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Bulletin Newspapers and the Norwood Record, 661 Washington Street, Norwood, MA (2025)

11/16/2025

BC plan has neighbors concerned
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By Jeff Sullivan

The Boston College Institutional Master Plan (BCIMP) is up for renewal this year, and residents had questions at a recent virtual meeting on the subject.

Much of the meeting had to do with what is currently being constructed, an extension on the Catholic Religious Archives/Library Storage Building of 45,000 square feet of gross floor area, two collection floors and a completion date of June of next year.

However, the issue that raised the most discussion was undergraduate housing and its associated problems. Resident Mark Liu, who also stated he represented the Lane Park Neighborhood Association, said he’s been concerned with the number of undergraduate students partying and taking up residential housing in the neighborhood.

“The developers with money signs in their eyes are snatching up buildings and homes that used to house long-term families and are using them for student housing across the street from us,” he said.

Liu and other residents pointed out that at the time of the original BCIMP’s approval in 2009, the plan called for the creation of 1,280 new undergraduate beds: “Based on an on-campus enrollment of 8,600 undergraduate students, these new beds will increase the supply of University housing from 85 percent to 100 percent of the undergraduate population,” the plan reads – https://tinyurl.com/yd9p8ztf

“We can call the police and we call 911, but they’re still trying to party and playing the drinking games outside, it’s just an endless cycle,” he said. “I would want to see BC prioritize, not just ‘at some point,’ but now, building additional dorms to house all their students on campus so we can get at the root of this issue.”

Liu said last April, there was a party on his street where hundreds of students gathered.

“They’re p*eing all over our houses and trying to get into our backyards to p*e, it’s just so disrespectful,” he said. “It scared my child; it needs to be dealt with now. The city should not have let this go on and let BC deal with this issue.”

Resident D.B. Reiff echoed Liu’s sentiment.

“That was one of the big selling points of the IMP, moving students on campus,” she said. “There are students living off campus and that cuts down on supply and adds to the cost of housing.”

11/16/2025

Doyle’s project having issues
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By Richard Heath

Watermark is facing severe financial problems with its three-building Doyle’s project, and it’s saying its problems are all because of the Boston Transportation Department (BTD).

This was the message Lee Goodman of Watermark brought to the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council (JPNC) on Oct. 28. “Significant increases in construction costs have jeopardized the project’s ability to finish. The developer will outline proposed strategies to complete.”

Goodman explained why.

“We ran into a myriad of issues with city agencies,” he said. “After [ZBA] approval [Jan. 18, 2022] the BTD stopped the process. They wanted all the parking spaces stripped. We refused. This was our commitment to the SNA (Stonybrook Neighborhood Association) for more parking.

“BTD was adamant and the fight lasted 15 months. (Inspectional Services [ISD]) refused the building permit until BTD signed off. (Then District 6 City) Councilor (Matthew) O’Malley went to Chief of Streets [Jascha Franklin Hodge] who then dropped the denial,” Goodman said. “But time went by. It messed up the project. It’s a complete mess; steel and lumber prices are up because of an 18-month delay. We have to redo the whole project.”

Goodman said the affordable number at six units is higher than the 4.60 units recommended by Plan JP Rox.

Originally, Goodman explained, JPNDC and Watermark would put all six affordable homeownership units at 69 Williams St., at the corner of Meehan.

“We would sell the market rate [at 60 Williams] units first to subsidize the affordable. Now we have two affordable units at 60 Williams and two at 69 Williams. All people are living now in those units,” Goodman said. “Four groups living there, all families, all with kids.

“It’s a tough situation. Now we proposed two affordable, offsite units with JPNDC,” Goodman said, showing the break down on the screen share.

“Two units, cash equivalent offsite; $750,000 for new, affordable housing in Jamaica Plain by JPNDC; $750,000 returned to the Mayor’s Office of Housing earmarked for Jamaica Plain.

“We tried to make this work with the bank. I mortgaged my home,” Goodman said, posting the facts on the next screen-share.

Original project budget: $24 million. Current project budge:, $29.7 million. Interest: $2.95 million. Inflation cost: $2.35 million. Tariffs: $400,000.

“There’s a big interest gap, $5 million,” Goodman said. “Biggest fear now is we will run out of money and can’t complete it. So the reasonable outcome is off site with JPNDC.

“I’m not posting this as a failure,” Goodman said. “We’re proud of what we do. The cost has increased 25 percent to 30 percent. We’re looking for support to move two affordable units off site.”

11/16/2025

Light shines on DPAA during Veterans program
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By Dilani Yogaratnam

For the past 15 years, Carol Kelly, enrichment director at the full-service senior community housing German Centre, has delivered a well-drilled Veterans Day Celebration at the facility for the convenience of the veterans who live there and residents of the city.

On Oct. 29 she retired, and all the speakers from city, state and keynote speakers paid tribute to Kelly for her commitment to provide a celebratory space in honoring the men and women who bravely fought for this country.

This year’s event was complete with passionate speakers, the obligatory ceremonial gun salute by Richard Gormley and two fellow veterans of the VFW Post 2902, along with an invocation addressing lawmakers to work toward better legislation for veterans, and musical performances, including an a capella group and a moving rendition of God Bless America by Minister Melvin Murphy.

The feel-good vibes were palpable, as many stood for speakers and singers alike giving praise for heroes in a time of disappointing federal government action. All the speakers packed their sp*eches with interesting points, but keynote speaker, author and Vietnam Veteran Michael Cunningham stood out by honing in on a story that has haunted him since his time as a soldier on a hill in Vietnam.

Cunningham stood before the crowd, looking a bit worn, as he swiftly picked up a picture of his fellow veterans and said he wanted to tell the story of a soldier MIA, Staff Sergeant Jerry Auxier, who is still technically MIA from Vietnam. Cunningham said he (Auxier) claimed he was sick of studying, and so he volunteered for the army in his youth and after basic training in New Jersey and jungle training in Fort Dix, Georgia, he left for Vietnam in 1968.

He was in the mountains west of Da Nang, with the 198th Light Infantry Brigade. After a month of working in the area, his team was running low on supplies so a captain said if they could create an opening in the jungle a helicopter would come with relief. As the helicopter was about to land, they heard a huge explosion. The helicopter fell to its side, with the blades still running, creating a bomb crater. “It buried a whole bunch of guys alive.” The Viet Cong then staged a full-fledged attack to essentially wipe Cunningham’s company out. Three men were killed, 12 wounded and Auxier went MIA.

After years of “pestering” government officials and being stonewalled, Cunningham let it go until 2016 when someone from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) said they were going through old files filled with Cunningham’s specific information, including maps, and had the audacity to ask Cunningham why no one went looking for Auxier. Though enraged, Cunningham simply wanted access to Vietnam to recover Auxier.

Cunningham traveled on four separate occasions to the Que Son Mountains in Vietnam. They finally found the evidence and Cunningham even revisited the foxhole in which he fought. Since this is an investigation, the US must conduct an excavation requiring bargaining with the Vietnamese military. “Jerry is still there. I am 76 years old. I will go back tomorrow to get him home.” Cunningham raised an American flag at the site and has since been in contact with Auxier’s surviving family members.

11/16/2025

ICE concerns at HPNA
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By Matthew MacDonald

On Nov. 6, The Hyde Park Neighborhood Association (HPNA) held its regular monthly meeting. Its longest and most animated appointment addressed community-level responses to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in the city and the neighborhood.

Specifically, HPNA member James Michel spoke to the approximately 20 in attendance regarding the LUCE (Liberation, Union, Community, Esperanza/Esperança/Espoir/Espwa [Hope]) Immigrant Justice Network of Massachusetts (www.lucemass.org). In so doing, he presented the opportunity for anyone interested to be trained as verifiers of ICE activity.

As Michel described it, people who think that they may have spotted ICE can call the LUCE hotline (617-370-5023), after which volunteer verifiers will be dispatched to the scene.

“Your real job there, at the request of the leadership – which is really the immigrant community in our state – is to not take direct action, not to escalate, not to take risks, not be heroes, but to try and de-escalate the situation and to document,” he said of the position’s requirements.

“If you’re going to be a verifier, it does mean that, you know, you may face some intimidating kind of language,” he cautioned. “You may face worse than that, so there is some risk involved.”

The widely reported detention of nine immigrants at Allston Car Wash (434 Cambridge St.) a couple of days earlier was still fresh, and the video recording of another – a woman, with her baby, in Fitchburg that morning – was going viral. Consequently, the discussion after Michel’s presentation was subdued but active. Beyond that, the rumors, speculation, supposition, and opinions that were generated made one thing clear: the fact that nothing is clear – a condition reflective of the lack of specifics in Mayor Michelle Wu’s “Boston will not back down” policy.

Observing all of this, the question also came to mind regarding how long it will take before more people – not only undocumented and documented immigrants, but U.S. citizens, local law enforcement, federal law enforcement, federal non-law enforcement field staff who have nothing to do with ICE, and whoever else – will be unnecessarily subjected to legal and/or physical endangerment and harm if/when they get caught between the enforcement of a questionable Trump administration policy and the questionable Wu administration policy that is opposed to it.

The evening’s other appointment brought Roslindale resident Sean Berte – co-owner of the 883 Hyde Park Ave. cannabis dispensary named Firehouse – before the Association to request an extension of his shop’s business hours. The dispensary – which opened its doors this past August and had its Grand Opening celebration on Oct. 4 – operates from 10 a.m.-7 p.m., seven days a week, and its application is for permission to stay open until 10 p.m. every day.

Berte’s request was about meeting demand and not losing customers to competitors. “Roslindale, West Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, Brookline – everybody’s staying open late,” he explained.

HPNA President Mimi Turchinetz also commented in response to a security question. “I think – for people who don’t frequent cannabis shops – they’re super, super mellow.” Clarifying, she went on. “I mean that there was a lot of concern at the beginning of cannabis being legalized that there would be these huge lines, and there would be a lot of violence, and none of that happens.”

11/16/2025

The Movie garners a crowd
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By Jeff Sullivan

More than 50 residents came out to the Norwood Custom Art Framing shop and Art Gallery 9 on Broadway on Friday to celebrate the home release of Welcome to Norwood: The Movie.

The film, created by 10th District Studios’ Jerry Kelleher and Brendan King, tells the story of the Town of Norwood, from its early days 300 years ago as the little hamlet of South Dedham, to the manufacturing hub it became in the 20th century and to the modern Town of Norwood of today.

Kelleher said the movie was a labor of love. He and King spent three years putting it together, facing several personal hardships along the way. But Kelleher said it was all worth it and it’s really a great movie.

“I put my blood sweat and tears into this,” he said.

Kelleher said the film seemed really popular, at least from the business they were doing.

“Nobody’s leaving empty handed!” he said. “They’re taking the movie home.”

And Kelleher said the home release comes with some bonus material.

“The DVD and the USB have about 20 minutes of extra footage that I couldn’t fit in the night of the premier,” he said. “We could’ve have done a mini-series with all the information I had.”

Kelleher said folks are very much interested in the film, but also about their own part in it.

“I think for a lot of people it’s a trip down memory lane,” he said. “They see themselves in it too because they were just in the movie.”

And if you missed the release, you can go to https://10thdistrictstudios.com and order yourself a copy.

11/16/2025

Luff: no changes to redistricting, yet
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By Jeff Sullivan

EDITOR’S NOTE: The printed story states a meeting is coming on Dec. 17. That meeting is actually scheduled for Nov. 17. We apologize for the error

The Norwood School Committee met on Nov. 5 and discussed the redistricting plan for the 2026/2027 school year.

The redistricting is taking place because the school committee had decided a few years ago when the new Coakley Middle School was being designed that they would move the fifth grade to the new building to relieve overcrowding at the district’s five elementary schools.

After that it was decided that reconfiguring the Willett into an elementary school and spreading all the kindergarten classes taking place there – the Willett is operating as a central kindergarten school for all Norwood Public Schools (NPS) students - was the preferred direction.

NPS Superintendent Timothy Luff said that plan isn’t changing, at least not yet. But some individual students may be shifted to other districts, as the Kindergarten numbers will be finalized in January.

“The good news is I am not making any recommendations to change district lines tonight,” he said. “I was never actually anticipating changing lines, but choosing certain students within those lines to equalize some of the classes in different spots. In January, I could come back and say, ‘These kindergarten numbers are very different than we expected,’ and you could see me changing a section, increasing or decreasing a section, and then the question would be, if the class sizes are too high or too low, are there any shifts I could make under my authorization as superintendent to do that. I don’t want people to be surprised, especially in the neighborhoods I referenced here, because I also want to keep the students as close as I can to the schools where they were prior so they are not traveling across the district.”

Luff said has been going through the data and there are several considerations he has been thinking about since the Sanborn Consultant’s study two years ago, but at this time there are only minor shifts that, through the School Committee, he has been able to accommodate by shifting individual students to other districts.

“There are some imperfections in any study, and there may be some shifts for some individual students if we can’t equalize sizes,” he said. “Overall, we’re pretty close to where we want to be.”

Luff pointed out that there are two main issues at this specific stage: one is the numbers Sanborn estimated two years ago are not accurate to current conditions and two, they don’t have the incoming kindergartner numbers just yet.

11/16/2025

Chilly Vets Day no problem
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By Jeff Sullivan

While the weather was a bit uncooperative, more than 300 residents still came out for this year’s annual Veterans Day Parade and ceremonies.

Usually, the ceremony is held at the Norwood Common Gazebo, but organizers decided to move the speaking portion of the observances this year to the Memorial Town Hall across the street. Patrons appeared relieved that the Town Hall’s boiler was in perfect working order at this time.

Keynote speaker Aiden Reardon discussed his service in Iraq and Syria as part of Operation Inherent Resolve. He said what he saw deeply affected him and his outlook.

“The injustice of those countries was a life perspective I will never forget,” he said. “In Iraq while coming back from training I saw a young boy, no older than 12, walking barefoot across the desert and shepherding what had to be 100 goats or more. Then I thought back to what I was doing when I was 12, and it made me think about how lucky I am to be an American. Or in Syria, playing soccer with young Syrian boys to show them the guns I had in my hands were not the same guns that showed up at their doors to take their sisters and mothers. The reward of limiting turmoil for the people of Iraq and Syria, while also simultaneously making sure no one shows up at my front door at home, was a feeling of purpose and honor like no other.”

Reardon also discussed the end of his infantry training, which he completed as part of his National Guardsman service. He said after completing training soldiers are paraded through the National Infantry Museum. He said it had a significant impact on him.

“You’re brought face-to-face with the men and women who gave up their lives for this great country,” he said, “the men and women who came before you. I originally thought it was a cool field trip and a way to get away from the duties of the day. But I later realized it was an integral part of our training, just as important as cleaning your weapon, re-conning your route or knowing how to call in a medivac. The history of those who came before helps instill the values of what it takes to be a soldier in the first place. The values you need as a young soldier thrust into a world of injustice and war.”

Reardon said he was likely to be leaving the military because of injuries he sustained overseas.

11/07/2025

NHS Marching takes 1st place, Finishes season strong
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By Jeff Sullivan

The Norwood High School (NHS) Marching Band took home 1st place in its category at the USBands Massachusetts/Rhode Island Finals in Stoughton over the weekend.

Band Director Steven Conant said it was a great way to finish the competition season. For the A Group 1 category, Norwood finished in first place with a total score of 87.900, beating out Joseph Case High School at 85.500, Shepherd Hill Regional High School at 85.100, Bridgewater-Raynham High School at 84.200, and Auburn Senior High School with 83.100.

Conant said the students were very pleased, and he added the teaching staff was pleasantly surprised.

“We’re the Massachusetts State Champions,” he said. “The kids were thrilled. And I think from a staff standpoint, we were surprised. Many of the bands we had seen in previous competitions, on those days they were better than we were. So we weren’t expecting to win the class, but the kids performed probably beyond their means, meaning better than they have performed during rehearsals or at any point throughout the season.”

Conant amended his earlier statement about the staff being surprised.

“We knew they were capable of doing it, but to have all the performers have their best show on the same day, that’s the trick,” he said.

And adding on top of the challenge, the NHS Band did not have the most ideal conditions to play in. The sun was extremely bright on the crisp fall day of Nov. 1, and beat down blindingly towards the crowd. While most of the band was spared the discomfort, the band conductors had to face into the sun, which couldn’t have made things easier.

But the biggest hurdle for all bands and color guards on Saturday in Stoughton was the wind. The sun was beating down warm rays all day, but most attendees couldn’t feel any warmth, as the intense winds whipping through the stands and blew various detritus this way and that.

“My color guard staff made an executive decision that instead of tossing their flags in the air they were just going to have to hold on to them,” Conant said. “Several groups made that same decision, because at that point it becomes a safety thing, as the wind was not always predictable, it was very variable. If it’s always in one direction you can plan for it, but not if it’s swirling around. So we had the girls in the guard hang on to them during the entire performance.”

Several color guards were seen warming up in other areas of the Stoughton High School Athletic complex and, many times, the flags went flying, so it was probably a good call on Conant’s part.

The songs from NHS were all related to the Wizard of Oz, with selections from the 1939 movie, the Elton John song Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, and the more recent Wicked franchise.

The band also earned other accolades during the show, including the Best Music and Best Color Guard for the State Championship.

11/07/2025

German Centre hosts parade
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By Jeff Sullivan

The German Centre in West Roxbury hosted hundreds of students from its neighbor, the Saint Teresa of Avila School, on Halloween Day for a parade through most of the senior living facility’s grounds.

Patriots players, super heroes, witches, monsters, Wednesdays, ninjas, vampires, and even one gigantic foot came through wishing ‘Happy Halloween!’ to German Centre residents. The students also kept shouting and chanting ‘six-seven!’ to the confusion of residents, teachers and administrators alike.

German Centre Administrator Sean O’Grady said while this is his first year as president for the parade, he’s dressed up once or twice when he was on staff.

“I did not dress up this year,” he said. “When I was part of the rehab team we would dress up. In the past we had a rehab team and did a fruit theme of us dressing up as oranges, lemons and limes.”

O’Grady said the event is designed to bring generations together and create a sense of community with the neighborhood.

“St. Teresa’s is part of our community, and we’re rich with working with several schools as volunteers; we’re a close-knit group here in West Roxbury and so this has been going on for years,” he said. “This is an inter-generational event where we have the children showing off their costumes and walking around the facility, meeting with residents and it brightens up everyone’s day.”

O’Grady said the German Centre is currently gearing up for its Veterans Day celebration on Nov. 11 at 9:30 a.m., but will also be opening up to the community other celebrations throughout the year.

“We will have a Christmas Tree Lighting where families and children from the community will be able to come in here and see us light up the tree, as well as Christmas festivities,” he said. “We also have volunteers come in from local schools like Catholic Memorial and we have an affiliation with Roxbury Latin where they come in and visit our residents so it’s a great time.”

Activities Director Daffney Guey said they’ve been doing the parade for years now, and said it’s not just the kids who get in on the holiday fun.

“The students are always excited and we’re happy to see everybody dressed in costumes, whether it’s staff or residents,” she said. “We do have residents who get really involved and get dressed up with hats, necklaces and other things.”

11/07/2025

Legacy housing for 294 Hyde Park Ave, little reaction at Planning meeting
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By Richard Heath

The largest housing development in Forest Hills since Woodbourne Apartments, a 67-unit elderly housing building built in 1978 by the Greater Boston CDC, is proposed for the ALCO Auto Parts site at 294 Hyde Park Ave.

A six-story, 48-unit, mixed-income, L-shaped building by ARX Urban development was reviewed in a 36-minute Boston Planning Department Article 80 meeting on Oct. 22.

ARX with JGE architects filed its Article 80 Small Project Review (SPR) application on Sept. 16.
As first reported by The Bulletin on Sept. 18, nothing seems to have changed; the surprise was the lack of community participation in the virtual Article 80 public meeting at which only about eight or nine residents called in, and none showed a street address.

Two called in with enthusiastic support, but one lived in Egleston Square and the other in Hyde Square. A third was Dan Daly representing a labor union who called in offering full support.

Danny Moll of ARX Urban said at the BPDA meeting that they “had thoughtfully listened to every one of you … and you wanted a coherent and attractive building.”

Moll said he had met with the Woodbourne and Forest Hills neighborhood associations, as well as Abundant Housing Massachusetts, a YIMBY, ‘Yes in my backyard’ group.

It was essentially closed circuit; if abutters meetings were held they were not advertised. Jordan Frias from Councilor Weber’s office and Carlos Rios from Rep Montano’s office were also on the call.

Absent from the meeting was Karti Sabramanian; as The Bulletin reported, he circulated an on line petition on Sept. 5 with warm enthusiasm for the ARX plans, especially with the number of affordable units, soliciting signatures of support.

A few days later he sent around on the Listserve (mailing list software) that he had met with the developer and attached elevations of the proposed building.

11/07/2025

Neighborhood Housing in HP, questions and confusion abound
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By Matthew MacDonald

On Oct. 22, the Boston Planning Department continued its community process in Hyde Park for its Neighborhood Housing initiative. Its goal is to change zoning codes in the city’s residential areas to bring existing single and small multi-family properties into compliance with them, thus eliminating Zoning Board of Appeal approval for minor improvements and upkeep.

Much more controversially, the initiative also aims to make it as-of-right for homeowners in these rezoned areas to add approved accessory dwelling units (ADUs) to their properties, if they meet certain conditions.

It is one of Mayor Michelle Wu’s proposals to overhaul and simplify Boston’s long and complicated zoning code, and to make it easier to increase the city’s housing inventory.

Wu’s other major neighborhood rezoning initiative is Squares + Streets (S+S). While different from Neighborhood Housing, both were officially rolled out in early 2024 and have resulted in recurring confusion between them, and the mistaken blending together of them.

Throughout 2024, the Planning Department held several Neighborhood Housing community update meetings highlighting its zoning analysis for the initiative. It also introduced three types of ADUs being proposed for adoption into neighborhood codes. Directly related to that, near the end of 2024, a guidebook for building the three types of zoning compliant ADUs was released.

At that time, it was also announced that Hyde Park, West Roxbury, and Roslindale would be the first neighborhoods in the city to undergo this rezoning process due to their large lot sizes.

The Oct. 22 meeting was the second held for the three selected neighborhoods (Roslindale’s was on Oct. 15; West Roxbury’s is on Nov. 5). However, with regards to clarifying the initiative to the approximately 25 Hyde Park residents who were in attendance, it did not go well.

Scheduled for 90 minutes, its agenda listed a presentation, Q&A, and discussion, and a cadre of Planning Department zoning specialists – up to Deputy Director of Zoning Reform Kathleen Onufer – were there to present the initiative, answer questions about it, and discuss it.

The presentation – which ran nearly 45 minutes and featured three speakers – appeared to confuse attendees, and Senior Planner Will Cohen frequently got unnecessarily bogged down in technical details and jargon, all of which was apparently not helped by his tendency to speak quickly. Key points were touched on, but they were easy to miss when taken with everything else.

11/07/2025

Trader Joe’s finally debuts
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By Ariane Komyati

After what may have felt like a lifetime of waiting, the long-anticipated Trader Joe’s (TJ) has opened its doors on Centre Street in West Roxbury.

On Oct. 30, TJ (located at the former Walgreens on 1999 Centre St.) held a brief ribbon cutting ceremony, then opened for business at 9 a.m.

Despite the cold, rainy weather, dozens of community members lined up outside the building before it opened. Traffic in the parking lot quickly backed up. By 8:45 a.m., the line stretched across the parking lot towards Citizens Bank. “Digital Nomad” Ken Gagne was the first in line, arriving before 8 a.m.

“This is our fourth official Trader Joe’s store in Boston, and our twenty-fifth Trader Joe’s in Massachusetts, so we’re really excited to be here,” TJ’s Regional VP Will Walls said during the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The store hired more than 80 new Crew Members (staff) from neighboring communities and received additional staff transfers from nearby Trader Joe’s locations.

Store Captain (manager) Claire Sommers and the West Roxbury Trader Joe’s crew members welcomed the community with free mini TJ tote bags. The totes were orange in honor of Halloween. Shoppers eagerly shuffled into the new store, marveling at the interior. A few patrons live-streamed their shopping experience. The words “West Roxbury” are featured at the entrance, along with a rendering of the nearby West Roxbury branch of the Boston Public Library. Inside the store, local landmarks and street names are painted on the walls, including Centre Street, Bellevue, Fontaine’s neon chicken Topsy, the old water tower on Bellevue Hill, and the Boston skyline. Multiple ward maps of WR from the late 1800s are framed in the back hallway of the store.

“This is a true neighborhood store,” remarked Sommers. “There have been so many people who have knocked on our windows in the past few weeks. People shook my hand just as I walked outside the store. Everybody has been telling me just how excited they are. Many of them are excited they can walk to this location. The community around here is what makes it a true neighborhood store.”

Sommers is from Canada, but has worked at Trader Joe’s for “quite some time” and has been a captain at other TJ locations in Boston. “The beautiful thing with Trader Joe’s is that all of our employees contribute to the team. When people shop in a Trader Joe’s, they usually comment how every crew member has been so nice and helpful. Because all of our crew members are trained to do everything, customers can ask any one of us for help. Like where to find a specific product they’re looking for,” she explained. All eighty crew members work in customer-facing roles.

The store stated that through the company’s long-standing Neighborhood Shares Program, the West Roxbury Trader Joe’s will donate 100 percent of products that go unsold but remain fit to enjoy to a range of non-profit, community-based organizations, every day of the week. These local organizations include Spoonfuls, Food Rescue US, and Rose’s Bounty. This is especially timely and important, given the potential loss of SNAP benefits moving forward.

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