The Graffito Podcast: That’s A Wrap!
A lot has happened over the last few months…The weather has changed, our country rallied and voted for a new president, and somehow we have become podcasters. In fact, today we posted the last episode of The Graffito Podcast season 1, which was cut short because of the rising COVID numbers in our city. While it’s deeply satisfying seeing people and having face to face conversations (albeit 15 feet part in our office/studio), we’ve decided that bringing in guests into our HQ should be suspended until infection rates have been lowered. So, for now we are pausing, which also allows for us to rest, regroup, plan, and make sure that we come back with an even better production.
Thanks to everyone that has listened and provided words of encouragement. There were times that Drew really needed to hear it! And a huge amount of gratitude for everyone that joined us “on the air” to help us launch what will hopefully be the first of many seasons. Your trust means a lot to us.
Here is a summary of the entire season, which included 8 full episodes and 4 “bonus” episodes. Stream them below or follow the links to listen. Or, search for The Graffito Podcast on your favorite listening platform. Enjoy!
Episode 1: Chang / DeCoster / The Smiths
In our first episode, Tracy Chang of Pagu explains why she might not open her dining room this winter, Nolan DeCoster from Toast talks about a collaboration with Kendall Square businesses, and Thistle & Leek’s Kate and Trevor Smith explain why they chose to open their restaurant despite the pandemic.
Episode 1 Bonus: Left Out In The Cold
Drew, Jesse, and Gustavo discuss patio dining in Boston, which is tightly controlled by the State. Also on this bonus episode, Drew can’t pronounce Gustavo’s last name, Jesse can’t remember to turn his phone ringer off, and Gustavo admits to making a prank call to a fire station for research purposes.
Episode 2: Shirazi / Kanter
In episode 2 of The Graffito Podcast, we interviewed Josh Shirazi from Shirazi Distributing and Emily Kanter from Cambridge Naturals. First, Josh explains how his company went from one truck to 12,000SF of warehouse space, and he fills us in on how the collapse of the restaurant industry has impacted his business and the overall supply chain. Then, Emily gives a Cambridge Naturals history lesson, and explains why, despite an uptick in business during the early days of COVID, they shut their doors to regroup.
Episode 2 Bonus: Shopperation Anxiety
Drew, Brooke, and Angela dive deep into grocery shopping during the pandemic. Also on this episode, Angela reveals she is a true Millennial, Brooke yearns for routine trips to Trader Joes, and Drew not-so-surprisingly acknowledges he had a basement full of toilet paper long before the crisis.
Episode 3: Shore Gregory
For this week’s episode of The Graffito Podcast, we interviewed our friend, Shore Gregory. If his iconic name doesn’t ring a bell, maybe you’ve heard of a little place called Island Creek Oyster Bar? Got your attention now? Shore is a Founder and Owner of this legendary restaurant with locations in Burlington and Kenmore (“as of right”) and Row 34 which is located in South Boston and Portsmouth.
Episode 4: Harsfield / Ron
We’ve heard a lot publicly from retail tenants during the pandemic about the difficulties they are facing. In this episode of The Graffito Podcast, we invited two respected Boston landlords to give us their perspective. Leah Harsfield from National Development and Noam Ron from Hudson Group give their side of the story and don’t hold back in the process.
Episode 4 Bonus: Talking To Your Landlord
On this very educational bonus segment of The Graffito Podcast, Drew quizzes Angela and Dave on the best ways for retail tenants to talk to their landlords about rent relief. Also, Drew uses the term “outro,” Dave learns the term “outro,” and Angela records a new “outro.”
Episode 5: Steve “Nookie” Postal
On this quick and spontaneous 5th episode of The Graffito Podcast, Chef Nookie joins Drew and Dave to discuss why his Kendall Square restaurant, Commonwealth, is now in hibernation mode. This growing trend, which is usually prevalent in seasonal locations, might just be the only way for his restaurant to survive the winter. Well, that and more government funding.
Episode 6: Ayr Muir
Ayr Muir, CEO and Founder of Clover Food Lab, joins The Graffito Podcast to discuss real estate, technology, and a few new offerings available to Clover customers. Also on this episode, Drew invited a very special “surprise” guest that wanted to confront Jesse about a few questionable statements he made during our talk with Shore Gregory.
Episode 7: Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli
On last week’s episode, Alcove’s Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli made a surprise appearance to challenge Jesse about some of his comments on the Podcast. After the segment, we had an engaging conversation about a variety of important issues including restaurant worker wages, missteps during the BLM protests, “hospitality” during COVID, and his decision to close the restaurant on November 3rd so his team can vote. Fortunately, the microphones were on and the dialogue was recorded.
Episode 7 Bonus: GSP + DEI
For this bonus episode of The Graffito Podcast, Drew passes the hosting duties to his colleagues Gustavo, Corey, and Brooke to share more about Graffito’s commitment to building a more anti-racist business and our efforts to explore and better understand issues of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. The conversation scratches the surface of what the Graffito team has been thinking about, talking about, and working on related to DEI, and previews a bit of where we want to head in the months and years to come.
Episode 8: Enough Already
On the final episode of the season, Drew and Jesse get together to do some reflecting. They discuss the status of the podcast and share a few of their favorite moments from the first episodes, which includes a nice summary of what we’ve learned about #PodcastDrew. Also on this episode, Jesse forgets to mute his computer (again) and Drew questions Jesse’s pronunciation of the word “Already.”
