There is more to Mission Hill than meets the eye. Although the community struggles with low foot traffic, a transient student population and a reputation that seems to have hung on since HBO Max’s “Murder in Boston,” Courtney Wright, executive director of Mission Hill Main Streets, has another story to tell.
The Scope sat down with Wright to talk about her organization’s successes and challenges. She discussed her plans to increase foot traffic at the local businesses, celebrate the community her organization has helped cultivate and imagine a different future for Mission Hill.
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Q: What is your favorite part about working at Mission Hill Main Streets?
Getting to know the business owners, learning more about their models and needs and being a conduit for business owners throughout the city. One thing we’re really excited about is the Legacy Business Awards that the city started last year. A lot of that was the result of funding we were getting from the COVID pandemic, trying to keep small businesses afloat.
This past year, the Legacy Business Award went to Mike’s Donuts, right down the street, who have been here for 50 years as of this year. Maria [Weinograd] is the owner, and everyone loves Mike’s. It’s like the neighborhood spot. All the elected officials always do their coffee hours there. With them getting that award, it came with a $30,000 grant, so that has been fun and exciting to see that money come through. Now we’re working with them to do business assessments and try to upgrade the space.
Q: What new businesses are you excited about this year?
Hebron Market just opened over here on Tremont Street. Yousef [Irziqat], the owner, also owns Crispy Dough. And then two doors down from them is Greenhouse Cafe, which opened this past February, so that’s exciting. It’s just cool to have two businesses open and then in addition to Mike’s Donuts being here 50 years, Penguin Pizza also celebrated their 20th birthday recently. They’re both great community partners. A lot of the restaurants do a lot to support events, you know, donating food and different things.
There’s also Solid Ground. They work with local artists to do their swags, like their sweatshirts and the art that’s in their store. I think it’s cool how collaboratively they are bringing in other businesses and bringing new exposure to stuff in Mission Hill.
Q: What would you like to see happen as part of your work with Mission Hill Main Streets in the next five years?
There are a lot of property owners in this neighborhood that just kind of sit on the property. There is a vacant building that’s constantly graffiti-ed, that we constantly have to deal with, but I’d love to see some of those owners either remodel and open storefronts for business because they’re just vacancies right now. When I get people inquiring about wanting to open a business or a restaurant, it’s frustrating to have buildings just sitting where the owner does not want to do anything with it. I would love, five years from now, to have a few of those spots open up.
