PWN090221

SEPTEMBER 2, 2021
WEEKLYNEWS.NET - 978-532-5880 3
New Forever Stamp
will fund No Child
Goes Hungry
Ellen Basch, right, and daughter Sarah Narcus, left, are co-owners of Olio, an event venue with
a modern vibe that sits in the heart of downtown Peabody.
Venue run by mother and daughter
seeks permit change from city
BY ANNE MARIE TOBIN
The owners of Olio, an event
venue on Main Street, have requested
that the City Council
amend the conditions of a special
permit issued in February
2018. A hearing before the
City Council will be held on
Thursday, Sept. 9.
“Unfortunately, the reality of
the conditions has been incredibly
challenging, a fact which
we discovered as we started to
operate,” owners Sarah Narcus
and her mother, Ellen Basch,
wrote in a letter to the council.
“Despite our success to date,
we are struggling with the complexities
of our special permit.
These revised conditions (will)
put us more in line with other
downtown special permits, i.e.
Granite Coast (Brewing) and
Black Box Theater, as well
as uses allowed by right, i.e.
Stanzy’s (Country Ranch). We
feel that we are asking for what
is reasonable in our bustling
downtown district.”
Narcus said changed circumstances
since the permit was
issued are at the heart of the
request.
“We are just finding our
feet again, and these conditions
don’t make it feasible to
have success,” she said. “A lot
has happened since we got the
permit and we feel now is the
time to go before the council to
address those things. We just
want to be treated as fairly as
our neighbors.”
Narcus said that the purchase
of the property was contingent
on having a special permit. She
and Basch felt that accepting
the conditions was best at the
time.
“We had to accept the special
permit conditions or face
months of delays and lost revenue,”
Narcus said. “‘We were
told, ‘This is how it works in
Peabody,’ so that’s what we
did, knowing we could always
go back to the council once we
were up and running.”
Narcus and Basch said their
goal is “to make the conditions
more consistent with other
downtown businesses” and will
“ensure that we will be able to
comply with them.”
The major request is the extension
of Sunday through
Thursday operating hours from
10:30 p.m. to midnight and 1
a.m. on New Year’s Eve.
“We definitely lost business
because of the limited hours,”
Narcus said. “That’s not just a
lost opportunity for all of us.”
Other suggested changes
are: reduced hours for setup/
cleanup, changes regarding
the hours trucks may operate,
removal of conditions that no
longer apply and elimination of
blanket bans against idling vehicles
and smoking in favor of
a requirement that Olio make
“reasonable efforts to prevent”
each activity.
Narcus and Basch bought
the vacant building at 43 Main.
St. in 2018 for $550,000. They
financed the purchase and
renovation with a $1 million
loan from the Small Business
Administration and a $480,000
loan from the city’s Community
Development Authority (CDA).
The result was a transformation
of a broken-down building
built in 1912 into a spectacular
event space with a 21st-century
modern industrial theme.
Within one year of opening
in the spring of 2019, Olio received
a Boston Magazine
“Best of Boston” award. Insider
Magazine named it the best wedding
venue in Massachusetts.
Olio won a WeddingWire
Couples Choice award and a
2020 Northshore Magazine
Best of North Shore award.
Olio has been featured in numerous
publications including
the New York Times and the
Boston Business Bureau.
Then the pandemic hit Olio
― hard.
“We were well on our way
to profitability,” said Narcus.
“We were so grateful to the city,
especially CDA, which paused
our payments. We know the
city really supports what we
are doing and has since our first
proposal in 2017. When we
bought the property, we were
told by (Ward 2 Councilor)
Peter McGinn to come back to
the council ‘if we needed to.’”
Narcus said she reached out
to McGinn, who is an abuttor,
prior to sending the letter to
the council, but he has not
responded.
The letter cites Olio’s ongoing
support of many
Peabody-based businesses,
such as caterers, photographers,
DJs, hotels, event planners,
florists, transportation services
and restaurants.
“We have heard from many
of our downtown neighbors
who have been grateful for the
partnership opportunities, the
increased foot traffic and the
way we have worked to beautify
downtown,” the letter said.
“We’re trying to bring something
special to Peabody but
some days it’s really hard,” said
Narcus. “We hope for a positive
outcome at our Sept. 9 City
Council hearing, which will
speak volumes about the council’s
shared vision for a booming
and bustling downtown.”
“We are doing exactly what
we told the city we wanted
to do when we applied for
the permit,” said Basch. “We
want to continue doing that as
promised.”
BY KATELYN SAHAGIAN
Postmaster Kimberly Crean-
Prifti unveiled a Forever Stamp
Thursday afternoon that will
raise money for No Child Goes
Hungry (NCGH) in Peabody at
the nonprofit’s new distribution
location behind NE Cabinet.
A small crowd made up of
volunteers, city officials, and
post office employees gathered
to watch the unveiling in the
warehouse, excitedly chatting
amongst themselves while they
waited for the postmaster to
start the announcement.
“For them to think this highly
of us is really humbling,” said
Jarrod Hochman, a School
Committee member and organizer
for NCGH, about the
United States Postal Service
(USPS). “It’s a good thing that
we’re talking about this and
raising awareness.”
Before COVID-19, Hochman
said approximately 17 percent
of kids in Peabody were
going without food. NCGH,
which was founded in 2017 by
Michele Feld, has been distributing
at least two meals a day to
children who do not have access
to food. The original mission
was to feed 120 families; now
the organization is preparing to
pass out approximately 4,000
meals this week.
City Councilor-at-Large
Anne Manning-Martin said that
NCGH was quite an operation.
She said it is “a bunch of good
people doing good things.”
In her speech, Crean-Prifti
talked about how the USPS
understands the necessity of essential
workers since the rise of
the pandemic. She praised the
work NCGH does, saying that
they put in the extra effort.
“They filled and delivered
over 300 backpacks every
Friday during the entire shutdown,”
Crean-Prifti said.
“The unwavering dedication
to the children of Peabody is
remarkable.”
The Forever Stamp was released
on Aug. 21. The stamp,
designed by Dana Tanamachi,
says “Thank You” in a golden
script. As the stamp was shown,
a small plaque was presented
to Feld and Hochman by
Crean-Prifti.
“It almost brings tears to my
eyes,” Feld said.
She said that when she first
brought up the idea of NCGH
at a Peabody School Committee
meeting, she never anticipated
how big it would get.
“I’m so happy to see how it
has grown,” she said. “It shows
that the community cares about
the children here.”
After the dedication of the
stamp, Hochman invited everyone
outside to celebrate the
volunteers who had worked on
packaging up the donations the
night before.
Mayor Edward A. Bettencourt
Jr. said seeing how many people
had stepped up to help and donate
is why he is so proud to be
from Peabody.
“So many people have been
helped. It’s really special to
see,” he said.
Kernwood
Wine & Spirits
12 Salem St. (Kernwood Plaza)
781-246-8883
“Labor is the Backbone of America”
We carry a great selection of
spirits, wine, ice cold beer and the famous
Dom’s
Steak, Chicken and sausages
Like us on facebook
Kernwood Fine Wine and Spirits
Open Sunday, Sept. 5 and
Monday Labor Day, Sept. 6, 10 a.m. - 7 p.m.