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August 4, 2024 • 42 mins
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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 restaurants, 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 (00:21):
Hey, everybody, welcome into Food for Thoughts, brought to you
by the Box Center. Jenny is hosting today. Billy is
hopefully off enjoying a gorgeous summer day. I'm excited for
the show this week because I have a couple new
restaurants to think about and talk about, both of which
are great for this summer season, and both are seasoned
restaurant groups that if you're in the Boston, New England area,

(00:44):
you've certainly heard of. This first guest has been a
part of the celebrated Lions Group, which is a restaurant
group that operates more than two dozen venues. You know
some of them, will talk about some of them. Some
of the names are like roshamb Sancy, which I think
is just celebrated its twenty fifth year. At least at

(01:04):
least that maybe Scompo inside the Liberty Hotel, Barenza inside
the Charles Hotel, and then a number of different ones,
and then there's also Kings which is also part of
that group. The celebrated bowling space Summer Shack is another
one you guys may have heard of, but there's a
new one that we're going to be focusing on this week,

(01:26):
which is named El Barco and Martha's Vineyard. But before
we talk about any of these, want to introduce you
to someone who's been a part of the Lions Group
for over a decade, you know, certainly helping bring so
many of these restaurants into the high glory that they are. Erica,
thank you so much for joining the show this week.
That's Erica Dorsey. Thanks so much for joining us.

Speaker 3 (01:47):
Thank you awesome.

Speaker 2 (01:49):
All right, So, so tell us actually, how many years
have you been with the Lions Group And when you
talk about sort of being part of this group, how
do you how do you describe just the restaurant group
as a whole.

Speaker 3 (02:00):
Well, I've been part of the Lions Group for about
thirteen years. It has been an incredible experience and ride
there definitely isn't a group like this. As you mentioned,
there's so many different restaurants and different concepts, and I've
learned so much through the group and through the years
of working with them.

Speaker 2 (02:21):
God, they do such a great job and are certainly
so celebrated in the area. So do you work at
certain ones specifically or is it more just all of
them generally?

Speaker 3 (02:34):
All of them generally. I'm the director of marketing, so
I have my hand in most of the restaurants.

Speaker 2 (02:41):
Yes, and obviously and did I say that right? The
Sanci has been around for twenty five years.

Speaker 3 (02:49):
So Sancy just celebrated it's thirtieth anniversary.

Speaker 2 (02:55):
Ah, thirtieth. I'm five years off, Okay, So yeah, that's
pretty specta. I guess I remember it, really is. I
guess I should have said I remember the thirtieth. But
but it's it's right there on Newbury Street. It's sort
of your quintessential back bay restaurant, you know, open doors overlooks,
the beautiful open windows, so you you really feel like
it's you're kind of eating on the sidewalk with all

(03:16):
the all of the hustle and bustle of the back
that it feels very European and certainly the food is
so is so delicious. Uh. We'll talk about some of
the other ones, uh more specifically, but let's touch upon Albarco,
which is brand new and U it's on Martha's Vinyard.
So talk about you know, what the idea was of

(03:38):
opening on an island, why you opened down an island,
and what the concepts all about.

Speaker 3 (03:43):
So Albarco is certainly amazing. So the name Albarco means
the boat, and it is. The location is right off
the Vineyard Haven Faerry, literally overseeing the faerry and the water.

(04:04):
It's an outside bar and Takaia. That's the main concept
with very authentic Mexican food. We like to say Mexican
soul food. And it's I mean, it's often running and
it's been a huge success since it's opened. We opened

(04:25):
just about a month ago. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (04:30):
I had the pleasure of being there actually with Patrick Lions,
the founder of the Lions Group. And it has such
a cool vibe. I mean, it's like you said, right
there off the ferry. So it's like literally you get
to this beautiful island, you walk a few steps and
you're right there. It really invites you into such a
very cool vibe. I feel like there's not that many

(04:54):
places on that island where you're really on the water,
but you're also outside, which is exactly what all of
us want to be doing this time of this time
of year. And the sort of central piece of all
of this is the bar. Seat. Is this really centrally located,
beautiful bar. So can you talk a little bit about
some of the menu items and some of the drinks

(05:16):
that people can enjoy?

Speaker 3 (05:18):
Definitely, so are. I would say two most popular taco
dishes are the Theory of tacos, which are a marinated,
short ribbed taco that has a consumme to dip the
tacos in. And then we have our very special and

(05:40):
while available smash Burger taco, which is exactly what it
sounds like. It's a thin patty with tomatoes, onion, a
special sauce, pickles, and it's definitely my favorite, and say
it's becoming the favorite of most people that have tried it.

Speaker 2 (06:06):
It's so delicious. One of the things that I loved
the most, I think it was the flouts. Is that
what it's called, yes, the flouts, So the flout.

Speaker 3 (06:20):
So the flouts. Basically, it's like a tortilla crispy on
the outside and the inside is this told chicken has
a lime crema and some lettuce, and it's just they
are really unique as well, very good.

Speaker 2 (06:40):
That is so delicious, and it's just like the liveliness
of the bar, the liveliness of the restaurant. You could
tell that it was almost like an overnight sensation. Is
that what you experience?

Speaker 3 (06:50):
The energy is insane. Patrick hit it on the head
with this concept in location. It's just it's so hard
to describe how beautiful it is to anybody, but it's
definitely worth going there. It's just I don't know, there's
just an energy that is unreal.

Speaker 2 (07:14):
And obviously the vineyard is such a beautiful place to
be this time of year and really any time of year,
but it's such a special place that has just such
a special vibe and unless you've experienced, is it hard
to know. We're going to take a break with more
Food for Thought and be back in just a minute.

Speaker 1 (07:31):
You're listening to Food for Thought brought to you by
the Box Center and Salem Waterfront Hotel and Sweet.

Speaker 2 (07:37):
Welcome back to seek that thought brought to you by
the Box Center. So we are talking with Erica from
the Lions Group, hugely celebrated restaurant group that is in
the area of New England, but just happens to open
a first restaurant on Martha's Vineyard the Island. Overnight success,
overnight sensation, such delicious flavors in these in this very

(07:58):
you know like you're you're you feel it if you're
kind of transported somewhere else. But it's really authentic Mexican
cuisine that I don't think you could find on that island,
and it's really hard to find anywhere, and he's really
done a great job. I have some feeling that maybe
we'll see some El Barcos in other places at some
point soon if I know anything about Patrick. But one
of the things I loved about Elbarco is they're donating

(08:20):
a dollar to the Island Grown Initiative for every first
taco purchase, So every time you go there for your
first time, one dollar goes to the Island Grown Initiative,
which really helps with local food production, reducing food waste,
promoting climate friendly farming techniques, all the things that we
care about as a show. And obviously Patrick Clions cares
about as a restaurant tour so Erica. You've been with
the group for a long time. You've been overseeing a

(08:42):
lot of the a lot of the restaurants from a
marketing perspective. You guys always have so much going on,
and so I wanted to talk about some of the
different restaurants and some of the things that you like
to highlight in some of the things people should know
about if they don't. So I'll throw it a and
I'm probably gonna miss them because there are like twenty

(09:02):
of them. But let's start with Sancy. Tell us a
little bit about the restaurant. I share a little bit
about it before, But what are some of your favorites.

Speaker 3 (09:10):
Well, some of my favorite things about Sancy are, like
you had mentioned, the open doors.

Speaker 2 (09:18):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (09:19):
With the cafe right in front, people have a view
of Newberry Street. It's great for people watching. It does
have a very European feel. Sankia has beautiful artwork on
the walls. Sankia has this really beautiful room downstairs that
a lot of people don't know about that we call

(09:40):
the Wine Room. It was recently renovated, so that's a
nice special spot. And then there's the food, of course,
the food and drinks my favorite. Some of my favorite
foods from Sancy include the me Cry, which is a
classic dish that's spent on the menu from the very start.

(10:05):
And then of course the pizzas at Sancey will blow
you away. And that's kind of like a special thing
because you wouldn't know that, but once you try them,
you'll definitely choose your favorite.

Speaker 2 (10:21):
Yeah, it's very true. And then just the space is
so welcoming and warm. Roachambo is not far from there,
So tell us about that, what some of your favorites
are and sort of describe the atmosphere.

Speaker 3 (10:33):
Sure. Rochambo also extremely unique. It has an outside patio,
has what we call the street bar, which is when
you first walk in, it's this nice Parisian cafe style
bar area with cafe seating. We need brunch seven days

(10:56):
a week there. And then we have our French brasserie
which is on the second floor and that's just a
beautiful room. We also have a private space that overlooks
Boilston Street, and then we have a main dining room

(11:17):
which is our Steak Fruits or our steakroom where we
offer steak fruits for forty dollars with endless fry salad,
the Get which is a newer concept and that has
also that has really taken off. But Rochembau is just
this big restaurant, this big feeling and vibe when you're

(11:41):
in there and you can go to any room, you
can come again and again, and every time it's a
different experience. It's a lot of fun.

Speaker 2 (11:49):
Oh, it's so much fun. And it was such a
grand space. And there's this beautiful room that overlooks Oylston
that we've had a few events in that really can
make for memorable experiences, I know, over events or bid
for you guys as well. I want to talk about
Summer Shack, just such a celebratory restaurant in the area
for a long time. Created by the late Jasper White,

(12:12):
who was a dear friend of Patrick, the founder of
Lions Group, and a dear friend to so many folks
in the industry. Summer Shacks some very different vibes, so
tell us about that, and also is very friendly for kids.

Speaker 3 (12:26):
Yes, Summer Shack, we have a location in Boston, a
location in Cambridge and at Mahegan. As you mentioned, they
are kid friendly, very unique in this sense that it's
like the name. You can walk it in the middle

(12:46):
of the winter and you just get summer vibes and
this high energy feeling. The restaurants interiors have beautiful murals,
really cool pieces of art or just a or in general,
everything's really thought out and there's long standing teams and

(13:06):
the venues which really I think have attributed to its success.
And then there's the food, of course, and the lobsters.
They we offer two dollars oysters every day. There's sushi

(13:27):
offered in Cambridge. There's a lot of different dishes from
the pan roasted lobster that have been on the menu
since the opening of the Summer shocks.

Speaker 2 (13:44):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now at Lucky's is another one that
that is very celebrated. That one's more in the fort
Point or like sort of towards the Seaport. That's a
very different vibe and has some things that people have
been joyed, you know, year after year, week after week.
What what what's great to share about Luckies?

Speaker 3 (14:06):
Well, we like to say that Luckies is the Seaport's
original speakeasy. It has speakeasy vibes. It's this small place
you can talk to almost anyone that's from Boston or
the area mentioned Lucky's and they've been there at one
time or another. It's been in the same location for
such a long time, and a lot of good memories

(14:29):
have been shared there, especially you know, past that live
music experiences. Luckies has a lot of like cool what
we like to say, speakeasy specials that people don't know
about unless they are regulars or they're coming in all
the time. Every day there's there's a different food special

(14:51):
or just something random that is being offered. And all
this food is really delicious.

Speaker 2 (14:56):
A lot of fun cocktails, you know, there are such
fun cocktails, and the music is such a cool vibe.
And we've got to go to Landsdown, So give us
the overview of Landsdown and you don't have to give us
all of them, but talk about you know, when people
are going to send way. You know, something that is
so important is sort of that meal after or that
meal before. And one of the things that Lion's Group

(15:18):
has done so well is create this vibe that just
helps you continue the excitement from right outside Fenway.

Speaker 3 (15:26):
Yes, it's hard to think of Lion's Group without thinking
about Lansdown Street. It all kind of started there and
Lansdown Street is incredible. It's actually where I started my
career with the Lions Group, and I like to call
to call it the boot Camp of restaurants. So from

(15:47):
I would say from the Landsdown Pub to Bill's Loretta's
Game On, one thing you can definitely experience is awesome
live music, and that's always been are a big focus.
But if you're going through a game, or you're not,
or you're going to a concert, there's so many different

(16:08):
options from you know, you can go to Bleacher Bar
and get the Bleacher Dog, literally sit in front of
Sinaway Park and look at Sanaway Park. You can't do
that at any other bar in the area. You can
go to Loretta's for line dancing, which has been going
on for about ten years now, or listen to act

(16:28):
from Nashville. You can go to Lansdowne Pub, be guaranteed
to hear a great band at night, be port a
perfect kind of Guinness. And then there's Game On, which
has two floors, lots of games, and a really cool

(16:49):
feature of Game on is downstairs there's a batting cage,
which is the away teams practice batting cage. And when
there isn't a game, people have access to that batting
cage you neat.

Speaker 2 (17:01):
That's awesome, Yeah, it's awesome. I mean, the experiences at
all the venues are are are pretty second to none,
but it is all about sort of that vibe and
obviously the food is also delicious at all the venues. So, Erica,
thank you so much. I want to make sure that
people know that El Barco is going to be open
for the rest of the season, through the shoulder season,
and then of course it'll be back next year and
who knows where else we'll see l Barco popping up.

(17:22):
But if you, for any reason are headed to the Vineyard,
this is a must stop, a must experience. El Barco
part of the Lions Group, right there, right off the ferry.
Just such a just such a sort of delicious, authentic
Mexican experience, part of the Lions group, and we have
we're we're certainly sure that you will enjoy it. Erica,
thank you so much for joining us on the show

(17:43):
this week.

Speaker 3 (17:45):
Hi, thank you so much.

Speaker 2 (17:48):
Okay, awesome, and we'll 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
It's the Box Center and Sale and waterfront hotel.

Speaker 2 (17:56):
And sweet great to get a new update from a
new spot up on the Vineyard. Coming up, we're going
to talk about a new restaurant in Cambridge by another
celebrated restaurant Tour. But in the meantime, in and All,
I want to tell you guys about a bunch of
other spots that have opened up in the Boston area recently.
One that I'm very excited about, speaking of Mexican, is
a Tuloom Mexican cuisine. It's right there in Summerville and

(18:21):
the space is beautifully designed. It has real nice, authentic
flavors that we know that you'll be able to enjoy,
and that's definitely worth checking out. There's also a restaurant
called Saigon Babylon, which is a rooftop Vietnamese restaurant and bar,
and this is just a great way to experience outdoor dining.

(18:42):
And it's also connected to an indoor space too for
a round a year that is connected to a boutique
hotel called Sounder nine oh seven Main right there in
Central Square. So if you're looking for a fun overnight
and a fun, rooftop delicious setting, that's one that we
want you to check out Jamie Bisonette, hugely fantastic and
celebrated chef restaurant tour. He partner with bobek Fina and

(19:05):
Andy Carton, who has They also have a number of
other restaurants in the city and they just opened a
few restaurants together. This one is kind of focused on
Korean culture and those food traditions. And the restaurant's called
So Mayak and that's right there on Temple Place in Boston,
right downtown, uh, and it's getting a lot of buzz.
There's the Vermilion Club, which is a Boston steakhouse that

(19:30):
is meant to sort of not take itself so seriously
as some steakhouses sometimes do. That one's right on Federal
Street in Boston, not that far from So Mayak. There's
another one I definitely want to make sure we talk about,
which is La Padrona. So La Padrona is a beautiful
night out that you will enjoy thoroughly. It is owned

(19:51):
by chef Jody Adams and her sort of someone who's
been sending under her for a long time, chef Cologne,
and there's also a female chef, Kimberlee in there. So
it's a pastry chef. So it's three female chefs that
are really honing this delicious and very special restaurant. So
it's right there in the back bay on Trinity Place,

(20:15):
and this restaurant group has created such a beautiful space
two floors downstairs, a little bit more casual, but you
can order from the entire menu upstairs. This gorgeous grand
staircase that you can enjoy, and the food is very special.
Obviously created by Jony Adams, who's been celebrated in the
area for so long and was a dear friend of
Julia Child. So you know our food is amazing. Okay,

(20:37):
So there's a handful of new spots for you to
check out in the Boston area. When we come back,
we're going to be talking to a chef whose name
is Will Gilson. He has a bunch of different restaurants
in the Cambridge area and he's got a new one
that he added to the list. We'll take a break,
we'll be back more Food for Thought in just a minute.

Speaker 1 (20:52):
You're listening to Food for Thought brought to you by
It's the Box Center and Stale in Waterfront Hotel and Sweet.

Speaker 2 (20:59):
Welcome back to Food Thoughts brought to you by the
Box Center. We are talking about a couple of new
places on the show this week, and I'm very happy
to be introducing the restaurant torn chef and also a
friend of mine almost for the past twenty years, someone
who's so highly regarded in the industry, someone who is,

(21:19):
you know, not afraid to talk about some of the complications,
some of the needs, but also someone who celebrates this
industry in such a loyal and devoted way. Chef Will Gilson.
It's so nice to have you on the show.

Speaker 4 (21:33):
How are you, buddy, I'm doing one. Thanks so much
for having me.

Speaker 2 (21:39):
Thrilled to have you, you know, off the top, we're
going to talk about some of your restaurants, just so
you guys are listening. You may know them. He owns
six restaurants. Why don't you run them through for us,
just just as a list and we'll get into more
detail coming up.

Speaker 4 (21:53):
Yeah, absolutely so. We run kingbrid Street Hospitality Group, which
consists of the first restaurant we have and Up, which
turns twelve this fall. That's Puritan and Company in inmand
Square and Cambridge and then next to Pureton and Company.
We opened up about eighteen months ago. Purreton Oyster Bar,
so just a nice little fun, New England style oyster

(22:14):
bar next to Puritan. And then in Cambridge Crossing, which
is right by Leechmere, we have Cafe Beatrice and All
Day Cafe. We have Geppetto which is an Italian restaurant,
and we have a rooftop bar and avent space called Lexington.
And then I'm currently sitting in our newest restaurant to
the group here, which is Amba, which is our Mediterranean

(22:38):
fast casual concepts. And next to that space is going
to be the first Street Market, which is going to
be the first year round indoor farmer's market in Cambridge.

Speaker 2 (22:48):
Oh man, I'm so excited for that. Billy and I
were just there shooting Dining playbook not too long ago,
so I can't wait to get into more detail. But Chef,
one of the things that we like to do is
sort of give a little bit of a history, paint
the picture of who you are, where you came from,
and how you have risen to be one of the
more celebrated culinary experts in our area. So I know

(23:08):
you have roots in this business or roots and food,
but also started in the industry at a very young age,
so paint the history picture for us event.

Speaker 4 (23:18):
Yeah, so literal roots. I grew up on a plotted
herb farm in Groton, Massachusetts. My parents had a farm
out there called the herb Icum, which we now actually
run in our group as a wedding venue and restaurant
out there in Groton. And so that turns boy maybe
twenty five this year, which is kind of crazy, but yeah,

(23:41):
I grew up there. My parents started the farm when
I was five, so I got really into you understanding
the seasonality of food growing kind of also that farmer mentality.
And you know, one of the things that happened on
the farm growing up was that my parents turned the
space into a facility to teach people about crafting and

(24:04):
cooking and just generally learning about herbs. And so at
one point, when I was around fifteen, I had started
working at a restaurant in the North End of Boston
just for free, kind of learning what it was like
to work in a real restaurant. And we started practicing
on the weekends and inviting people into the farm to
get a chance to experience dinners that were cooked with

(24:24):
stuff that we were growing on the farm. And I
was doing that from basically when I was sixteen through now,
if you will, still kind of having my thumb on
the pulse of what happens out there and trying to
turn that farm into a business year range. But yeah,
and you know, I think one of the things that
we learned about, you know, being on the farm is that,

(24:47):
you know, farming is kind of relentless. You know, it's
every year you're kind of starting from scratch, your parents
having to create something completely you know, new, and then
you're trying to hope that the weather hood's out and
people will buy it. And so those are that's the
perfect gluprint for you know, being a sort of decent
to what you do in restaurant business. So you know,

(25:08):
it all, it all starts somewhere. But you know, I
think that that has really helped us, you know, care
about where our food comes from, how to understand kind
of the seasonal nature of running these businesses, but also
just kind of that hard, hard work that you need
to do to be successful at this.

Speaker 2 (25:27):
Yeah. I mean, the the world of a farm, or
the world the world of running a farm is something
that's so intricate, uh, you know, and I have so
much respect for and I know it's so challenging. So
the fact that it's been there for so long is
pretty incredible. You obviously had formal culinary training, and then
you worked with some phenomenal people, including our friends Anna

(25:48):
at Oleana and Inman. Of course, you had Garden at
the Seller and then came Puritan in Company. So so
what was like, give us a little bit of a
background of in about a minute of where you were
when you decided, okay, here comes Puritan and Company, and
give us an idea of the concepts.

Speaker 4 (26:08):
Sure, so you know, I had run this sort of
glorified pop up restaurant before those were really cool, called
Garden at the Seller. And there's essentially a bar between
Central and Harvard Square that didn't have a chef, and
it had a full kitchen and it had a full
restaurant space. And so I made a deal with the
owners to take over that space. And I ran that
for about five years, and I learned a lot, made

(26:28):
a lot of mistakes, but at one point it just
felt like it was never going to be mine and
I could never run out the way that I wanted to.
So when the opportunity came up to find the space
where Purton the company is. We wanted to create a
modern New England restaurant that focused on the seasons of
Massachusetts and working with as many wealthy producers as we could.
And when that restaurant came up, we were two blocks

(26:50):
down direction in five years, probably ahead of the curve,
and we had to fight and fight and fight. But
you know, after about year five, we knew who we were,
the public knew who we were work and it was
off to the races after that. And that's what's helped
us build this in seven concept strong group right now.

Speaker 2 (27:09):
It is such a strong group, and you have such
a loyal group of folks that have been working with
you for so long. We'll talk about some of them,
I'm sure coming up, we're going to take a break.
Be back with more Food for Thought. Be back with
more Will Gilson. In just a.

Speaker 1 (27:22):
Minute, you're listening to Food for Thought, brought to you
buy the Box Center and Salem Waterfront Hotel and Sweet Will.

Speaker 2 (27:29):
Gilson is our second guest on Food for Thought this week,
brought to you by the Box Center. So we've gotten
to know Will a little bit, a little bit about
its history. I love just like picturing you on the
farm with your parents, educating people, which is something that's
so important and sometimes I think somehow skips too many
people to think of where does this food come from?

(27:52):
And I think that's one of the things will that
I have experienced in you doing so well. I mean,
you are a storyteller. You are committed to sort of
this farm to table movement sort of way before it
was a trendy thing to do. We're talking a little
bit about Puritan and Company right before the break, so
I'll let you pick up and you know, talk more
about the menu. What are the things you could never
get rid of on there that have been tried and

(28:13):
truth since the beginning? How have you evolved things? What
will people experience when they walk through the door.

Speaker 4 (28:19):
Yeah, so, you know, the funny thing is year one
at Puritan, we tried to do this kind of revival
of classic New England dishes and then going back to
the you know, back you know, people landed on a
boat from the trock. You know, anything that we could
possibly think of that was sort of natural to this
area and you know, dishes that maybe were forgotten about.

(28:40):
You know, it was really popular at the time because
we're getting into sort of historical food shod Brock had
done some really amazing things down in the South Center
that same kind of approach, and we did that for
about a year and nobody cared, and so we kind
of looked at ourselves and we're like, are we going
to die on this hill or are we just going
to kind of understand that this maybe isn't what people
are looking for. And I think at that point it

(29:01):
was a huge shift in what became the foundation of
our companies. We started to focus more on what makes
what food makes people happy, how to give great hospitality,
and how to create an environment that doesn't take itself
too seriously. You know, I'd say that, you know, the
other parts of this is that, you know, we've learned
that we can create these restaurants that you know, don't

(29:21):
take themselves too seriously, make sure that people, you know,
leave with a memory and want to come back. And
I think that those are the things that make restaurants
successful is you have to give people a reason to
be excited about their next experience. So oftentimes when we're
training our staff, it's like, how do we make sure
that this person had the best experience that they possibly
could and how do we make sure that they get

(29:42):
back here as team as we can. And I know
people can talk now that that's how restaurants do loyalty programs.
They can do that, but it has to start on
the human aspect of it. First. You have to make
sure that people leave there going I cannot wait to
come back to this space. I cannot wait to have
another meal there. I can't wait to bring my friends
back there. And that is one of the hardest things

(30:03):
that we as restaurant tours have to do because you know,
every night you're performing the show for a different audience,
for different people who have different likes, different dislikes, things
that they you know, remember, things that they want to forget.
All those things are kind of caught up in the
mixing bowl, if you will. Of how to make great

(30:23):
restaurants and how to give people great experiences.

Speaker 2 (30:28):
Well you certainly do that in spades. Okay, So so
Puritan Oyster Bar was not next, but it's right next door.
So talk about that concept.

Speaker 4 (30:36):
Yeah, So, you know, we one of the things that
happened during our time is we had one restaurant, you know,
Puritan Company until about you know, Covid and during that
time we were building you know, the three restaurants and
Cambridge Crossing. You know, we had already kind of raised
the money, we had already started the construction, and then

(30:57):
after we you know made it through about you know,
two years of doing that, we initially had looked at
trying to create a bakery space for you know, Brian Mercury,
our amazing executive patry chef for the group, and so
we had gone in this exercise of trying to build
that next to Puritan. It seems like the perfect place
for it. It seems like we already had the location

(31:19):
attached to the building. So we were just going to
power through and we you know, hired the builders, pulled
the building permit, had the architects, and then all of
a sudden, the first bid came back for how expensive
that was going to be, and it was, you know,
two times the price that we had budgeted. And so
now we had all this stuff you know, already kind
of figured out, and we were like, well, what can
we do here? I mean that would you know, take

(31:39):
away this massive expense that we have to you know
encourage to create this place. And we all looked at
each other and I was like well, you don't need
fitchen for an oyster bar. We just need, you know,
a place to keep the oysters cold and you know
the rest of the food can come from Puritan And
so that's how Pure and Oyster Bar was was essentially
you know Burst And you know, for all my years

(32:02):
that I have been working in Cambridge, there's only one
other place that I know that's sort of a dedicated
oyster bar in Cambridge, and so we really wanted to
figure out how to bring that to you know, our
neighborhood and put our own fun spin on it where
we're taking some of the dishes that are sort of
classic New England dishes, but also some that kind of
like maybe tow the line a little bit more of
sort of if you were to go to an amazing

(32:23):
restaurant that's serving like you know, Krudo's and Shashimi, making
sure that we just have the fresh fish you know,
that's as local as possible take center stage.

Speaker 2 (32:33):
Yeah. Well, and one of the things back to you
talking about in it as a neighborhood spot where you
really know your neighbors and have them come back, you know,
time and time again week after a week. You also
create nice experiences for them that are different. We'll talk
about this layer in the show, but I know that
you have a Julia Child dinner at Puritan and Company
that's happening August fourteenth, and then you are also hosting
a lobster clam bake on August twenty fifth. So it's like,

(32:55):
you take what are the original concepts and then you
add some sort of extra panache to make the evening
even more special during certain times of the year, and
I think that's fantastic. I want to move on to
Cambridge Commons. This is a whole new development, and you
were kind of first on in there, well before there
were people as they were building the buildings.

Speaker 3 (33:14):
We were in.

Speaker 2 (33:14):
There with the show, you know, sort of showcasing all
of the different parts of it. But let's talk about
those three different distinct dying experiences there.

Speaker 4 (33:24):
Yeah, So when we got the opportunity to be a
part of Cambridge Crossing, we were you know, getting in
there on sort of the ground level, and we were
always understood that we would be the first retail in there.
We just didn't really understand that there was going to
be a global pandemic happening at the same time that
we were opening our doors, and you know that was
for many of us a very humbling experience, and you know,
to be on the other side of it, I prefer

(33:46):
that it remain a memory rather than any sort of
thing that we have to relive again. But you know
what we wanted to create there, and we initially called
it this was essentially a hotel that didn't have any
rooms above it. You know, if you think, you imagine
you go to a new city, you know, either stay
at a hotel or you end up, meaning at a
hotel that oftentimes has a cafe, you know, a casual
restaurant with a bar, and more of a fine dining

(34:08):
restaurant you know in it as well. And so we
basically wanted to create all three of those things because
we knew as this development was was brand new, and
you know, people would at that time, assuming they would
be returning to the office. You know what we'd be
able to create there is something where every day we
could give the same person a different experience, so they
could come in, they could grab their morning coffee or

(34:30):
you know, a quick lunch at our cafe, they could
grab after dinner drinks upstairs with the Lexington with a
great roof deck view of this you know, private park
that had been built there right in front of us.
Or they could come back with a friend or family
member and enjoy a great night out with amazing Italian
food at Geppetto. So, you know, all three of those
things combined, we just wanted to be able to create

(34:51):
this experience that it seems like, you know, no one
restaurant had ever been able to do before. But that
didn't come without its complications. Running three restaurants and aar
and kitchen space and sharing entrances can sometimes be confusing,
and so it's a lot of work to kind of
make sure that everybody who's coming into that space understands
what it is and gets to make it their own.

(35:13):
When they are all.

Speaker 2 (35:16):
Amazing, and I think the way that you're telling the
story is exactly the way that you connect with the
folks that are inside your restaurant. I want to move on,
because there's the last, but certainly not least, and probably
not the last, but the newest. I guess I should
say Amba is Mediterranean slavers. Kind of a grab and
go counter, but really nice opportunity to sit down to

(35:37):
tell us about the restaurant.

Speaker 4 (35:40):
So Amba came from. We had this amazing opportunity to
partner with this joint venture between developer leg At McCall
and the City of Cambridge to create this space that
was multi use right across from the Cambridge Side Gallery
down on First Streets, so not too far away from
our places at Cambridge Crossing by Leechmere. And so you know,

(36:03):
I was a consultant on this project four and a
half years ago, and I basically came in with a
background of understanding farming and farmers' markets and wanted to
give them the opportunity to understand what it would need
to run as sort of a standalone business, and so
that you know, four then four years later they say, hey,
would you like to be the operator of this place?

(36:24):
And so we were really lucky to be able to
have this relationship and do this. But we wanted to
create a concept that was totally different from anything else
that we had done and also was not competitive to
the other places that we run. And so for me,
one of my favorite foods is shwarma and one of
my other favorite foods is rotisserie chicken. So we thought,
why don't we try to make a place where people
can grab a meal for their whole family, rotissery, chicken,

(36:47):
sides and salads and have it be affordable and they
could have it delivered to their house or pick it
up here. Or if you're trying to just grab you know,
breakfast or lunch, you know, you can get either a
breakfast sharma which is you know, eggs and meat and
amazing swarma sauce all stuff inside of a pita, or
obviously a great chicken trauma that served you know, open
face style, which has actually been one of the more

(37:09):
harder things, is that open face pitas they are not
necessarily the type of thing that people normally get behind.
Usually they're more comfortable with the rolled flat peda that's
in foil that goes onto a peany grill when they
get their chicken trauma. But for me, I really wanted
this to really evoke the way that it's like to
eat at markets, you know, in this part of the
world that we're representing a sort of the kind of

(37:31):
Eastern Mediterranean.

Speaker 2 (37:35):
Wells. They're also delicious. You do such a great robber,
And to take a break, talk about some of the
specifics you had coming up this summer. We'll be back
with more Food for Thought in just a minute.

Speaker 1 (37:43):
You're listening to Food for Thought brought to you Buy
the Box Center and Sale and Waterfront Hotel and Sweet.

Speaker 2 (37:49):
So well, we are just talking about your newest restaurant
right there on First Street in Cambridge. Such a such
a great neighborhood. I was walking around there the day.
It's amazing to see how much it's changed. Actually, Popta
obviously everyone knows he grew up in that neighborhood, so
it was very nostalgic for him to be walking around there.
I love the idea of breakfast, blund to dinner to
be a place for people when they need it in

(38:12):
whatever way they need it, for whatever time of day.
It seems like a great place to sort of chill out,
get them. A lot of people are working from home.
This feels like a nice diversion from home if you
need a place to go warm and welcoming. And I'm
excited for you. And this farmer's market next door is
just going to totally change the accessibility for folks for

(38:33):
local fresh food, which I am such a big proponent of.
What's the timeline on that?

Speaker 4 (38:38):
Well, yeah, so First Street Market, you know, one of
the things that's hardest when we you know, finally got
the space handed over to us by the developer, and
you know, after sort of permitting and everything, you know,
we opened up in the middle of July, and at
that point, most farmers you know, have their whole growing season,
their market season, their locations, they're staffing all kind of

(38:58):
ear mark for the year. So we've got some events
that are going to start here late August, you know,
a few that are happening in September.

Speaker 2 (39:06):
You know.

Speaker 4 (39:06):
One of the benefits of this space that we have
is that it's run by us, so we're not having
to deal with it being you know, a public access space,
you know, where you know, otherwise there needs to be
people kind of flowing through here for other purposes. If
there's not a market, we can turn into an event space.
And so we have some music shows that are booked here.
You know, we have some like have a retirement parties,

(39:28):
birthday parties, you know, some weddings that are already here
marked for this year. So we're going to start to
see this start to spool up with some early vendor
events early this fall, with our goal of finding some
really great people to partner with to have them be
fixtures in this market, so that when we hit the spring,
we're ready to go spring, summer and fall next year
with a whole roster of vendors who are going to

(39:49):
be in the space. But I think before that we'll
have a nice holiday market and it's kind of like
a mak or market where people can come by grab
things around Christmas time. And then the one part of
this that I left out is this is going to
be one of the only farmers markets that I can
think of that has a bar inside of it. So
you might show up here and be like, hey, you know,

(40:09):
somebody I'm with wants to do some shopping, but I
don't really want to. You can hang out at the bar,
or you can grab some drinks, and you can walk
around here, and nothing helps you buy things more quickly
and maybe recklessly than having a little bit of a
drink in you.

Speaker 2 (40:25):
I love it so much. But one of the things
I really do appreciate is your connection with people in
the industry is so is so thorough right, Like you
know your farmers, you know your purveyors, you know the
places that you're getting your meat and your fish and
all items that are on the menu, and this is
sort of another opportunity for you to share that with
the consumer, with the public. And I think that's something

(40:45):
that we should all appreciate and value. I know it's
something that you value, Will, It's something that I value.
I think as we learn more about health and food,
the idea of being able to consume things from local
people is something that makes you know, just you feel
better overall. So Will, I want to say one more time.
You have an August fourteenth dinner that's going to be

(41:06):
a Julia a Child dinner at Puritan and Company. You
have a Lobster clanbic on August twenty sixth at six
pm at Oyster Puritan, and then you also have I
feel like there's one more. Is there another event that
I'm missing? Anything else?

Speaker 4 (41:20):
Well, we've got in a restaurant week coming up. This
is the time of year when every restaurant is dealing
with everybody being on vacation, and we've had a banner
summer for people going on vacation. So starting this upcoming Sunday,
we're going to have two weeks of restaurant week at
all of our locations. So we're really excited to get
people out for that and we're really hoping that that's

(41:41):
going to be a chance to see some people we
haven't seen it over low for.

Speaker 2 (41:45):
Sure and will quickly. Where do people go to get
all information of all things Will Gilson and all your
amazing restaurants.

Speaker 4 (41:51):
You can find us at www dot Etcambridge dot com
or on my personal Instagram which is w D Gilson.

Speaker 2 (41:59):
Well, thank you, thank so much, and that's it for
Food for Thought brought to you by the Box Center.
Thanks so much,
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