Northshore Magazine

July 2012

Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.

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ne Business You have deve loped a great personal style and you will find it at Mahr i… Tools of the Trade: Wooden paddles and a kettle full of simmering sauce. D es i gn er j e w e l ry by M ah r i . C o ll ec t i o n s of C l o t hing & Ho m e G oods We now w el com e Si m on Pea r c e g la s sw ar e t o ou r M a rbl h ea d S t ore. 1 1 B ea c h 1 5 6 W a s h i n g t o n www. M a h S t r e et M a n c h es t er - by - th e - S e a 97 8. 52 6. 72 41 S t r e et M a r b l eh ea d 78 1. 63 9. 60 15 78 nshoremag.com July 2012r i F a s nshoremag.com July 2012 h ion . co m English, Gimenes started as a dishwasher in the Amesbury restaurant. Company-paid ESL classes at the Harvard Uni- versity Extension School opened his world and his prospects. Flatbread Company is now a Gimenes family affair. His wife, Damaris, is a cook there, and his son, Adalberto, is a baker. "They gave me a chance," he says. "They made a huge differ- ence for me." And that gets passed on. "What they did for me," he says, "I try to do for our customers." With degrees in environmental science and business, Gould believes the restaurant bridges the gap between the two. "Flatbread Company is an environmental movement disguised as a business," he says. Local farms provide seasonal ingredients for the freshest meals and also reduce transporta- tion costs and pollution. A bumper crop of a local ingredients might end up getting worked into a Flatbread special. Flat- bread chefs gear menus to community preferences; Hawaii's restaurant produced Mopsy's Kalua Pork Pie, a flatbread with pulled pork, pineapple, mozzarella and goat cheese, and a mango barbeque sauce that is now a staple on all menus. Many Flatbread Company ideas hearken back to Gould's Amesbury childhood, when he visited his mother's family on what was then Woodsom Farm. Family-style dining included workers, family, and plentiful fresh food. Swimming in a pond, exploring the gardens, and playing in the hayloft left Gould with an appreciation for Mother Nature and for know- ing where food comes from. "It was magic," he says. Gould is conscious of the possibility that as Flatbread Company expands, consumers will associate it with a chain and the belief some consumers have about chain restaurants serving mediocre food. Gould disagrees; he thinks of Flat- bread Company as more like state parks. "You can't have too many of those," he says. Each restaurant, although recogniz- able as a Flatbread Company, has its own flavor that reflects its community, customers, and staff. "My mom had seven kids, and we are all different," quips Meehan.

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