A Heart Beat

At long last, today Boloco quietly re-opened one of our most beautiful locations on the Boston Common. No ribbon cutting, no celebrating, and no lines out the door, but a lot of gratitude as we welcome back Sandra Vargas and her team to one of our marquis restaurants.

I will never forget August 28, 2020 as the day we were set to permanently close all remaining Massachusetts locations. When surging Covid conditions caused us to shutter (again) restaurants that had been re-opened for only a matter of weeks in June and early July, we knew we were very likely at the end of our 23+ year run. What we didn’t know is that when the end of August came, our attorneys would tell us that having operated at break-even for 8 weeks in a row meant we were better off continuing on, one week at a time, rather than cutting our losses as had been the plan. We stumbled through fall with 2 restaurants open and 5 remaining closed in Massachusetts*. Those 2 restaurants (Children’s Hospital and Lynnfield, MA), with the critical help of some of our landlords and largest suppliers, made enough profit each week to consistently pay for all costs as well as certain ongoing costs (utilities, etc.) of the closed restaurants.

We’re testing an entirely new menu that still allows customers to have most of their old favorites, but the addition of tacos, quesadillas and nachos along with some incredibly delicious new recipes means there’s a lot of to digest

Next up for re-openings are Berklee College of Music and 50 Congress Street later this month.

Lost forever is Atlantic Wharf (284 Congress) – the landlord gave us the boot after 9 years. We still don’t have a good explanation. We will also be leaving Lynnfield, MA on February 28 as the landlord leverages Covid struggles to replace Boloco with a Chipotle. Sad for some, but everything will be ok. Our team members who want to stay with us are relocating back to Boston which is typically an easier commute anyway.

Grateful to get to continue our work. By March 1, the following Massachusetts locations – all Boston – should be all open:

• Boston Common (176 Boylston)
• Berklee College of Music (1080 Boylston)
• Children’s Hospital (283 Longwood)
• 50 Congress (Financial District)

133 Federal Street is still TBD but we are working with the landlord to find a path to reopen this spring.

*- Boloco in Hanover, NH is a separate entity and remains open, as it has throughout Covid.