Alex Muromcew Boston’s Food Industry: Entry 6 (5-4-19)

Alex Muromcew
Senior Project
5/3/19

Today we were fortunate enough to interview James Cochener, founder and owner of several restaurants in the Boston area such as The Salty Pig. James was able to give us more insight into the industry as he and the Patavina sisters have been in the restaurant industry for different amounts of time. Despite that there were some common motifs that have come up from the two interviews we have done. The biggest grievance Tommy and I heard was of the exorbitant pricing for liquor licenses and real estate. To own a license for beer and wine, it is a $150,000 fee. For a full liquor license it will cost $400,000. Cochener explained that the prices are so high since there are a finite amount of licenses that can be distributed, making them a coveted item. That combined with the steep real estate prices of Boston, opening up a restaurant has never been harder. With his experience, James was able to give us a bigger picture look at the industry and where the governments should make changes to encourage smaller businesses to open up. As previously mentioned the liquor licensing and real estate prices are astronomical and Cochener recommends that the city and state governments should increase the amount of liquor licenses to be made available and for landlords to be more realistic about the rent they are asking for spaces.

Next we prepared for our bee keeping endeavors by torching and disinfecting some beekeeping equipment. This was to make sure there are no potential diseases left on the frames and boxes that the bees will live in. The preparation included torching, and sanding each part of the hive components. Pictures below will help describe.