Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/514590
125 lets like Wine Spectator, she thinks the more prestigious awards are reserved for a larger stage. "I see a space in Boston for the whole concept, from design to front- of-house to back-of-house," she says, noting that when it comes to Zagat rankings and James Beard Awards, Boston restaurants often fall short on service. "In Boston, there often isn't a person setting the tone for the front of the house," she says—a function she sees as just as critical as excellent food in these days of increased competition. In preparation for the venture, Batista-Caswell moved part-time to Boston to immerse herself more in the food culture there, and to figure out what's missing, as well as to see how it feels to be an hour away from her Newburyport properties. "It probably won't be easy for the next couple of years," Batista- Caswell says. But easy is not in her DNA. Even in her personal life, she does nothing by half measures. Less than a year after taking up running, she regularly runs 10-mile stretches and planned to tackle a half-mara- thon in Portugal while on a culinary business trip this past spring. "Run- ning is my only escape," she says. "You don't realize how unhealthy the lifestyle can get, working long hours and eating late." Now she tunes out for long runs, putting her phone on Do Not Disturb and letting the texts pile up. Disconnecting even for a short while doesn't come easily to Batista- Caswell, especially while planning a third restaurant and authoring a book about restaurant management, but after the epic winter of 2015, she realized it was critical for her CO N TAC T Ceia Kitchen + Bar 38 State St. Newburyport 978-358-8112 ceiakitchenbar.com Brine 25 State St. Newburyport 978-358-8479 brineoyster.com Seasonal spring octopus small plate at Ceia well-being. The historic snowfall took its toll on the bottom line and on staff morale, as it did for almost every business owner on the North Shore. But layered on top of keeping her two restaurants rolling and staff upbeat despite shortages of shellfish and customers, she had to contend with losing two head chefs and a general manager (one to injury, two to family-driven career changes). "I literally worried myself sick," Batista-Caswell says, explaining that she could barely eat and couldn't even taste wine—a big blow to a woman whose palate can identify award-winning wines long before they garner any media attention. The answer, Batista-Caswell real- ized, was in stepping back, just a bit. While there is no question that she is the visionary behind the concept and menu at both restaurants, she has re- luctantly realized that with the growth of her business, she has to become less of a restaurant person who thinks about food and more of a manager. "They don't teach you this stuff at Johnson & Wales," Batista-Caswell says, referring to the Providence university where she studied culi- nary management. Batista-Caswell carries the weight of those expectations—she realizes that people work at her restaurants specifically to learn and grow in ways that other places on the North Shore can't offer and is loathe to disappoint anyone. She was par- ticularly struck by a comment made by Alex Lorenzano, former general manager at Barrel House, a trendy Beverly gastropub that opened in 2012. "She stopped me and said, 'Be- cause of what you did, creating Ceia and Brine, we could do what we do,'" Batista-Caswell recalls. "[There] is so much more on my plate than I realized. Is that the expectation?" Boston will let her know.