So we always
say make sure to support as many local businesses as
you possibly can over the course of the holidays. Go
(38:09):
out often, go out often, and go support local businesses often.
So one of the things I wanted to talk about
on the last break of the show today is about
Michelin coming to Boston. So I had the pleasure of
going to Philadelphia this past week as the Micheline Awards
were announced. And so if you're a foodie, you know
(38:31):
that the Michelin Guide and Michelin Stars have really dictated
a lot of what is the food scene around the world.
And Boston was never on a Michelin list, right, So
Boston was never part of the Michelin Guide. And this
is its first year that it's going to be or
that it is now, and also the first year for Philly,
so it's an exciting time. So I flew down to Philly,
(38:53):
which is why it was there, and there were chefs
and restaurant tours from Chicago, New York, Philly, Washington, DC,
and of course Boston. And so of course Billy and
I are most focused on New England, and so we
had a lot of amazing Boston chefs with us present.
And some of those chefs that you guys know are
on a sortoon from Oleana and Cambridge. There was Pammy
(39:16):
from Pammy's. Jamie was there from Somayac, there was Michael
Surpa from Select Oyster, bar uh Toro, Ken Oranger was there,
Kristen and Charlie from Woodshill Pier four were there, a
great restaurant, Thislan Leak was there, and lots of other ones.
La Padrona, which was recently voted one of the greatest
new restaurants of I think twenty twenty five, was there, Asta,
(39:39):
which is a great prefixed menu restaurant. Carmelina's, Julia and Cambridge.
Michael Paglierini was there, and so what it was was
just this amazing group of very talented Boston chefs getting
some really great recognition. So what happened was they started
(40:00):
with the restaurants that were going to be included in
the guide, and many of the restaurants I just mentioned
are now Michelin recommended. And then they had some other
special awards, so a couple of Massachusetts spots got them
as well. So there's a Cocktail Award which was given
to Mahoneiom, which is a restaurant in Brookline, Massachusetts. It's
a Thai restaurant and it has a slew of awards.
(40:22):
I'm pretty I know it had James Beard nomination, but
I don't remember if I had a James Beard Award.
But that was a great celebration for Mahoneium. They are
very talented. And then there was the bib Gourmond. So
this is a restaurant where you go to to get
culinary excellence, but you're not spending the three hundred and
fifty prefixed three hundred and fifty dollars prefixed menu amount.
(40:44):
You're getting something in a much more approachable price point,
but it is still doing the excellence that originary was
created for Michelin. So the ones that got the bib
Gourmond award were two of Karen Occonowitz's restaurants, Bar Volpe
and Fox and the Knife, both in South Boston. Jahunger
and Cambridge. Mahaneiom also got a bib Gourmand in Brookline,
(41:06):
Pagoo Tracy Chang very talented in Cambridge, and then Samai
o Huna Kitchen in Cambridge also did as well. And
then there was one restaurant that got a Michelin one
star and it's the three eleven Oma Kazi Boston. So
this is a very tiny restaurant in the South End.
I think it's seats fifteen, and they are doing Oma
(41:26):
Kazi in a food tasting prefixed menu in a way
that is just magical, and it was so special to
see them there and see them get their BIB and
see them get this award, and it's really great for
Boston to be promoted on this level anyway. So that's
just your micheline roundup from someone who happens to be
lucky enough to get inside that room for those awards.
And those are restaurants who want you to check out
(41:48):
this holiday season, and of course all the others too,
because everybody wasn't going to be able to be added
to the guide the first year, but it's great to
know that that's something that will happen moving forward. All right, Well,
that's it for Food for Thought, brought to you by
the Box Center chou Choo
You are listening to Food for Thought with Billy and Jenny,
brought to you by the Box Center. For more than
fifteen years, this dining duo has been eating their way
through New England, mixing it up with top chefs, jumping
behind the line of the hottest restaurants, and giving you
the inside scoop on where to whine, dine and spend
your time. So get ready, it's Food for Thought giving
(00:20):
you something to chew on.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Hey, everybody, welcome into Food for Thought, brought to you
by the Box Center. I'm excited for this guest because
I've had him on the show, but I have never
met him in person. And I have known this company
for all twenty years of its existence, have respected and
loved and enjoyed the deliciouss that comes out of this company,
Burton's Grill, which has now twenty four locations and is
(00:46):
celebrating its twentieth year. And I am so excited to
have its CEO and studio with me right now. John, Hey, gee,
I how are you. It's ring it really years. I
love it. I love it so much, and I love
this business and I love what you guys have done.
I love the culture that you've created, and I love
(01:07):
how so much of it takes place in our beautiful
state of Massachusetts. But John, I want to know a
little bit about you before we talk about Burtons and
all the exciting things you guys have going on. So
give me a little bit of a background. Where'd you
come from, How'd you get into this, how'd you get
connected with Burtons?
Speaker 3 (01:23):
Grew up in Texas, spent my early years in Texas,
and then moved to Florida in my high school years.
Started my career in restaurants in high school at Outback Steakhouse,
believe it or not, and I spent twenty years with
that company. I was that guy. I was that guy
who's just that guy who started as a dishwasher bus boy,
(01:43):
worked my way up to a pretty high level in
out Back, and I kind of oversaw the whole Virginia market.
So I planted in Richmond over twenty about twenty years
ago and been there ever since. Love it. I love
this industry. I love the restaurant industry. I grew up
in it, and I'm Lebanese also, so I a name
(02:05):
right though. That was great.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
It took a while, but I got it. I got it.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
So you know, my culture is food, family, cooking, kitchen table,
so all that is in my DNA.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
We'll talk a little bit about that background. So what
was the food scene like for you at home growing up?
And and was that where the love for food came from?
Speaker 3 (02:25):
No doubt for sure, you know, kitchen table. Lebanese's grandmother
baked bread for the church, you know, constantly baking. She
taught me how to bake. She taught me love of
great food she cooked or she grew on herbs and
grape leaves and all that stuff. So early on, I
had just this affinity for great food. And also around
(02:45):
that is like the family, the table, the gathering, everything
goes along with that. So that was kind of instilled
really early in me. So I've always loved that. But
when I got in the industry, you know, it was like,
you know, first job in high school restaurants, so it
was a little different, but quickly fell in love with hospitality,
(03:06):
food service, connecting with people, growing a team. So all
of that was kind of instilled early. And then you know,
the out there, run it out back was kind of
my you know, my PhD and hospitality and restaurant education
of kind of working my way upon an organization and
kind of getting the skill sets to like lead a company.
(03:29):
And then I left out back in twenty ten after
twenty years, and then I started my own company, my
own restaurant company with two other partners, and that was
called Taza Kitchen, and that's based in Richmond, Virginia. And
that was a fantastic, you know, ten year entrepreneurial run
for me. So it was Baja California meets Campania, Italy.
It was pizzas and tacos, and we traveled all over
(03:51):
and love of great food, craft, cocktails, wood fired cooking.
So that was kind of my entrepreneurial run for ten
years to do that. And yeah, and then oddly enough,
during COVID, I made a life career change and came
to join the Burtons team. So it was the stars
kind of aligned. I've I've known Kevin Harron, our former
(04:14):
our founder and former CEO, Denise her Era of course
you know, well you know she's our chief coliny officer.
I knew her that I knew a lot of the team.
It made sense and and I kind of made that
move for an opportunity to run the organization in twenty
twenty and now five years later, you know, we built
seven restaurants since then. We're blowing and going. But Boston's
(04:38):
our home, our company's home. It's not my personal home.
I live in Richmond, Virginia.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Here you in.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
I was here two days ago, so you're second the city. Well,
you're home away and be up here.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Well, it's so interesting, like when you think about Outback,
if you think about what the culinary landscape was when
you were at Outback, like that was the place.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
Back in the day that was made from scratch food, yes,
high quality. It was great culture, great people. So it
was an organization that that I really was proud of
and I learned a lot and and and I was
very successful at It was a great, great run and
kind of instilled some of the really some of the
you know, institutional kind of philosophical things that I stand
(05:24):
for and it's still today.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Well, I think what's so unique is that you had
the love for food, right, which I think sometimes doesn't
always happen with these sort of big restaurant groups, right,
Like it's more like the love for the business or
love for growing a brand, or love for And it's
so nice that you had both of those, because those
are two of Billy and I's favorite stories, the ones
that come that start in the kitchen with Grandma or
(05:46):
mom around the you know, baking the bread Sunday night meals,
like that kind of thing is what fuels us from
a storytelling perspective. And then to couple that with starting
as the bus boy, like those are two favorite stories
in this industry.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
I think think that's why part and parcel of why
I've had some success to this business. As I you know,
I was that person and I can relate, and I
enjoy being the restaurants. I'm the CEO, but I'm in
I'm hardly ever in my office. We have a really
nice office in North Andover. It's beautiful, but I'm in
the restaurants and I'm with the teams and I spend
(06:19):
time with the people, and it's the It's the greatest
part of my day, no doubt about it. And if
you have that mindset of you know, quality and growth
and family and teamwork, and you're driven by that, then
it gives you this kind of drive for success around
growth sales, you know, and not so much the finance
part always comes later. But you know, sometimes we lose
(06:42):
our focus as an industry because it's so hard to
make money. It's so difficult, especially this year, like every
year it's something with our business and now it's supply
chain and tariffs and it's always something. So it's really
really hard. But at the end of the day, you've
got to have a happy customer that is just ravenous
about your food and your service, and we've built that
(07:03):
with Burtons.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Oh god, have you ever ravenous? And like this, Like
the commitment to the Burtons brand has been so consistent
for those twenty years, which you can't really say about
a lot of places. Really proud something to be incredibly
proud of. We're going to break down a little bit
more for the random person who hasn't been inside of
Burtons before what people can experience inside. We're going to
(07:25):
take a break and we'll be back with more Food
for Thought brought to you by the awesome Box Center.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
In just a minute, you're listening to Food for Thought
brought to you by the Box Center and Salem Waterfront
Hotel in Sweet.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Welcome back to Food for Thought brought to you by
the Box Center. So we are in studio today and
I am talking with Burton's CEO, John hagy I, and
we got a little bit about his background, a little
bit about the fact that you're passionate about food, a
little bit of fact that you're clearly passionate about the business.
You touched upon the fact that it's a hard industry
(07:59):
and this is some thing that Billy and I, I
think it's one of our biggest passions, is to be
able to educate the customer, the public about what this
business really means, because the conception of it is drastically
different than its reality. And if it's not one thing,
it's the other thing. You know, you mentioned some of
(08:19):
the challenges, but I want to I want to sort
of talk about that. And when you're educating the public
or you know, your family or whoever it is, about
this industry, how do you sort of describe its challenges
and why you have to have so much grit to
stick with it.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
Yeah, no doubt. If you're an owner operator, or a
mid sized company or a large you know, Global Fortune
five hundred company, you know, we all face the same challenges.
And what the public doesn't know that and it's just hard,
is that the you know, the profit margins for restaurants
are literally pennies on the dollar. If you make ten
(08:57):
cents on the dollar, everyone is high fiving and it
is the best thing in the world. And most people
just don't understand that. They look at the price that
they're paying, they look at the atmosphere and they say, God,
these they must be just making a fortune. This is great. Well,
especially with owner operators. Usually that person is there ninety
hours a week, you know, every single day. They're not
(09:18):
only running their business, but they also have to run
their business the finance part of the business. They accounting,
the payroll, the compliance. None of that part has anything
to do with making a customer happy, but they have
to spend time on that. So it does require you know,
a focus, but and a profit per employee. You know,
this is a very labor intensive industry. It requires a
(09:39):
lot of human you know capital, much less than a
tech tech company or you know, a retail brand. We
rely heavily on a job market, which is is you know,
quite challenging sometimes, especially right now with what's going on
with the economy and the workforce. It's it's really really difficult,
you know. And also I think our industry, i know,
(10:00):
our industry ten years ago, twenty years ago, it's always
got a bad rap for some reason about like earning
a place and having a career in the restaurant world.
I don't know why. It's a glorious industry. You can
make a lot of money, you can work your way up.
There's family, there's great culture, great pride. But for some reason,
we kind of got that bad rap, you know, and
(10:22):
I think we're overcoming it now and a lot of
people are finding do you come work for Burdens or
any restaurant. You can make a lot of money. It
could be very rewarding. It could be a special place
to work and you could work your way up and
do what you want, and it could be a wonderful,
wonderful career, or it could be a great stopping ground,
you know, on your way to something else, because you're
gonna learn great traits along their way in our business,
(10:43):
communication and problem solving and hospitality and dealing with people,
because now everyone's on this.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Right with their phones, so they don't know how to talk.
Speaker 3 (10:50):
They don't know my children don't know how to speak.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
Well.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
It's so funny that you're saying this, John, because my
husband's like one thing that will unequivocally happen to my children.
Says to my children all the time, you will work
in the restaurant industry because it will prepare you in
ways that no other industry can prepare you for life,
like for literally what life is. And I love that
so much because I think it's true and that people
(11:13):
person component is is so important. And the truth is,
that's what we want, that's what we need, that's what
we're fueled by.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
And guess what that's it's coming back to Remember in COVID,
it's like we all were isolated for so we don't
like to talk about it. We're all isolated. Now everyone's
back and they want to gather. But you remember, like
we were gonna the tech was gonna take over the world.
There was gonna be no menus and there's gonna be
no service, and it's everything at a counter. And people
want the hospitality, They want some sort of connection and
our customers are wanting it to so you got to
(11:43):
be careful, Like I really believe that that there is
that need still for connectivity even on the a on
the consumer side, they want when they go out for dinner,
they want to enjoy a nice dinner and have someone
serve them and have someone give them great hospitality and
great service. And if you do that, you can be.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Successul Well, we're a human beings that are wired for connection,
like literally, we are wired for connection. And this is
the place where we get the greatest connection. And this
is where memories are made, and this is where you
have the greatest celebrations of your life. But there's something
different about the Burtons culture. So we talked about kind
of the challenges, you know, like the challenges I suppose
if you're in any business. Although we say we think
(12:20):
hospitality is the every.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
Year, it's something different, it really is.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
I'm going to go record.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
I think I think it gets I think it takes
the cake, so to speak. But I want to talk
about the culture because that is something I think that
is paramount for the business and is also something that
has helped it not only sustain but thrive over the
past twenty years. So talk about what makes the Burtons
culture different.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
Well, people first culture, and a lot of people say it,
you know, it's it's not it's nothing new quite honestly,
but it's a people first take care of your of
your customers, your internal customers, your people first. That means
you have to pay them really well. Our GM should
make the most money possible. You know, they're in there
every single day, work in their butts off. They have
to be incentivized by performance. Also from a lifestyle standpoint,
(13:05):
you know, you've got to make sure they have the
right lifestyle that's commensurate to you know, everything else in
their life. And our industry was like you got to
go in there and work and kill yourself. Well, people
have families, they have children, so you know, really look
at that. What is their commitments at home, what is
their commitments with their spouse and their families and their community,
and really embrace that. You know, so by far Burns Hasten,
(13:25):
that started way before I got here. You know, that
was instilled. Not only was Burns just an operational just
like they were really good at executing, but they really
took care of their people and even still today, like
if anybody needs to do anything, we will all step up.
Someone's got something with their kids or we're not signing,
you know, formal stuff, I'm going to be out there.
Just go take care of their family and we cover it,
and we do it, and you instill that and you
(13:47):
deliver on that, and you got to get feedback. One
thing we made another change, a change we made a
few years ago was we had this just massive commitment
to to continuous feedback, you know, and and that's up
and down and all around. You know, really listen and
really listen to your staff. What what what are their concerns,
what are they happy about, what they're proud about, what
(14:07):
do they want to see in the business. And if
you can kind of you know, foster around that and
a culture on that, you will entail get a high
performance team culture that can really really deliver. So culture
is number one, first and foremost. It drives everything and
it's really part of what makes us really really special.
And there's a lot of great companies that have had
the same thing. I'm not saying that we're so far different,
but we really do. We really do.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Do you focus and you always have. I mean, I've
known Denise for she's been there for twenty years.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
Yeah, she was our founding chef and she used the
term employer of choice. You know. It's like we need
to be the employer of choice where people choose us
to come work.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
For Yeah, And I mean I've known her for all
of those twenty years and that has always been the message,
right like this, this was from day one the message.
And you know, as she was growing her family, as
she was expanding her family, it was like, how do
we make sure that all my employees are able to yes,
have thriving careers, but also be thriving parents, you know.
And I think in this day and age, it's amazing
to hear that there's such a commitment to that. Okay,
(15:05):
so I want to sort of walk people through the
doors of Burtons. I mean, obviously you have twenty four locations,
so they're different, they're they're different doors, but the experience
is the same. So tell people what they're going to
experience when they come through the doors, and talk a
little bit about your menu.
Speaker 3 (15:20):
Yeah, I mean Burtens is that, you know, it's still
an everyday place. It's an upscale, you know, kind of
a main street every day you know, American grill, you know,
with a twist. I'll say. The twist is that we
just take the greatest hits and people with food that
people love, and we execute it really well. So you
when you come to Burtons, where you're going to find
a crab cake, you're going to find a great steak,
You're going to find a great cheeseburger.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
You know.
Speaker 3 (15:41):
So we're not doing you know, Michelin, you know chef,
you know, far out dishes. We're doing dishes that people love,
people crave, but with really really high quality. It's something
that we really take a lot of pride in our
restaurants by design, and we've really worked on this. We
like them to be inspirational. When you walk in, you'll
feel really great at energy. It'll be a beautiful restaurant,
(16:01):
it will feel upscale, but it'll still be an everyday place.
You can come in, you know, you know, a suit,
you can come in golf shorts, you can come right
after church, right after school. So we really embrace, you know,
kind of an environment where everyone feels comfortable, but it
definitely feels upscale without being stuffy, if that makes any
sense at all. So it's not that steakhouse feel, which
(16:23):
there's nothing wrong with that, but we want to be
an everyday place. So when you pop in a Burdens,
whether it's for brunch or happy hour or lunch or catering, whatever,
it is you want to kind of feel comfortable, but
it feels really good, so you'll walk into a place
that's very inspiring. We spend a lot of care on
the environment, the music, the lighting, the all those things.
(16:43):
They teach us early on to make the intangible stuff
with the customer atmosphere is really important. It's all about
the food. It's all about the food and people. So
we're also allergy friendly in a huge way. We've embrace that,
you know, many many years ago, and we'll talk about that.
But people search us out and they come to us
because they trust us and they rely on us, and
(17:04):
we're really consistent on that.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
So so many different pillars to consider, and you just
touched upon so many of them. But I think that
is the great way to describe it is come as
you are to Burtons, no doubt, but know that when
you're inside, you're having an elevated experience, which is harder
to come by. To have that combination, you know, and
I think it is true from a visual perspective, it's
very comfortable and cozy, but it's also you know that
(17:27):
the food that you're getting is going to be absolutely delicious. Okay,
we're going to take a break. We're gonna come back.
I want to talk about some of those allergies because
the truth is, you guys were pioneers. Yeah, during a
time when people knew very little, They didn't know what
to make of it, but you brought in the opportunity
for everybody, no matter what, to be able to eat
and eat. Well, we're going to take a break. We'll
(17:49):
be back with more Food for Thought in just a minute.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
You're listening to Food for Thought brought to you by
the Box Center and sale in Waterfront Hotel and sweets.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
Welcome back to Food for Thought brought to you by
the Box Center. So John, we're talking Burtons. Why it's
one of everybody's favorite spots to go in the area.
Twenty four locations, twenty years in the industry. But we
mentioned allergies. So I remember this and you're going to
tell me when it was. But it was a long
time ago before this was on the forefront of everybody's mind.
(18:19):
You guys were committed to be able to have customers
come in who had allergies of all kinds. So talk
about that commitment.
Speaker 3 (18:26):
Yeah, it started almost twenty years ago. You know, our
founder Kevin Harron had Celiac disease. It wasn't something that
we led with early on, but it was something that
Denise embraced pretty soon after our second restaurant opened, and
making a commitment to say, hey, let's really you know,
embrace this. You know, our founder had Celiac disease. What
(18:47):
does that mean gluten allergy, Let's really embrace that. But
it really morphed into this like crazy, insane, you know,
commitment to being allergy friendly and for people that have
dietary restrictions, who have allergies, and it's really a commitment
to being inclusive, inclusive dying if you think about that.
(19:07):
So it morphed into a series after ten years of
building it of incredible protocols not just around you know,
gluten incissivities, but all the major allergies. You know, if
you have not allergy or soy allergy or dairy allergy,
or we're peanut free at Burdens. We don't have peanuts
in the building still today. So it turned into this
(19:28):
you know, crazy, just very ambitious at the time commitment
that everyone was kind of scared to do because there's
a lot of risk you know, around that, because if
you're gonna make a commitment like that, it's a serious commitment.
You're dealing with people's lives, livelihoods, health. You know, children
that have this terrible disease, or you know, you don't
eat chicken tenders because they're scared to death, they're gonna
(19:49):
get sick. You know, we people embrace that, and we
have become the go to spot, I'm not kidding, the
go to spot for people that have allergies or any
kind of dietaries.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
I know you're not kidding. I am. While my children
don't have it anymore, they did when they were young.
And I think that there's the way that you talk
about it is because you understand it because it is
about the person's not only health, but in some cases
person's a life or death situation. And one of the
great things about eating at Burtons is you don't have
to feel weird, Like I am one of those people
(20:19):
that from time to time is like not going to
do gluten or right now, dairy's just not feeling well
with me. And oftentimes I'm in a restaurant and they
look at me like I'm just a pain and that
you know what, And when you're at Burtons. You are embraced,
you are accepted, and you are like, let's do this.
Let's come up with whatever it is that we can
do to make you.
Speaker 3 (20:37):
Have a real because a lot of times you do that,
it's like and.
Speaker 2 (20:41):
It's and you because you've been doing it for so long.
The food is so well. Now, yeah, they definitely are.
We're going to take a break. We'll be back with
more Food for Thought in just a minute.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
You're listening to Food for Thought brought to you buy
the Box Center and sale in Waterfront Hotel and sweets.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
Welcome back to Food for Thought brought to you by
the Box. So, John, we just touched upon what I
think is one of the great components of Burtons is
this real sensitivity to allergies and doing it in a
delicious way. You're not leaving there feeling like you didn't
have an edible mill. You're leaving there like you feel
like you had exactly what you wanted to have, minus
the gluten, mius, the dairy, whatever it looks like. So
(21:18):
I applaud you guys for that commitment, longtime commitment there.
But I want to sort of talk about growth. I
want to talk about where things are twenty four locations,
and I'm saying twenty four because the twenty fourth just opened,
Am I right?
Speaker 3 (21:31):
We just opened in Mansfield, Mansfields Crossing Shopping Center, Mansfield,
right outside of Foxboro, four ninety five and ninety five.
Can't miss it. It's a pocket that we really didn't
have anything. Our closest location would have really hang them
in the South Shore or framing Ham, you know, something
like that. So it's an area that we don't have
a Burton's. We just opened, huge success. The customers, the
(21:55):
community has embraced us wholly. It's been fantastic. Come check
it out, and it's pretty fitting. That's our twentieth anniversary
and we wrap up the year with our twenty fourth
location in Mansfield and back home in Boston. So it
couldn't be better. But we're excited about this one. It's
going great.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
And so I'm not going to make your name all
twenty four because that's just mean, although you probably like
say them in your sleep every single night. But so
the majority of them are here in Massachusetts, but you
have some elsewhere.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
Yeah, I mean actually ten I call ten in the
Greater New England area. We have one in Nashville, New Hampshire,
one in South Windsor, Connecticut, so that's kind of ten
around here. We opened in Philadelphia earlier this summer in Wayne, Philadelphia,
which is a great town. We opened, and we're in
the Greater DC area. We're going to Baltimore next year.
(22:45):
We're under construction at Baltimore. We have three in Charlotte.
We're in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. We have two in
South Florida. We're in Atlanta. So we're kind of up
and down the East coast, which is a nice I
live in Richmond, so I'm like an hour and a half.
I have parameters. I have to give me more than
two hours.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
From my Yeah, that's going to get too crazy, but yeah.
Speaker 3 (23:02):
We opened four in the last twelve months, which is
a great i for the team. That's phenomenal that we
did that. And you know, we're kind of clipping along
at you know, three to four restaurants a year in
a real responsible way. We're not we don't have great
ambitions of building some major company right now. We're just
enjoying it. The consumers are asking for you know, people
that want us to build in their area. You know,
(23:24):
we're doing the best we can to.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
Well, I would still call you ambitious, but responsibly ambitious,
which I absolutely love. But it is you're right. I
mean I think of the majority as Massachusetts really not.
Speaker 3 (23:34):
You're It's really not over half the company we're outside
of outside of ASTI and I know.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
You have such a commitment to Massachusetts as a company.
I know you guys do a lot of different initiatives.
I'm assuming wherever you are in your location. But you know,
just since worse talking in Massachusetts, athough, I should say this.
This radio line goes from Maine to Florida, so anyone
can be listening anywhere along your East coast. But but
you know, focused here in New England, I know that
(23:59):
there's a big commitment to philanthropy for you guys and
making sure that you have a variety of initiation does
that take place throughout the year to give back so store.
Speaker 3 (24:08):
Really it's from a local effort. Our gms are really
committed to anything in the community that that's important to
their customers is going to be important to us Here
in New England. We have a we it's going on
a third year with Boston's Children Hospital. It's been going fantastic.
We have a in May, we have sale that awareness month.
This is a gluten Gluten Intolerance month here in November,
(24:30):
so we're actually doing a round up campaign in the
New England restaurants if they want to donate to that.
So really being part of the community isn't just something
that we feel like we have to do. We actually
want to do it. We love giving back. It's been
great the people that we've partnered with in the past,
and we're looking forward to more relationships in the future.
So every market's like that and it really stems from
(24:50):
our people that want to get involved. You know, it's
crazy to have such a local Rabbits following because our
communities really embrace us and the gms absolutely embrace the
com and it's really kind of an easy partnership quite honestly.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
I love that. Okay, So holidays are a pawn us
Oh my gosh, I know, dangerous. Yeah, I know, it's
already here. So what can people expect at Burtons.
Speaker 3 (25:12):
Well, first of all, holiday gift cards. Come and buy those,
I mean like everybody, and then we do a great
bounce back for that. So if you buy, you buy
one hundred, you get you get twenty back and you
can use that for yourself. So that's a nice little
gift for you. So that's a fun thing. Well, Denise
has also worked up a great Wago and whiskey uh program,
so come and do that. In the restaurants, we have
(25:35):
holiday cocktails, which is really fun. So we have a
really fun and spirited kind of holiday cocktail us. You know,
when you go out. Everyone loves to go out during
the holiday, so we want to make it as festive
as possible. We want to make it fun, a little
bit different. People love their favorites. We're never taking certain
things off, but we'll add some really great holiday items
on the menu and to have fun with because we
want people to come celebrate with us this holiday season.
(25:56):
Oh my gosh, I can't believe it. So it's only
a few weeks.
Speaker 2 (25:59):
And obviously of that, you guys do events, you know
for folks, and catering is also.
Speaker 3 (26:03):
We launched it. Catering has been great. We launched catering
earlier this year and it's been like a you know,
a project for us that we really kind of just
slowly got started. It has grown crazy. The restaurants, the
customers are really excited about that. So you can order
online catering. You can go through easy cater We're finding
it's not big, huge corporate events. It's like people at
(26:25):
their house. They want to have a party at their house,
yet they can't come to us, right, you know, we'll
come to them and we'll deliver to them. And of
course a lot of our restaurants have private dining rooms,
so the group of dining has become a thing once again,
especially post COVID. People love going out and hanging out together.
We embrace that. We want you to come have your
holiday party with us, so there's still there might still
be time to do.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
That, you know well, and do it in January. That's
the other thing, like we do our holiday party in
January because it's a little less stressful, it's a little
less going on. But John, it's such a pleasure to
be with you. I'm so happy to be with you
in the flesh, to be talking about a company that
I love so much and so dearly and have supporting
all these years, and to not be talking to you
just on the phone. So thank you for.
Speaker 3 (27:03):
Joining me, Thank you my pleasure, and happy.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
Holidays to everybody.
Speaker 3 (27:07):
We're going to come back.
Speaker 2 (27:07):
We have we have another guest coming up, but make
sure that you go to your local Burtons. Where do
people go for all things Burton. It's pretty easy and
it's pretty delicious and John, thanks so much. We'll be
back more Food for Thought in just a minute.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
You're listening to Food for Thought brought to you buy
the Box Center and Salem Waterfront Hotel and sweet.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
Welcome back to Food for That brought to you by
the Box Center. Okay, so the Box Center is one
of the great places in Boston for performing and our
next guest is bringing unbelievable performance to our Boston area.
I'm really excited about this. Susan Vance is our guest
and she has been with Due Portugal Circus for ten years,
(27:48):
which is currently in our city and something that people
can enjoy. So Susan, thanks so much for joining us.
Speaker 4 (27:54):
Thank you. Good morning.
Speaker 2 (27:55):
Well I love this history. First of all, where are
you from, because you're clearly not from Boston. You have
this beautiful accent.
Speaker 4 (28:02):
I am actually originally from Scotland.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
Oh wonderful, and I'm assuming not in Scotland most of
the time now because you're you're traveling so much. But
I want a little bit of history. So the Do
Portugal Circus is a fifth generation circus operation.
Speaker 5 (28:18):
Yes, so they're a fifth generation circus. The actual circus
has been running now for thirty years, but their history
goes back a lot.
Speaker 4 (28:25):
Longer than that.
Speaker 5 (28:26):
I think it can date back to like nineteen eleven.
They started in Mexico and they've been traveling all through Mexico,
Central America and they're in the USA. Wow.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
Okay, so when they started back in nineteen eleven, what
did it look like and then kind of bring us
up to speed with what it looks like today.
Speaker 5 (28:44):
Yeah, So it started members off the Portugal family sort
of working in other circuses, and then they started their
own circus, which at the time would have been very small,
like do.
Speaker 4 (28:57):
Just the basics of the ten They just they just
grew and grew and they try to keep it all.
Speaker 5 (29:05):
We do hire from with the family, but it is
still mainly a family circus, so they still have like
the owner's son is one of the motorcyclists in the Globe.
Another one of his sons is on the Flinch Peace,
like his nephew is the juggler. So it's very much
still family run and they try to keep their traditions.
Speaker 2 (29:22):
It's born into the circus like that is so magical. Okay,
so this talk about the circus, because there's so many
different iterations of the circus, what can people expect when
they come to see the show.
Speaker 4 (29:34):
So it's a very family friendly circus.
Speaker 5 (29:36):
It's suitable for all ages. Anybody can come. You know,
you can bring your kids, you can bring your grand
you can come on a date, go as friends. We
like to say there's something for everybody. So we have
some of our new access here. We have our human cannonball,
which is literally a man being shot.
Speaker 4 (29:53):
Off a cannonball.
Speaker 5 (29:54):
It's a very rare circus act. You don't get it
very much nowadays. We have our flying we have motorbikes
in the Globe of Death. We have aerialists, acrobats, jugglers, clowns, magic.
It's a really fun show and it's it's high energy
and it's it's just good to watch.
Speaker 2 (30:11):
And I love that it works for everyone. I have
two young kids, and so oftentimes when a lot of
these shows there, they're just not they're not as appropriate,
and so it's so nice to be able to be
so inclusive, and that's something great, certainly for the holidays.
So this is your second time in Boston, am I right?
How was your first experience here last year?
Speaker 4 (30:29):
It was amazing.
Speaker 5 (30:30):
We had a really good year last year and that's
that's main really why they wanted to come back here.
Speaker 4 (30:35):
Yeah, it was first time in Boston last year.
Speaker 2 (30:38):
So what does it look like? So you first of all,
I want to actually I want to start start by
talking about you personally, because you are actually an aerialist
with the circus. So tell me a little bit about
your background and how you got into this.
Speaker 5 (30:50):
I personally trained. Everyone comes from a little bit different background.
I trained as a professional dancer back in Scotland and
I actually joined the circus as a dancer when they
were in Mexico. And I was fortunate enough that my
dance captain at the time she also learned eurial silks
and she started to teach me a little bit and
then I graduate. While I was churing, I started training
(31:14):
and training and training and training, and after seven years
I was able to go into the show as an aerialist.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
What an awesome evolution and I love that such commitment.
I mean, that's one of the things that I'm always
so struck by in seeing shows with such talent like
this is you have to be so committed and so
present and so focused with everything that you're doing because
it's obviously so consequential and so impactful of the work
that you're doing. So all right, you're traveling. Give us
(31:41):
an idea of what it's like to be part of
a traveling circus and what places you've been to this
past year since you were last in Boston.
Speaker 5 (31:48):
So it's really it's a really amazing experience. You get
to see a lot of new places, you get to
travel to, meet lots of new people. It is obviously
difficult sometimes being on the road, like we're on the
road the whole time, but we have our own like
RV trailers that we travel with the show, So in
that way, it's kind of nice because you've got your
little home away from home, so you're traveling with your home.
Speaker 4 (32:10):
We're not.
Speaker 5 (32:11):
We we're lucky that we're not always staying in hotels
and so we have so that helps in that way.
Speaker 4 (32:17):
And this year we have been to Chicago.
Speaker 5 (32:21):
We've been we're mainly on the East coast, so we
only stay in a town for maybe one week or
two weeks. We've actually been to a lot of a
lot of towns in the past year. But it's kind
of like Boston to Chicago. We kind of run that route.
Speaker 2 (32:35):
Okay, And so here in Boston, where are you and
what and what's the experience? Like, like do you have
is there food that people can enjoy when they get
in there? And tell us a little bit more about
what the experiences look like.
Speaker 5 (32:44):
We are set up at three or five McLellan Highway
and the tent is right out the side of the
highway so you can't miss it. We have concessions as
you come in, so you've got like all your popcorns, snacks,
cotton candy, hot dogs. Now we open one hour before
the show, so you just leave yourself to get enough
(33:05):
time to get your snacks, and then we've got like
souvenirs for the kids as well.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
Oh I love that. Okay. So the tent is right there,
and the nice part about where it is is you
don't have to worry about the craziness of parking in Boston.
So it's parking pretty convenient.
Speaker 4 (33:17):
Yes, parking is free, and we've got a big parking look.
Speaker 2 (33:20):
So parking is free. I mean, how often do you
get to say something like that. Okay, and so, and
one of the things that you're also really committed to
is the affordability, Like that's something that you as a
circus have always wanted to make sure it's accessible for folks.
Speaker 5 (33:35):
Yes, definitely, we want to make sure it's accessible that
a lot of people, we understand have big families, and
we want it to be something that you can you
can bring all your kids, you can bring all your family,
you can buy everyone. So our tickets start from twenty
dollars for kids, thirty dollars for adults. But if you
buy online, we have like some family packs available, we
have friends packs available, which just make a little bit
cheaper for people.
Speaker 2 (33:55):
I love it so much. Okay, So you mentioned to
the human cannonball. You obviously are an area list, so
tell me a little bit more. You said magicians. What
are some other acts that people can experience when they
come to do Portugal Circus.
Speaker 5 (34:08):
So one of our favorite acs is the motorbikes in
the Globe of Death. So we have two motorbikes and
it's basically a big metal sphere and they're going to
round at like eight miles an hour and it's a
crowd pleaser, like every time.
Speaker 4 (34:22):
Everybody loves it.
Speaker 2 (34:23):
Oh my gosh, I can only imagine. And it's like
the nail bier too, you know. It's like you're just
always kind of on the edge of your seat and
it's just such a great way to experience, just experience
the holidays. So you're in Boston for some time? Tell
us a little bit more. You're at least here for
another week, so what are your dates?
Speaker 5 (34:40):
So we're gonna be here until December seventh, and we
have shows every single day. So Monday Friday we have
shows at seven thirty. Saturdays we have shows two pm,
five pm, and eight pm, and then Sundays shows at
two pm and five pm.
Speaker 4 (34:53):
So there's there's a time that every.
Speaker 2 (34:54):
Reason, like when do you sleep? But you do three
shows in a day sometimes, oh my, and you're doing
a show every single day. So I just need to ask, like,
is there a break after this, you know, November to
December run in Boston? Will you give yourselves a little
bit of time?
Speaker 5 (35:11):
Yes, So we'll be closed for the rest of December
and then we'll start up again in January.
Speaker 2 (35:15):
Where are you going to in January?
Speaker 4 (35:16):
So we'll be North Carolina.
Speaker 2 (35:18):
Wow, okay. And so do you get to experience the
cities that you're in, I mean, you do you feel
like you do a little bit? And how is Boston felt?
Has it been a welcoming place to be?
Speaker 4 (35:27):
I love Boston.
Speaker 5 (35:28):
I love Boston because as well, it reminds me a
lot off them Scotland, like the cities you can see,
like that kind of old orange charm and like it's
a very similar city.
Speaker 4 (35:37):
Like I feel like I could be in a city
in Britain sometimes.
Speaker 2 (35:40):
And I would agree. Although I haven't been to Scotland,
but it's very top of my list. My husband has
been so and when I get there, I'll have to
give you a call to get some to get some recommendations.
But I love the fact that this is family run
operated for so long because it's the kind of thing
where it's clear that the passion that you guys all
have is obviously coming through into the audience. And so
(36:01):
does this feel like a second family to you?
Speaker 4 (36:03):
I imagine, yeah, definitely.
Speaker 5 (36:05):
I think it's more like you are working on a show,
and you know, like you're working for a company, but
it's really it's more a community. Everybody gets involved in
everything and they really do accept you into the family,
like you feel like you've you've kind of joined their
family for that, and that's why I've stayed here for
ten years.
Speaker 4 (36:21):
So special.
Speaker 2 (36:22):
Well, I am very excited because I'm going to be
taking my family, so I cannot wait to say. I
interviewed Susan right there. And so are there a lot
of area lists in the show? Am I going to
find you easily? Are there many?
Speaker 1 (36:33):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (36:33):
So we've got two, well, we've got three different aerial acts.
So my aerial act is the aerial Silks, So it's
a big bit of fabric that goes to the very
top of the tent and then I climb up, I
do like I do, like drops, different tricks. And we've
got another aerial act which is Hannah and she does
the aerial hoop, so they are quite different. They're quite
(36:54):
different aerial acts. We also have another one that's the
Washington Tripe, which is another act that not many circuses
have nowadays, that instead of holding on to the piece
with hens, he's actually balancing on his head and you'll
see him he swing back going forward. It's one of
the ones that I think if all the audience members,
I love looking at them because they're all just sitting
there like.
Speaker 2 (37:15):
Like literally jaws trying this like so much suspense. Well,
I personally am very much looking forward to it. If
you are looking for something very special to do this
holiday season, just go online to do Portugal Circus d
o Portugal Circus dot com. Very accessible price point, very
approachable for the whole family. Susan, thank you so much
(37:36):
for joining us, and get to the circus. Guys. We'll
be back with more Food for Thought in just a minute.
Speaker 1 (37:42):
You're listening to Food for Thought brought to you Buy
the Box Center and Salem Waterfront Hotel and Sweet.
Speaker 2 (37:48):
Welcome back to Food for Thought brought to you Buy
the Box Center. This has been a really good show,
lots of ideas of things to do for the holidays.
I'm sure everyone's getting into that crazy holiday spirit and
also getting a little bit of stress. So we always
say make sure to support as many local businesses as
you possibly can over the course of the holidays. Go
(38:09):
out often, go out often, and go support local businesses often.
So one of the things I wanted to talk about
on the last break of the show today is about
Michelin coming to Boston. So I had the pleasure of
going to Philadelphia this past week as the Micheline Awards
were announced. And so if you're a foodie, you know
(38:31):
that the Michelin Guide and Michelin Stars have really dictated
a lot of what is the food scene around the world.
And Boston was never on a Michelin list, right, So
Boston was never part of the Michelin Guide. And this
is its first year that it's going to be or
that it is now, and also the first year for Philly,
so it's an exciting time. So I flew down to Philly,
(38:53):
which is why it was there, and there were chefs
and restaurant tours from Chicago, New York, Philly, Washington, DC,
and of course Boston. And so of course Billy and
I are most focused on New England, and so we
had a lot of amazing Boston chefs with us present.
And some of those chefs that you guys know are
on a sortoon from Oleana and Cambridge. There was Pammy
(39:16):
from Pammy's. Jamie was there from Somayac, there was Michael
Surpa from Select Oyster, bar uh Toro, Ken Oranger was there,
Kristen and Charlie from Woodshill Pier four were there, a
great restaurant, Thislan Leak was there, and lots of other ones.
La Padrona, which was recently voted one of the greatest
new restaurants of I think twenty twenty five, was there, Asta,
(39:39):
which is a great prefixed menu restaurant. Carmelina's, Julia and Cambridge.
Michael Paglierini was there, and so what it was was
just this amazing group of very talented Boston chefs getting
some really great recognition. So what happened was they started
(40:00):
with the restaurants that were going to be included in
the guide, and many of the restaurants I just mentioned
are now Michelin recommended. And then they had some other
special awards, so a couple of Massachusetts spots got them
as well. So there's a Cocktail Award which was given
to Mahoneiom, which is a restaurant in Brookline, Massachusetts. It's
a Thai restaurant and it has a slew of awards.
(40:22):
I'm pretty I know it had James Beard nomination, but
I don't remember if I had a James Beard Award.
But that was a great celebration for Mahoneium. They are
very talented. And then there was the bib Gourmond. So
this is a restaurant where you go to to get
culinary excellence, but you're not spending the three hundred and
fifty prefixed three hundred and fifty dollars prefixed menu amount.
(40:44):
You're getting something in a much more approachable price point,
but it is still doing the excellence that originary was
created for Michelin. So the ones that got the bib
Gourmond award were two of Karen Occonowitz's restaurants, Bar Volpe
and Fox and the Knife, both in South Boston. Jahunger
and Cambridge. Mahaneiom also got a bib Gourmand in Brookline,
(41:06):
Pagoo Tracy Chang very talented in Cambridge, and then Samai
o Huna Kitchen in Cambridge also did as well. And
then there was one restaurant that got a Michelin one
star and it's the three eleven Oma Kazi Boston. So
this is a very tiny restaurant in the South End.
I think it's seats fifteen, and they are doing Oma
(41:26):
Kazi in a food tasting prefixed menu in a way
that is just magical, and it was so special to
see them there and see them get their BIB and
see them get this award, and it's really great for
Boston to be promoted on this level anyway. So that's
just your micheline roundup from someone who happens to be
lucky enough to get inside that room for those awards.
And those are restaurants who want you to check out
(41:48):
this holiday season, and of course all the others too,
because everybody wasn't going to be able to be added
to the guide the first year, but it's great to
know that that's something that will happen moving forward. All right, Well,
that's it for Food for Thought, brought to you by
the Box Center chou Choo
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