Gourmet News

‘Modern-Day Supper Club’ Grace by Nia Opens in Boston

Published June 1, 2023

Three of Boston’s award-winning business leaders in the hospitality and entertainment sector — Nia Grace, owner of Darryl’s Corner Bar & Kitchen and The Underground Café & Lounge and Ed Kane and Randy Greenstein, owners of Big Night Entertainment Group — have joined forces to open Grace by Nia, a modern-day supper club for which Eastern Bank is providing financing. Opened on May 11 in Boston’s Seaport District, Grace by Nia puts a new twist on the supper club concept, featuring over 5,000 square feet of restaurant and live entertainment space, a Southern soul-infused menu and a stage for live jazz music. Eastern Bank provided the term loan for the lease-hold improvements to support the build-out of the space.

Darryl’s Corner Bar & Kitchen and Big Night Entertainment Group have been customers of Eastern Bank, and this newest financing helps to expand the reach of their business owners in one of Boston’s most dynamic and thriving neighborhoods.

“With this latest concept, Nia and Big Night Entertainment Group are reinventing a part of the local hospitality and entertainment sector and importantly expanding diversity of business ownership in Boston’s Seaport neighborhood,” said Bob Rivers, CEO and chair of the board of Eastern Bank. “We are proud to support these leading entrepreneurs as they break down barriers and bring greater diversity, inclusivity and vibrancy to this area of Boston.”

Grace said, “Eastern Bank understands the value of supporting women business leaders whose different perspectives create greater innovation and diversity in our economy, and we appreciate the time their team has taken to deeply understand what we are launching and to support me as one of the first women of color to open a hospitality business in the Seaport.”

Kane said, “Through the years, we have worked with Eastern Bank for financing our restaurant and entertainment concepts across the region. They’re always available to talk through ideas and loan scenarios, and we are excited to work with them again as we launch Grace by Nia.”

Eastern Bank provides a range of commercial financing offerings to help companies across many industries to improve cash flow, increase efficiencies and build for the future. Commercial lending solutions include working capital/lines of credit, equipment/term loans, real estate loans, acquisition financing, asset-based lending and employee stock ownership plan-related financing.

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Emerging Brands Alliance Offers $50K Grant

Published May 30, 2023

For companies scaling their brands to the next level, the Emerging Brands Alliance will award a $50,000 grant this September to one brand.

The alliance said is an opportunity to receive funding for the purchase of processing or packaging machinery that could transform manufacturing operations such as filling machinery, labeling system or automating part of the line.

Applications are open and will close July 31.

Finalists will be notified in August. To be eligible for the Emerging Brands Grant, applicants must produce and distribute a consumer packaged good in the United States and/or Canada with annual revenues of at least $1 million but not more than $20 million.

The winner will be announced Sept. 10 at the Emerging Brands Summit in Las Vegas.

The grant program is funded by the Emerging Brands Alliance, a platform providing year-round education, community support and growth opportunities to high-growth brands looking to scale their manufacturing operations.

The summit is a one-day event on Sept. 10, prior to the start of PACK EXPO, designed for fast-growing emerging brands seeking to scale their manufacturing operations. Hear directly from brands like Petal Sparkling Beverages, Simple Mills and Mason Dixie, who’ve successfully scaled through both contract and in-house manufacturing. Expert advisors with decades of CPG experience (from the likes of P&G, Kraft Heinz, Del Monte, Nestle and more) will be available for discussions about operations, along with suppliers eager to work with emerging brands.

The summit will be hosted the day prior to the start of PACK EXPO, so there are no conflicts with the show
In addition to the main stage, attendees will have a choice between two concurrent breakout sessions providing additional educational programming throughout the day
Attendees may browse the digital marketplace to discover resources before, during and after the event
A dedicated event mobile app will make it even easier to connect with peers, experts, and suppliers
Consierge service at PACK EXPO Las Vegas to help identify suppliers who support emerging brands

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Doctors Group Files Complaint Over ‘Wood Milk’ Ad

Published May 26, 2023

In April, the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service approved an ad that features “The White Lotus” actress Aubrey Plaza mocking plant milk. But the now-viral “Wood Milk” ads violate laws forbidding federal agricultural promotions from depicting products in a negative light, according to a complaint filed with the USDA Office of Inspector General by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a nonprofit public health advocacy organization.

Using a fictitious product named “Wood Milk” as a stand-in for plant-based milks, the ads deride plant-based milks.in

The “Wood Milk” campaign violates the statutory prohibition against advertising that is “false or misleading or disparaging to another agricultural commodity” and the regulatory prohibition against “unfair or deceptive acts or practices with respect to the quality, value or use of any competing product,” the Physician Committee’s complaint says.

It also violates a federal law that says USDA milk advertising dollars can’t be used to influence legislation or government action or policy. On Feb. 23, the FDA announced new proposed guidelines that would allow plant-based milks to be labeled using the word “milk.” The agency invited the public to submit comments by April 24, before final guidelines would be established. The “Wood Milk” ad campaign was launched before that comment period closed. On May 1, the comment period was extended to July 31. The “Wood Milk” campaign has run continuously since then.

The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service administers the federal commodity promotion and research programs, commonly referred to as “checkoff” programs. The USDA approves all “checkoff” advertising and is responsible for reviewing and verifying all nutritional claims.

The Physician Committee’s complaint requests that the Office of Inspector General issue a recommendation that the “Wood Milk” ads stop and that the milk “checkoff” issue corrective advertising that explains the benefits of plant-based milks.

“The ‘checkoff’ is a government program,” said Physicians Committee President Neal Barnard, MD, FACC, adjunct professor of medicine at George Washington University School of Medicine. “It is one thing for it to promote cow’s milk. It is quite another thing to mock the products that many nonwhite Americans choose for health reasons.”

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