January 2014
35
High-Profile: Retail & Hospitality
Bowdoin Completes ALDI Food Market FCSI Boston Celebrates10 Years Boston - At a recent gathering at Davio’s in downtown Boston, the New England Chapter of the Foodservice Consultants Society International (FCSI) celebrated its 10th anniversary and raised $20,000 for the Greater Boston Food Bank and the Emily A. Swartz Scholarship Foundation. “It’s important to us that we support our industry, spend time with friends, and help others at this time of year,” says Edward Arons, chairman of the local FCSI chapter and senior associate at Colburn & Guyette, a foodservice design firm based
ALDI Food Market Middletown, RI - Bowdoin Conimprovements and a complete interior fitstruction recently completed the adaptive out for this new market. The grand openreuse of vacant retail space into a new ing was celebrated on October 3, 2013. ALDI Food Market. The project included selective demolition followed by exterior
An Interview: Richard R. Fisher Continued from page 15 legislation to fix the problems caused by the standard withholding of “retainage” from payments due to a contractor on private work. Typically, the retainage holdback amounts to 10% of every payment. The work is done and the money has been earned, but it is withheld as assurance the work is satisfactory. But it is typically held for many months after the work is done – and even long after the entire project is done. It’s too much, and it’s held too long. Setting limits on this is our top priority, and is not just an issue here in Massachusetts. It is something that has already been addressed in many other states, and it’s time for Massachusetts to do something about it, too. HP: What can you tell us about the new ASM Young Professionals Group? RF: We have been talking about this for a few years now – but it took some of ASM’s “next generation” young professionals to make it happen. A few of them got together this year and are now working to plan their kickoff event early in the new year. They expect to offer a variety of activities that provide an opportunity for both learning and networking – while having fun in the process. The YP Group follows the lead of other similar groups in the industry, and is an important way to develop our future leaders and encourage them to develop the professional relationships that are so important to success in this industry. HP: Can you explain about the first ASM Pinnacle Award that was presented at the November Dinner Gala? RF: This was an award established just this year to recognize an individual who had shown extraordinary support and service to ASM over the course of many decades – Atty. Jerrold Olanoff of the construction law firm of Corwin & Corwin. Anyone who knows Jerry knows
the unique individual he is – an excellent lawyer as well as a contractor at heart. We wanted to create a special award for a special individual, in recognition of the breadth of his support to the Association – offering legal advice, giving presentations, preparing legislation, etc. – over such a long period of time. No one has done more. It’s possible that the award will be presented again, but there are no plans to do so on a regular basis. We want to keep it special. HP: What are some of the calendar events the association is working on for 2014? RF: We will have quite a range of programs this year, starting with a program on marketing basics in January; economic forecast in February; and building your project backlog in March, which we are presenting jointly with the Construction Financial Management Association. We’ll also be covering insurance issues, public bidding, contract negotiation, and other topics later in the year. New this year will be a panel we’re putting together for the spring, with several general contractors, where they will offer tips and advice to subcontractors on what they are looking for in subcontractors today – what it takes to be considered for their team. We are also planning a repeat of our popular general contractor showcase in the fall, where we invite 20 or so of the state’s leading general contractors to take part in a unique, user-friendly networking event. At the same time, we will be continuing our popular “Safety Roundtables” every two months, offered in partnership with OSHA and the MA Division of Labor Standards. In short, we will be offering a wide range of educational opportunities for our members, in an effort to serve not just company owners, but all members of their management team.
(l-r) Eric Swartz, Executive Chef at Davio’s Boston, Father of Emily Swartz; Edward Arons, Chairman of FCSI New England, Senior Associate at Colburn & Guyette Foodservice
Jonathan Blass, Craig Volcovici, Edward Arons, Mitch Marcotte and Brian Glennon out of Rockland. “After 10 years of donating to the food bank, it has become tradition, and this year we wanted to continue that tradition as well as start a new one.” In addition to the Greater Boston Food Bank, FCSI New England will be donating to a local charity as well. This year’s recipient is the Emily A. Swartz Scholarship Foundation, which was created in memorial of Emily Swartz, the daughter of Davio’s executive chef, Eric Swartz. While this foundation is still in its infancy its goal is to give back to the school and community programs that Emily Swartz loved most.
Fulcrum Completes LaBelle Winery Amherst, NH – Fulcrum Associates of Amherst recently celebrated the completion of LaBelle Winery in Amherst. The new 20,000sf winery nestled on the hillside of the former Bragdon Farm on Route 101 is a family business, run by winemaker Amy LaBelle and her husband Cesar Arboleda. The new California-style winery is of timber framed construction wrapped by structural insulated panels and sided with a blend of EFIS and clapboard and shingle siding. The extensive glazing bathes the West-facing facility in natural light providing a very inviting atmosphere throughout all the spaces. The main entrance is protected by an arched copper roofed canopy that leads you into the large vaulted two-story tasting room and retail space. The tasting bar and French brasserie café provide a comfortable environment for enjoying the fruit of LaBelle’s labor. The tasting room flows outside to one of three terraces featuring a fire bowl that enhances the ambiance. From the tasting room you get a glimpse of a three-story space housing five 23-foot-tall stainless steel fermentation tanks that will help increase the winery distribution from 18,000 to about 60,000 gallons per year. The gallery space is multi-functional and overlooks the area designed to ultimately house 13 of the 23-foottall tanks. Through the gallery you enter the “Vintage Room” a private dining and function room with seating for 32, technology ports and a private outdoor terrace. The lower level of the building consists of approximately 9,000sf of manufacturing space for the winery, including an automated bottling and labeling line, raw storage, case storage, fermentation tanks, a barrel room and the winemakers lab.
The great room and function hall
The tasting room and retail space A wide crushed concrete path leads to the lower-level drive-in entrance. Perhaps the most spectacular feature of the winery is the large and bright ballroom, or great room, which is about 4,500sf and includes a large dance floor, private bar and a series of patio doors that lead out to another private outdoor terrace with views of the vineyards. A well-appointed commercial kitchen easily meets all the guests’ needs. Fulcrum Associates partnered with LaBelle and BMA Architectural Group of Amherst, for the development effort. Sanford Surveying and Engineering of Bedford provided the civil engineering and permitting for the site. Jeff Luter, Rob Fournier and Daryl Luter lead the team for Fulcrum along with Marcus Parkkonen and Rolf Biggers from BMA’s office.
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