It’s always sad when we lose a near century-old family-owned business.
That’s certainly how it felt when it became clear that Muzi Motors was closing after 90 years in operation by theMuzi and Cammarano family.
It was worse thinking that this prime real estate parcel at the gateway to Needham on I-95 stood in real danger of being gobbled up by a national player known for snuffing-out local businesses.
Instead, Muzi’s property has just been purchased by another local, family-owned company.
Bulfinch, a third generation family-owned property owner, has completed the acquisition of the 9.4-acre property, the Globe’s Jon Chesto reported yesterday.
Remarkably, Muzi and Bulfinch have similar origin stories John Muzi, an Italian stone cutter, emigrated to the US to seek his fortune and make a fresh start away from Mussolini's fascists. He entered the automotive business in 1932 when he bought a gas station in Newton Highlands.
Bulfinch began in 1936, when Samuel W. Poorvu, a Lithuanian immigrant who began his career as a bricklayer started a small company in Boston building and developing post offices. It’s been owned and continuously operated by the Poorvu and Schlager family ever since.
Eric Schlager, Bulfinch’s CEO tells Chesto he’ll market the former Muzi property as a marquee headquarters for a local company that wants new, more modern digs.
Bulfinch has a genuinely great reputation as a landlord, with a meticulously maintained portfolio of properties across our Charles River Chamber communities. They developed a reputation for caring about its carbon footprint before that became fashionable.
Glazer is relinquishing his CEO responsibilities at his affiliate marketing firm Acceleration Partners to serve as board chairman, according to the BBJ’s Grant Welker.
Glazer -- who also writes the highly-recommended Friday Forward newsletter -- has been a good friend, guest speaker and presenter to our chamber.
Be part of our 2022 programs Are you an experienced presenter? Or do you have an idea for a webinar topic that would be of interest to our local business/nonprofit community?
We’re now accepting proposals for 2022 chamber webinars. We curate relevant, dynamic, educational programs to help business owners and professionals grow their business and skillset. From social media to HR to business management to professional development we’re open to ideas targeted specifically to a business or nonprofit audience.
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Egg deal isn’t going over easy Some consumers are reportedly already stockpiling eggs and bacon, in anticipation of a new law that may see both items removed from store shelves and menus as soon as New Year’s Day.
And can you blame them, considering that our ham-fisted state lawmakers left for the weekend without whisking together a deal to update a law governing treatment of hens, pigs and veal?
Attorney General Maura Healey is poised to enforce the new law if coddledlegislators fail to hatch a compromise they’ve been sitting on since October, according to Chris Lisinski at State House News.
The law has a hard boiled start date of Jan. 1. But even if Beacon Hill fails to scramble together a fix by then, restaurants and stores won’t get fried right away.
That's because Healey's regulations include a grace period that will effectively allow any product in the chain of production before Jan. 1 to be sold after that date.
But bedeviled farmers won't be able to whip up any newly produced eggs, veal and pork from animals that are confined under terms of the voter-approved law, adds Lisinski.
“With the stress of the last few years, the last thing restaurant owners need is another unknown as the year ends,” Karen Masterson, co-owner of Johnny's Luncheonette in Newton Centre (which serves up about 240 dozen eggs per week) tells Julie Cohen at the Newton Tab.
“Is it really too much to ask our elected government officials to get something done in a timely fashion? This [law] was passed in 2016.”
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