Capri, Ray Borque's Captain's Ball & Bridges Homeward

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're 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 rest lawns and giving
you the inside scoop on where to wine, dine and
spend your time. So get ready, it's Food for Thought
giving you something to chew on.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
Hey guys, we welcome into Food for Thought.

Speaker 3 (00:22):
Billy Costa here and one of the most talked about
hottest restaurants in the city right now is a restaurant
in the South End. It's actually part of Soa and
it's called Capri. And we've got chef Nick Dixon on
the phone right now, who happens to be the culinary
director for Broadway, a restaurant group that includes Capri.

Speaker 2 (00:44):
And Nick.

Speaker 4 (00:45):
You there, yeah, how are you?

Speaker 2 (00:48):
I'm fine?

Speaker 3 (00:48):
Nick, So, Jenny Johnson and I brought the cameras into
Capri this past week and oh my goodness, what a
beautiful restaurant that is what made you choose that location?

Speaker 2 (01:00):
Chef?

Speaker 4 (01:03):
You know my business partner Eric Almbach and Will Clark
had their eyes on it. They loved the South End area,
I think as we were. You know, over the past
several years, the South End has just been such an
iconic neighborhood as far as restaurants go. You know, between
the farmers' markets that are there and the event opportunities

(01:25):
with the Solo power Stasion and just that beautiful opportunity
for the patio, it was kind of a no brainer
for us, and we just are an opportunity and jumped
on it.

Speaker 3 (01:34):
I got to tell you a chef, the minute we
walked in, I was blown away by the interior, by
the design Who did it?

Speaker 2 (01:40):
If you don't mind, mind.

Speaker 4 (01:41):
Asking Erica and Michael Diskin, their husband and wife duo
from Assembly Designs, and they have done all of our restaurants. Actually,
you know, just before Capri was Prima. They're the best.
They do everything from the design work to a lot

(02:02):
of the branding, and you know that they're just the
best to work with.

Speaker 3 (02:06):
It's so funny you say that, because when I walked
into the space, I'm thinking, boy, this has the Discan's
name all over it. I mean, it's really beautifully done.
And we have to talk about the outdoor space. It's
probably the largest outdoor dining area I've ever seen.

Speaker 4 (02:23):
Yeah, I think you know that there's this beautiful outdoor patio.
What's really one of the really unique parts about the
restaurant is that there's lots of outdoor there's lots of parking,
and that can be validated when you come in and dine.
So when you park in the lot and then you
walk towards the restaurant, you're kind of greeted with this
beautiful green area with these trees and grass and it's

(02:47):
landscapes beautifully by the management company GTI. And then as
you get past that, you're greeted with this large island
center bar. You know, it's got a covered area and
it's great to get a cocktail at. You can dine
there if you'd like. And then it's you know, just

(03:09):
as you look past the bar, you see this beautiful
large so I think it's like one hundred and seventy
seats out there of dining seats, and that you know,
beautiful umbrellas, and we've got this custom like Tuscan fireplace
built that's just a mammoth fire.

Speaker 3 (03:28):
It's an outdoor fireplace, which was also cool and the
seating was cool because it was a combination of tables
and chairs but also a couch area and like you say,
a giant bar in the outdoor area as well.

Speaker 4 (03:39):
Yeah, Billy, you got to come in and sit like
at the table, the three tables that are right in
front of the fireplace. It's like, as the weather's cooling
down right now, I was out there, you know, chatting
up with you know, a couple of tables, and you
get your back to the fireplace and you're sitting down,
You're having a glass of wine. It's like it really
like you'd probably want to stay there for five or

(04:00):
six hours.

Speaker 5 (04:01):
Nick.

Speaker 3 (04:01):
It's amazing you say that because Jenny and I did
some of the shooting at that table in front of
the outdoor fireplace.

Speaker 2 (04:07):
And I'm saying to myself, you know, I got to
get nick cellphone. I'd like to preserve this if I'm
coming into Capri. Now.

Speaker 3 (04:14):
I know that a Broadway restaurant group, You've got several
places including Well Lincoln and Coppo. My wife Michelle and
I live at Charlestown Marina in the summertime, and we
are more than regulars at Prima in Charlestown. Now I
know that De Corps is kind of similar. I think
the Discans did Charlestown as well, but the menu similar
Prima and Capri.

Speaker 4 (04:37):
Yeah, I think with every restaurant that we make, especially
you know, with the three Italian restaurants, from Capo to
Prima to Capri, there's there's an evolution in the design, right,
like like there's I think first off, we're given the
space kind of dictates what we're able to do, right,
whether that's the food program or the design. But you know,

(05:04):
we kind of as we're opening restaurants, we're kind of
learning about like what we fall in love with, what
customers liked, and and there's an evolution that happens. And
just like with the design, it's the same thing with
the food program. You know, I'm always looking to further
grow and develop and just you know, take take each

(05:28):
restaurant as the next opportunity or to try something new.

Speaker 5 (05:32):
And I think with.

Speaker 4 (05:33):
Prima, you know, the Preman Capri, of both Italian steakhouses,
all three of the town restaurants, we make our own
pasta in. But the difference from Copo to Prima was,
you know, we jumped into doing handmade pastas at Prima,
and then adding in the steak program, adding in like

(05:54):
the homemade mozzarella program, and then we jumped. We took
all three of those things, and we took it even
further to Pray. And you know, half of the pasta's
are all handmade. We have these two lovely sisters that
you know, do these really beautifully made, handmade passas, and they.

Speaker 3 (06:12):
Actually go by the name the Pasta Sisters, which I
think is really cool.

Speaker 2 (06:16):
But we're going to take a break. Nick.

Speaker 3 (06:18):
When we come back, I want to dig deeper into
the menu at Capri because again, this is amazing. Like overnight,
that's all people want to do is go to Capri.
So we'll take a break. I can't mention Prima in
Charlestown though, without mentioning my buddy Andrew, who happens to
be the general manager over there, and he takes really
good care of everybody. He's an absolute gentleman and he
does a great job. So we're going to take a break.

(06:39):
We're talking with chef Dick Nixon, and Nick Dixon reversed it.
You see that Actually the first one didn't sound right.
But we'll take a break and we'll dig deeper into
the menus, not only at Prima and Charlestown, but the
brand new Capri in the South end the Boston and
we'll do that right after the break.

Speaker 1 (07:00):
You're listening to Food for Thought, brought to you by
the Box Center and Salem Waterfront Hotel in sweets Hey.

Speaker 2 (07:06):
Everybody, welcome back to Food for That once again.

Speaker 3 (07:09):
Billy Costa here and we're talking with chef Nick Dixon
from Broadway Restaurant Group, which happens to own well Lincoln
and Coppo in South Boston. They've got several restaurants around town,
including Prima in Charlestown as well as the new Capri
in the South.

Speaker 2 (07:26):
End of Boston.

Speaker 3 (07:27):
So Chef, before we took the break, we were talking
about the homemade pastas at Capri and we mentioned the
pasta sisters.

Speaker 2 (07:36):
Now what is that story?

Speaker 4 (07:38):
So at Lincoln, I had these over the past couple
of years. We've had these two lovely ladies that work
for us and they do a lot of you know,
they handroll NYOCHI, we do these amazing wag you dumplings
at Lincoln and I just from like once, I know
that somebody can make break yoki. I know that they're

(08:00):
very special cook and you know it's all these dumplings
that they make over there. It's like one of our
top sellers. You know. I kind of spoke to them like, hey,
you know I'm doing this restaurant. You know, I feel
like you guys could totally crush these handmade pastas that
I want to do. Would you be interested in learning?
And you know, just like anybody else, they were like,

(08:20):
you know, interested in trying, trying to learn a new
skill set. And I brought them over. They helped out
in the opening, the pre opening. We trained them on
all the recipes and then I just found like their hands,
they have these these really amazing tiny hands that are
just perfect for you know, these delicate details. Yes, yes,

(08:42):
and when we got them, you know some shirts made
that say Pasta Sisters, and they're just really amazing. They
come in, you know, they're there five days a week.
They work together and it's like it's almost like watching
Chef's Table when you watch these these two prepare the pastas.

Speaker 3 (08:57):
Now, do they have a business of their own or
are they exclusive to Capri?

Speaker 4 (09:02):
No? No, they just work at Capri. And I'm sure
that one day when they continue to grow and develop
I'm sure that they're going to come to me and
say that they want to open their own positive business.

Speaker 3 (09:11):
Now, when Jenny Johnson and I were in shooting the show,
and by the way, that's a dining playbook on that
Nesson Saturday Mornings at nine, followed by Meat Boston nine
thirty Saturday Mornings on Nesson. But when we were sitting
in the dining room, you laid a pasta dish out
in front of me that, when I tell you it
was addictive, I could not. I didn't even do the

(09:31):
rest of the show. I just kept eating and let
Jenny do all the talking because the pasta was so delicious.

Speaker 2 (09:37):
Which one was that?

Speaker 4 (09:39):
Oh that was the Garginelly with the chicken rosemary sausage.

Speaker 2 (09:43):
Oh my god, it's.

Speaker 4 (09:45):
Amazing, Billy. You know they make these They take these
little square shapes and they roll that over this rigid
like Yochi board and it creates these ridges and then
they pinched. They to roll them into tubes and they
pinch them. And then we take a rosemary chicken sausage
that a friend of mine, Art Wels, who owns pig

(10:08):
Rock Sausages that product.

Speaker 3 (10:11):
And I remember correctly though chef it had like a
really nice kick to it about sixty seconds after you
tasted it.

Speaker 4 (10:18):
Yeah, we put a little Calabrian chili in it, and
we put some roasted read peppers and then it's hit
with like a touch of cream. So there's like this
savory note from the savory herbaceousness from like the rosemary
and the chicken sausage, and then this creaminess with the parmesan,
and then it definitely has this like this like subtle kick.

(10:39):
It's like the perfect kick, you know, without it, like
you don't even if you don't like spicy food, you'll
still like this.

Speaker 2 (10:46):
Yeah, it was just a.

Speaker 3 (10:48):
Uh do you have do you have a signature dish?

Speaker 4 (10:52):
That's my favorite passages? Okay, yeah, that that dish And
there's a chippino that we do over there. That's something
that I've been cooking for you know, I want to
say like fifteen years. I learned it from Michael Mina
and you know, I've done it in several restaurants, but
that's like a home run dish. In the Italian spots,

(11:14):
you always get people that are seafood lovers, and this
dish is like designed for seafood lovers. It always has
like some sere tuna in it, some sort of like
local whitefish. It's got clams and mussels, lobster and shrimp
and scallops. And then we make this awesome broth that's
just made from like the lobster bodies with tomato and

(11:34):
a little bit of rosa red peppers. So you pour
this like fifth like sauce over. It's awesome.

Speaker 3 (11:39):
So if someone is going to Capri in the South
End for the first time, you're recommending either the Garganelli
or the Chipino.

Speaker 4 (11:48):
Well, yeah, but you know what the number one sellar
that we have there. And then continuing on what you're
talking about, like when we were talking about evolution, like
we started, I have this amazing pastry f Marissa Hart,
who's worked me ever since we opened Lincoln, you know
that was twenty twelve. But we we've developed this amazing

(12:10):
bread and pastry program together, and we knew we're you know,
bread at Primo was our top sellar, so we knew
we had to do a bread. We wanted it to
be different, so we developed this honey bread and it's
like these pull apart rolls that's kind of like baked
baked into like a little cake pan, and these rolls

(12:31):
are cooked to order. So she's press. She gets her team.
They're making their stretch and dough all day. They put
these up, they proof them, and then right before the service,
if you come in you order honey bums. Those are
come out of the oven within like five minutes before
they hit your table, and then they're coated with this
honey and this flaky sea salt on top, and they

(12:51):
served with like a homemade ricotta cheese.

Speaker 2 (12:54):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (12:55):
I remember those table orders those.

Speaker 2 (12:57):
Yeah. I did some pulling at the table, the honey bread.

Speaker 3 (13:00):
I gotta tell you. It's so creative. The menu, the space, everything.
Now you're doing lunch, but only on the weekends for now, right.

Speaker 4 (13:09):
Yeah, Yeah, I think we wanted to get through this
first season. We do lunch. We do lunch on the weekends.
We've done a couple of brunchy specials. We've done like
a really amazing French toast, We've done that. We did
our own little spin on the Italian beef from that
TV show The Bear, Yeah yeah, and what else? We

(13:32):
did like a fullay sin which so we're trying to
throw some specials in there to kind of like just
give people something different. But we do plan I think
next spring to open up that patio so that we
can kind of you can get in there seven days
a week.

Speaker 6 (13:48):
You know.

Speaker 4 (13:48):
It's it's really amazing outdoor spot to have lunch.

Speaker 3 (13:53):
Now, how do you work it out because you're right
in the soa section of the South End. How do
you work it out when the outdoor market is going
on and you've got the restaurant going on at the
same time.

Speaker 4 (14:05):
It's very busy, you know, Like I feel like a
lot of people just kind of they might not know
about the restaurant. And then when we open our doors,
like eleven am, basically the outdoor bar is completely fault
and then we and then they start to trickle inside.
And it's been it's been really neat to kind of
watch people be like, oh, I didn't even know this

(14:26):
was here because it's been vacant for five years. Well,
and then or we get people that have been like, oh,
like I remember when this was a restaurant before, but like,
you know, what was it? And then they check it
out they fall in love with it. It's been really
cool to watch that happen.

Speaker 3 (14:41):
Yeah, I remember when I first walked in, I said
hello to you, and I'm like, you have to understand.
I've probably had twenty calls in the last three weeks
from people asking me if I have a connection to
Capri in Boston, and Nick, I promise, I know I
have the connection. I've got your phone in my contacts,
but I'm not going to take any of those requests
because i know, by the way, how far in advance

(15:02):
should somebody try to get a reservation at Capri.

Speaker 4 (15:07):
It's honestly, I think the last time I checked, we
released reservations every day and it's it's like it's basically
been booking out like four weeks in advance. So today's
a great day to book a reservation. There's saying for
a week, but we do do walk in. You know,
there's you know, the bars are open, you know the

(15:29):
outdoor bar is open. There's a lot of seats. And
the reason why it's been booking up like that is
because you know, there's only so many reservations that we
can take with an outdoor patio, because if it rains,
then you gotta get it.

Speaker 2 (15:41):
You got to move them inside.

Speaker 4 (15:43):
Gotta move them inside.

Speaker 2 (15:44):
I always wondered, how do you do that once.

Speaker 3 (15:46):
If you had twenty reservations outside and now it's pouring rain,
you've already got reservations for inside.

Speaker 2 (15:53):
How do you work that out?

Speaker 4 (15:55):
Every manager on the team is a weatherman. Right now
now everyone's everyone's watching what's going to happen. You know,
it's a hot topic. Weather looks good, Oh boy, we
got to open it up. But if the weather's great
like that, we open things up right away, you know,
and then we can take more reservation. So's it's a
combination for if like, you know, like tomorrow is a

(16:17):
great day, you're like, oh, I could use a you know,
a Friday reservation. Yeap, on tomorrow, get a reservation. But
then if the weather's beautiful, like you can call up
that day and you'll you'll end up getting squeezed in.

Speaker 3 (16:28):
Wow, Chefnick, congratulations, it's an overnight success. Everybody is buzzing
about Capri in the South End. Thanks for taking out
a few minutes for food for thought. Thanks Billy, Okay, buddy,
we'll see you soon. By the way, I also I
want to give a shout out. You know, we're talking
about Charlestown and again, I spend a lot of time
in Charlestown at Charlestown.

Speaker 2 (16:48):
Arena, by the way, America's number one.

Speaker 3 (16:50):
Marina, and shout out to Peer six if you're looking
to get on the water and come to Charlestown, Pier
six is fabulous. Also, you might want to check out
while you're in the Harbor Reelhouse and they've got two locations.

Speaker 2 (17:03):
They do a fabulous job. One is on the water
and he's Boston.

Speaker 3 (17:06):
The other is on the water at the marina at
Marina Bay in Quincy.

Speaker 2 (17:13):
We're going to take a break when we come back.
This is cool.

Speaker 3 (17:16):
The hockey legend Ray Bork we'll talk about his fundraising
event coming up.

Speaker 2 (17:20):
That's an extent.

Speaker 1 (17:20):
You're listening to Food for Thought, brought to you by
the Box Center and Salem Waterfront Hotel in sweets.

Speaker 2 (17:26):
Hey, guys, welcome back to Food for Thought.

Speaker 3 (17:30):
Ray Bark and one of the greatest players to ever
play the game of hockey. He is an absolute legend.
He's a Stanley Cup winner and he's got a wonderful foundation.
In fact, they've got an event, the Captain's.

Speaker 2 (17:42):
Ball is what they call it. I've been there.

Speaker 3 (17:45):
I think they're coming up on their fourth year of
the Captain's Ball. It's a beautiful event. They've got restaurants
from all over the city serving food, they have beautiful
and creative cocktails, they have wonderful people, and it's a fundraiser.
In fact, it raises money for als at Mass General
and it honors the Pete Frades Foundation as well as

(18:05):
the Bork Family Foundation. It's called the Captain's Ball. Captain
Ray talks about it.

Speaker 5 (18:12):
We've always been very connected to the Frates and when
Pete was diagnosed at the age of twenty seven, and
remember meeting with them and trying to come up with
something that would raise money for als, and through all
that stuff, we've always been involved. And then Pete pass
and we decided that all our events are for a

(18:33):
lot of different charities. We've donated to over almost eighty
different charities over the eight years, but never really locked
into one thing up until Pete passed, and we decided
that we're going to try to team up at the
FRATES and ask if they wanted to team up and
have the Captain's Ball and memory of Pete. The purchase

(18:54):
tickets or sponsorship opportunities, you go to ww Bork Gallant
dot com.

Speaker 3 (19:01):
Yeah, it's a beautiful night. It's a dress the affair,
but it's a real feel good event. And by the way,
ther tickets include a sponsored bar, food and I'm selling
several restaurants serving food. They've got live and silent auctions,
live music. In fact, Ray Borg and by the way,
he does a great job. He actually hosts the live auction.

(19:21):
But they have a very cool raffle package and this
includes a trip to Florida for four maybe five nights.
You get to stay in the house that has four
or five bedrooms, You get tickets for Red Sox spring
training baseball, and you get to play a round of
golf with Ray Bork.

Speaker 2 (19:38):
This is a cool.

Speaker 3 (19:39):
Event and it's a raffle which means for one hundred
bucks a ticket. For one hundred dollars you can end
up with this trip. You can bring five or six
people with you. Again, it's the fourth annual. It's coming
up September twenty fifth, seven pm and this year it's
at the Aganis Arena, that's where the bu Terriers play
their hockey September twenty fifth at seven o'clock. Do yourself

(20:00):
a favor, and by the way, also involved in the
live auction. Raybork always has a wonderful package at his
restaurant Tresca on Hanover Street in the North End.

Speaker 2 (20:10):
Again, go to.

Speaker 3 (20:11):
Petefradies dot com. That's Petefradies dot com and you get
to hang out with Ray Bork. The Captain will take
a break, we'll be right back.

Speaker 1 (20:21):
You're listening to Food for Thought, brought to you by
the Box Center and Salem Waterfront Hotel in sweets Hey.

Speaker 3 (20:27):
Everybody, welcome back to Food for Thought. In case you
missed it. A couple of minutes ago, we were talking
to the legend of Ray Bork, arguably the greatest player
to ever hit the ice in play in the NHL,
and he's got a big event coming up in September,
actually at September twenty fifth at again As Arena, and
it's a benefit for the ALS Foundation as well as

(20:47):
the Ray Bork Foundation. And again go to Pete Frades
dot com and you'll find everything you need to know.
It's a really great night out, a lot of great food,
a lot of great entertainment. Right now, we want to
talk about Bridges Homeward and in studio we have Yo
Yo yao CEO of Bridges Homeward and Sarah Madrono Palmer,
director of Family Services for Bridges Homeward and either of

(21:12):
you or both can respond. But you folks have a
legitimate connection to Cambridge Savings Bank. And I only ask
because as a youngster, Cambridge Savings Bank was my very
first account.

Speaker 2 (21:24):
And I'm still a customer, okay.

Speaker 3 (21:27):
And I wasn't born yesterday, so this is a long
term relationship. So yo yo, Cambridge Savings Bank.

Speaker 7 (21:34):
Yeah, Cambridge Savings Bank have been amazing supporter. So we
are not only doing banking with them, but they advise
us on a lot of the financial aspect. But one
of the great things is one of their staff, our
board member, give us a lot of support and guidance.
They have been our long term support partner more than

(21:55):
twenty years.

Speaker 2 (21:56):
Yeah, more than twenty yearsh okay.

Speaker 3 (21:59):
I had an account then too, by the way, twenty
years ago, Sarah, you want to add to that.

Speaker 6 (22:05):
Yeah, Caimber Savings Bank has been I would partner with
us as long as I've been with the agency. And
one amazing thing that they do regularly is come in
to train staff on managing their own finances, which is
a huge support for a lot of our young social workers.

Speaker 2 (22:19):
Awesome. So Bridges homework tell everybody what it's all about.

Speaker 7 (22:25):
Bridges work is amazing organizations. We are not only serve
children's of family and individuals with developmental disability, but we're
also very care about our individuals, our organizations.

Speaker 8 (22:38):
Especially our staff.

Speaker 7 (22:39):
We always want to grow our future leader in the organizations,
but be more specific.

Speaker 3 (22:44):
In terms of some of the programs that are that
are offered and so forth on how people can actually
take advantage of some of that.

Speaker 2 (22:50):
Sarah or yo yo either one.

Speaker 6 (22:53):
Yeah, we're a multi service agency and we work with
families involved with the Department of Children and Families. Okay,
so stabilizing families and working with kids who have entered
foster care, providing foster care services and adoption services for them.
We also work with kids, families and adults with developmental disabilities.

Speaker 3 (23:12):
So, without saying another word, thank you for your service.
That can be heavy work at times. Describe the average
day and where some of these families typically would come from.

Speaker 6 (23:23):
Yeah, It's a privilege and an honor to do the work.
We work with the most amazing families. I've worked in
foster care and adoption for over twenty years, and I
have a small staff and throughout the workday, most of
their work is home base, so they're going to cities
and communities all around Greater Boston working with families in
the adoption process. We're supporting them and guiding them to

(23:44):
parent kids who have come from hard places.

Speaker 2 (23:47):
What are some of the biggest challenges that you find.

Speaker 6 (23:53):
I think recruitment of foster families is one of our
biggest challenges. There are so many kids experiencing foster care
and kids waiting for adoptive families at any given time
in Massachusetts, and we really are always out in the
community looking for families that are willing to open their
home to bring in a sibling group, a teenager or
kids that are experiencing foster care of all ages.

Speaker 3 (24:16):
And is there a limit to how many families slash
children and so forth that you can handle it one time?

Speaker 6 (24:22):
Or our program has actually grown a lot in the
last couple of years to accommodate our growing programs and
more families showing interest. So we are small, you know,
we only staff three in my program. Wow, yeah, we're small,
But might we have you myself doing gods workers doing

(24:42):
that work with foster families and adoptive families.

Speaker 3 (24:45):
Wow, what's the difference between a CEO Yo yo and
a director of Family Services.

Speaker 7 (24:51):
I think it's a big difference, but I think our
heart is located.

Speaker 8 (24:55):
In the same place.

Speaker 7 (24:56):
We want to serve students and family and individuals mental disability.
So one thing I want to highlight in our services
in Cambridge our office. Recently we partner of our Foster
Love and Safe Life Foundations. They evaluate our family room,
turn our family room into our family, our house. So
when you come into our building, you exit the elevator,

(25:19):
you immediately are into a living room, so the family
could have a meal together, and then you go to
the other room, have a toys, have our teenagers games,
so you will be able to interact with our children's
and family in a very authentic way.

Speaker 8 (25:35):
They always say, if you slay our own home and.

Speaker 2 (25:38):
This is their introduction. Like so for.

Speaker 7 (25:41):
Those family the birth family, birth parents might not have
a guidianship or custody of the trial, so that is
the place they could we connect, we build a relationship
and we already see some of the amazing connections are
in that space. So it just touched my heart and
I saw when that's all the family in that childhood.

Speaker 3 (26:04):
Speaking of which, Sarah, what is the feeling like when
you see the results of your work? Actually, this could
yet heavy. So what I'm gonna do is take a
break and give you a minute to think about it.
But when we come back, I'd like to know, like
what that feels like, like you know, you know, you
bring a family in, you make arrangement, you see their

(26:24):
lives completely change, obviously for the better, and God, I'd
have to go get myself a glass of wine and celebrate.
I'm just saying that's just me. But we're going to
take a break. It is Food for Thought and we're
talking with Yo Yo and Sarah from Bridges Homeward, another
Cambridge connection of mine. I was just in Cambridge last
week hosting the Italian Feast.

Speaker 2 (26:46):
Come to this up, I shall well take a break.
It's food for Thought. I'll be right back.

Speaker 1 (26:51):
You're listening to Food for Thought brought to you by
the Box Center and Sale in Waterfront Hotel and sweets.

Speaker 3 (26:57):
Hey everybody, welcome back to a Food for Thought again.
We're talking about Bridges Homeward and based in a Cambridge right, yah, yah, yes, Okay.
Before the break, I was asking Sarah, who's the director
of Family Services at Changes Home Bridges Homeward, what it's
like to go through the process and see the end

(27:20):
result or experience the end result.

Speaker 2 (27:23):
Can I start with that, Sarah?

Speaker 3 (27:25):
What is that feeling like when it's an adoptive process
or a custody transfer process and you see something good happening?

Speaker 6 (27:32):
Yeah, our work is very long. We often work with
families two, three, up to five years at times to
get through this process. It can be very, very lengthy.
So we're training families, We're assessing families and supporting them
in the matching process and bringing a child into their home.
In every November. In this November coming up will be

(27:53):
celebrating National Adoption Day, where we do a lot of adoption.

Speaker 2 (27:55):
Finally, good one is that I want to write that down,
is the.

Speaker 6 (27:58):
Friday before Thanksgiving at Boston Juvenile Court and several courts
around the Commonwealth.

Speaker 2 (28:04):
Friday before Thanksgiving.

Speaker 6 (28:05):
Yes, so we'll see some finalizations happen then that our
staff have been working on for many years.

Speaker 2 (28:11):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (28:11):
How would National Adoption Day be different from any other
day the court in your business?

Speaker 6 (28:16):
Yeah, the court closes down to all of regular business
and really focuses on adoptions, which is the biggest celebration
that happens really in the court in juvenile courts.

Speaker 2 (28:25):
I can see the joy in your face right now.

Speaker 6 (28:27):
It's amazing. They're so they're wonderful days.

Speaker 2 (28:30):
Yeah.

Speaker 6 (28:30):
So we'll see some adoptions finalized that day of some
folks that we've been working with for a very long time.

Speaker 3 (28:36):
And are you able to stay in contact with to
some degree with some of the people that you've put together.

Speaker 6 (28:42):
Yeah, definitely. Yeah. The work is so intimate. We're in
people's homes talking about parenting and their lives in every way,
so we get to know them so well. So we
love to keep in touch with folks over the years
as their kids grow up.

Speaker 3 (28:55):
Yo. Yo, you were telling us a story off the
air while we went to commercial break which was very touging,
and you want to share that with our listeners.

Speaker 7 (29:04):
Oh yeah, definitely. So one winter morning around seven am,
I usually come into the office very early, and on
that day, our social worker bring a child from the
foster family and to visit with the father. So the
father come to our center to have that visitation.

Speaker 2 (29:22):
This is the biological father.

Speaker 7 (29:24):
Yes, yeah, yeah, so right before his work he has
this amazing time to build relationship with the son. The
son public just around two years old, so and he
immediately see his son, put him on his shoulder, and
when the child said, oh, I want my daddy, I
love my daddy. And then in that morning just take
my breath away that holding. He did not say that much,

(29:47):
but you feel like the attachment, the bonding, the relationship
is there. And then it makes me feel this is
the meaning of our world.

Speaker 8 (29:56):
And it's not only one moment, it's years.

Speaker 7 (29:59):
We want to for this child, this family to be
able to rebuild that relationship.

Speaker 3 (30:04):
I was going to say, so when you experience that,
you know, obviously the child just loving the father to death.
What happens going forward, Like I mean, eventually is there
a chance custody can change? And it's got to be
hard to witness something like that and then know that
the dad just after an hour goes back to work.

(30:26):
And I guess it depends on the circumstances that led
to the one hour visitation, right.

Speaker 7 (30:31):
Yeah, So there's a lot of amazing work behind the scene.
I was also work will be there to support that
interactions between the father and the son, and then we
also have a team working with a DCF Department of
Children's and Family Services to figure that out what is
the best for the child and whether the father will
be stableized enough be able to provide the care the

(30:55):
child's need. A lot of clinical consultations, permanency meetings, sometimes
takes months, sometimes takes a year. Whatever we need to
support the father, support the trial, be able to reunify.

Speaker 3 (31:07):
Because ultimately, all you want is the best for the children.

Speaker 8 (31:13):
Yes, definitely, and.

Speaker 3 (31:16):
All circumstances are God, it's got to be so tough
to make decisions and watch the emotions.

Speaker 6 (31:23):
Right, sir, definitely, And we work with a great team then,
so all of our decisions are team decisions, which is
a huge help to have.

Speaker 2 (31:31):
How how did you guys end up in this field?
I'll start with you, Sarah.

Speaker 6 (31:36):
Sort of accidentally. I went back to school to get
my degree, my master's degree in social work, and came
out and saw job listing an adoption and thought that
could be interesting, And you know, twenty plus years later,
I'm still here.

Speaker 3 (31:50):
So Bridges Homeward is your first introduction out of your
master's degree.

Speaker 2 (31:54):
That's right now, I've worked got a few areas.

Speaker 6 (31:56):
It's doing similar work, but it's a very tight knit
adoption community in Massachusetts.

Speaker 2 (32:01):
So and do you situated in Cambridge as well?

Speaker 6 (32:04):
Yes?

Speaker 2 (32:05):
But whereabouts in Cambridge?

Speaker 8 (32:06):
Is it East Cambridge?

Speaker 2 (32:08):
That's mine?

Speaker 8 (32:09):
I grew up your area, So you come with.

Speaker 3 (32:11):
Us Portland Street corner of Portland and Van Line. Do
you know that the triple decker I grew up in
is still there?

Speaker 2 (32:19):
Oh?

Speaker 3 (32:20):
Uh?

Speaker 2 (32:21):
Interesting story? Do you mind if I tell a story?

Speaker 8 (32:23):
Please?

Speaker 3 (32:24):
So Jenny Johnson and I have a couple of TV
shows and we were shooting a show at a couple
of restaurants in Cambridge and I said to Jenny, Hey,
you want me to take you by my neighborhood.

Speaker 2 (32:35):
And we are very poor when we grew up.

Speaker 3 (32:37):
I said to take you by my neighborhood and in
the house I grew up in, and so yes, And
we veered off between shoots and and we're coming down
the street toward the house and a woman yelled out
my name, said, hey, Billy Costa, I live in your house.
And I'm like what, I'm sitting in the car, like,

(32:58):
how does she even know?

Speaker 2 (33:00):
How did you see me through the window? I don't know.

Speaker 3 (33:03):
She said, hey, you want to come up and see
the house and I'm like, okay, yeah, I guess so.
So she brought me up to Jenny came with me,
and they brought me up the three flights of stairs.
Not a single thing has changed, not a nail, a
piece of wood, nothing. And I walked in to the

(33:24):
flat on the top floor and she let me go in.
What was my bedroom that I shared with my brother.
You have to understand, this place is tiny. And I
sat in the bedroom and got getting emotional from really
emotional because it's a weird thing. I don't know if

(33:45):
you've ever had an experience like that, and who knows.
I'm sure a lot of their children that you deal
with or something at some point in their life are
going to be thinking back and run into something that's
going to trigger it and bring it all back. And
all of a sudden, all these memories, you know, some
of them great, you know, some of them not so great.
And I got really emotional. I just hosted the Italian

(34:08):
Feast on Warren Street, Jefferson Street, Porter Street, Portland Street,
and they asked me back every year, and this is
the one hundredth episode of their Italian Feast, and Joey
McIntyre from the New Kids was performing and one of
the kids from men Sink and the woman was there
and came up to me again and she said, I don't.

Speaker 2 (34:30):
Even know if this is.

Speaker 3 (34:33):
I'll tell it, so she says, So I got to
tell you the Triple Decker. My family bought it for
thirty four thousand dollars and they just sold it for
two point four million. Oh, nothing's changed, like when I went, like,
you know, the cabinets were like plywood, you know, it

(34:55):
was you know, And anyway, that's my Cambridge story.

Speaker 7 (34:59):
You should go back Pictures and Company with us.

Speaker 5 (35:04):
Well.

Speaker 3 (35:04):
Another weird you know, like when I grew up in
that area, it was all Italian and I was one
of two Portuguese families. But then gradually Portuguese families would
move here and they worked hard in the factories and
they would save their money, and then they would invite
other family members in from Portugal and then they would

(35:26):
move into one of the other apartments, and before you
knew it, they would pool their money and buy the
Triple Decker.

Speaker 2 (35:36):
We were the.

Speaker 3 (35:36):
Only English speaking family in the Triple Decker, but my
dad spoke fluent Portuguese, so they'd hang out in the
yard anyway, I'm sharing family memories, memories in Cambridge thanks
to Cambridge Savings back. You see what I mean. But
everybody's got stories. We're going to take a break. But
you guys have a big fundraising event coming up. And

(35:56):
I've been to this event and you both looking at me.
You were, yeah, I was. So we're going to break
down the event and how people can go there, and
what types of programs will benefit from the money raised,
and what's the date of the event?

Speaker 7 (36:13):
September twenty nine, twenty twenty five, at our Kingbridge Main Library.

Speaker 2 (36:18):
Oh, it's at the Cambridge Library.

Speaker 8 (36:19):
Yes, okay, it's not a fund with event.

Speaker 2 (36:23):
It's not whatever.

Speaker 3 (36:24):
It's a big event that you guys are having from
Bridges homework. We're going to take a break a j
You've got to direct me at some point I say
stupid things.

Speaker 2 (36:34):
No, No, it's.

Speaker 3 (36:37):
Always a fundraising day. In fact, when we talk about
this event, you know, feel free to make a phone
call and make a donation.

Speaker 2 (36:45):
How's that?

Speaker 7 (36:46):
Yeah, So basically it's a public event, Wane. People come
here to learn our impact, learn our story. So our
gala in may you say, fun with event.

Speaker 2 (36:57):
That's what I'm talking about exactly.

Speaker 3 (36:59):
So we'll talk about the event at the library and
we'll also talk about the fundraising event.

Speaker 2 (37:05):
That's what I'm talking about.

Speaker 3 (37:06):
Okay, boy, you had to see the looks on your
faces when I first said it.

Speaker 2 (37:10):
Well, take a break, we'll.

Speaker 1 (37:11):
Be right bas you're listening to Food for Thought, brought
to you by the Box Center and Sale and Waterfront
Hotel in Sweets.

Speaker 2 (37:17):
Hey, everybody, welcome back to Food for Thought.

Speaker 3 (37:20):
BILLI Costa here and we're talking with Yo Yo and
Sarah from Bridges Homeward. And right before the break, we
were talking about an event that's coming up this month, right, Yes, okay,
what's that event all about?

Speaker 7 (37:32):
So is our annual Impact event. You will learn all
about our impact here about transformational story and I cannot
wait to see you all. There is at Cambusch Main
Library September twenty nine, twenty twenty five, at five point
fifteen BM.

Speaker 3 (37:50):
Is that the library that used to be right between
Cambridge High and Latin.

Speaker 2 (37:55):
And Ringe Tech. Yes, okay on Baltway.

Speaker 3 (37:58):
Okay, see I'm showing my age went to Cambridgehigh Latin, yeah,
before it became Origin Latin.

Speaker 2 (38:04):
So the good news is if people come to the event.

Speaker 7 (38:06):
What's the date, September twenty nine, twenty twenty five, on
Monday five fifteen.

Speaker 2 (38:13):
PS at the Cambridge Library.

Speaker 3 (38:15):
Yes, and if they come and hear the stories, they
will automatically want to come to.

Speaker 2 (38:20):
The gala in April.

Speaker 3 (38:22):
You see, Sarah, I was going somewhere with this That
was smooth, wasn't it?

Speaker 2 (38:27):
Okay? Okay?

Speaker 3 (38:28):
So in April, now I want to come in April
because I've been to that gala and it was Sinesta
in Cambridge years ago? Is now the gala that's coming
up in April?

Speaker 2 (38:39):
Where is that?

Speaker 7 (38:40):
So you will be on family PA April thirty, twenty
twenty six on Thursday.

Speaker 3 (38:46):
Okay, And that's cool because a lot of people have
been to the park but they haven't seen the function
facilities in and they get to see the ballpark while
they're at the event. So again it's in April, and
what's going to happen at the event at the gala.

Speaker 7 (39:02):
At the gala, we will have amazing speaker, we have
silent options, live options, we have a family my Share
amazing story. If you miss the annual Impact event, please
come to our galla.

Speaker 3 (39:16):
Okay and between now and April and the gala at
Fenway Park. We will come up with an item that
I can provide for the live auction that I think
will raise some good money.

Speaker 8 (39:29):
That's amazing, thank you, so m Maybe.

Speaker 3 (39:31):
It'll be an appearance on this show. Maybe it'll be
an appearance on the Kiss Top thirty countdown that we
do every Saturday and Sunday here at Kiss. It usually
raises a lot money, a lot of money, So we'll put.

Speaker 2 (39:43):
Something together before we go.

Speaker 3 (39:47):
Any last things because I can see the wheel spinning
Sarah during this whole interview. Any last thoughts and points
you'd like to make about Bridges, Homeword.

Speaker 6 (39:58):
Oh gosh, there's so many things that I would love
to share. But I'm looking forward to this evening on
the twenty ninth at the library. It's a wonderful opportunity
to just hear a sample of all the work that
we do in all of our programs, straight from families
who have benefited from our work and our staff who
are out there doing it every day. So really hope
to see everyone there.

Speaker 3 (40:19):
And that'll be rewarding, right because you'll be there and
you'll get to tell people in person what it is
you do, and what kind of stories that you've.

Speaker 7 (40:26):
Created, and you probably not only will we hear, Sarah
and I thought, but you will hear our client to
share their story and I think you will hear the
first hand of their experience and that is so impactful.

Speaker 3 (40:39):
Life changing, yes, for a lot of these people, and
I'm so encouraged. I asked you earlier, Sarah, that you
stay in touch with a lot of the families and
watch the kids grow and.

Speaker 2 (40:51):
That's going to be so rewarding. Yeah.

Speaker 6 (40:53):
I love getting a holiday card yeah here and there.
Just seeing kids growing up that we placed with, you know,
when they were younger, pretty amazing.

Speaker 2 (41:01):
Well, good for you guys, and I know I had
you in before.

Speaker 3 (41:04):
You you have to talk about the program And thanks
to a Cambridge Savings Bank for making this happen again.
So good luck with the event on the twenty ninth
of September at the Library in Cambridge, and good luck
with the gala in April at Fenway Park. You get
to love Fenway Park. You're at the event and you
can look out and see the ballpark under the lights.

Speaker 2 (41:22):
It's very cool. Thanks for coming in. We got to go.
I do want to remind everybody listening right now, that next, up, next,
sixty minutes