Betting on the new player in Boston foodservice

Boston foodservice business could get even better in the coming months—due to a possible new customer in the cards for some local produce suppliers.

“One major local event impacting the business landscape is the completion of the first all-embracing casino hotel to be built in the metro Boston area,” said Tommy Piazza, in sales for Community-Suffolk, Inc., BB #:101225. “This is an exhaustive complex within sight of both terminal markets.”

Encore Boston Harbor is a 34-acre, 3-million-square-foot casino resort overlooking Everett’s Mystic River. Construction on the project started in late 2014 and finished in the summer of 2019.

Owned by Wynn Resorts, Encore Boston Harbor consists of a hotel, spa, convention space, retail stores, a handful of restaurants, and a publicly accessible riverwalk.

Not all merchants on the New England Produce Center (NEPC) and the Boston Market Terminal (BMT) are enthusiastic about the new resort.

“The casino construction around here has been a pain in the neck,” said Patrick Burke, sales manager with Garden Fresh Salad Company, Inc. BB #:101286, and he’s not convinced the resort will necessarily lead to more business for the NEPC.

This is a multi-part spotlight feature on Boston produce adapted from the October 2019 issue of Produce Blueprints.

Image sources are either licensed or customer-provided.