Chantal and Mike DiSarro grace the cover of the February issue of Westwood Living. Mike, who grew up in Westwood, has been the driving force behind Neroli Mercato, which opened in September, and Neroli Ristorante, slated to open this month on Washington Street in Islington. Tom Leyden details the path to the finish line and how a serial entrepreneur like Mike is always focused on family.
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By Tom Leyden
Photos By: Rick Bern Photography
A scent of freshly baked bread wafts through the air as music is fired up and doors open for business on a Monday morning at Neroli Mercato. Dressed in black, Mike DiSarro, sitting at the Mercato's lone table with his wife and mother, is focused on the next task. When you're a serial entrepreneur, there's always something to do or someone to call. The unpredictability of any day is what keeps Mike engaged. He rides the waves of volatility with a gaze glued to the finish line - the big vision.
The son of Pamela and Steven DiSarro, Mike is the youngest of five children reared a stone's throw from the epicenter of the family's latest venture. Neroli, a name made famous by an Italian princess who fell in love with the scent of a Neroli flower, now prevalent in a seductive, musk perfume, is already seducing Westwooders young and old. Neroli Mercato has been operational since September, and Neroli Ristorante will bloom in February, bringing to a crescendo the latest movement of a complex, magnetic symphony featuring ingenuity, pain, perseverance and loyalty.
Ingenuity starts with commitment and Mike DiSarro is overflowing in that category. He is committed to his wife, Chantal, his three surviving siblings, Nick, Colby and Kim and his mother. He is committed to the memory of both his brother, Steven, Jr., and his father. He is committed to his partners, most notably Mario and Dorothy Lepori, who embarked on this journey with Mike hand-in-hand from day one. He is committed to Westwood, his hometown. He is committed to providing something personal, chic and enduring as the anchor establishment in a massive development that has reinvented Islington and created a sorely needed buzz.
"I could've never dreamed of bringing something like this to the town I grew up in," said Mike. "My family has been here for generations, and all the way to my grandmother, we're just blown away that something like Neroli will be here, right? It's finally something that's ours. We haven't had anything like it in the longest time, on this scale. It's just OURS. Family-owned."
When he says, "Ours," it's clear Mike is referring to both the DiSarro family and the Westwood community. Creating a landmark destination where Westwood residents will dine, drink, relax and socialize was always his goal, and he's been focused on this end game since he was a young boy.
"The grand vision, really, was to make it look small-town from outside and create a grand city atmosphere when you come inside," said Mike. "We have tons of restaurant space up front, tons of bar space and a private function room. We want to get crooners in there, like Sinatra bands, and create a city vibe. It's definitely going to change what the suburbs look like, especially around here. Especially in this neighborhood."
Just 35-years-old, Mike grew up in the internet age, haunted each day by a cloud of drama, heartbreak and unsolved mystery surrounding the 1993 disappearance of his father and the subsequent 24 years it took to learn exactly what happened. That chapter of the DiSarro's story has been told, very publicly, and won't be used by this author as an enticing ploy to retain your engagement.
"I already dealt with that as a child," said Mike. "Getting closure on that just a couple of years ago was great. It's not something I really wanted to go through, but it felt good once it was done. Recently, the guy in jail for everything passed away, so it's all part of the past, right? And I've gotta spend time just keep going. That's my motto - Just Keep Going. I can't think about that stuff or let it hurt me or get bogged down by it. It made me who I am today, though, and I think I'm doing pretty good."
"He's been in Boston for years promoting businesses. It's the apple and the tree with the father," said his mom, Pamela, with a laugh. "The apple didn't fall far. His father, my husband, was an entrepreneur, real estate developer and a nightclub owner. Very personable. Very fun guy. Very well liked. And Mike is too. Everybody loves him... his staff. That's not an easy thing to do. They respect him."
There's a lot to respect when you consider how this project came to life.
"I was meeting with Walid Samaha at The Toast Office and we had a vision to create a restaurant in Westwood," said Mike. "We kept asking ourselves, 'Where can we do this?' And Walid asked if I had seen Islington Center? I hadn't, so we literally got up from the meeting and drove across town."
That chance decision landed Mike and Walid face-to-face with Giorgio Petruziello, the developer and owner of the Islington Center complex.
"I was blown away. The church was gone," said Mike. "I had seen my mother three months prior and the church was there. So when we pulled up, Giorgio was there. We got out of the car and introduced ourselves and asked what he was looking to put in here? He had his tough face on - like, 'You guys, get out of here.' We ended up talking. We ended up having a lot of mutual friends, so slowly the conversations progressed into putting a restaurant from the North End down here."
"I was hesitant at first because this is a huge project," said Mike's wife, Chantal. "I've never done anything like this, but Mike's worked in hospitality his entire life. I feel like anything that Mike's done has been successful. Anything he puts his mind to, he'll make it work. I mean, there was some point in life where he had never worked in a bar, or a club, or a restaurant or run his own production company. He never did those things before, either. He has that entrepreneur mindset where if he wants to do something, he's going to figure out how to do it."
Mike was so passionate and had such a personal commitment to get something to the finish line in Westwood, he took full ownership of the endeavor, as managing partner, with the support of investors.
"I grew up a block down the street," said Mike. "My mother still lives there.I still go there after work. No one had more interest in getting this done than I did."
A relatively small idea became much grander when Mike truly thought about how significantly he could impact his family's neighborhood.
"We started with wanting to do the deli and potentially a restaurant in what's now the Mercato," said Mike. "That progressed into taking all the space, knowing that there's never been a restaurant of that scale. When I was a kid, this was a dry town and there were never liquor licenses available in Westwood. It was just a crazy process to think that someone could actually do something of this scale in Westwood, let alone Islington Center."
As other retail establishments blossomed around Neroli, the massive construction and development project remained Mike's day-to-day priority.
"Looking back on it, honestly, I would not have been able to do it if I hadn't found a builder like Giorgio," said Mike. "He's been so amazing to me as a tenant in helping me build a location. He's helped me navigate through things that pop up when you're doing construction. I would've never been able to do this if he just leased me the space and said,'Good luck.' He and his family care. I love knowing that he has a lot of buildings. I mean, his father helped build my bar. Who does that? Why? Right? They just care."
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Pamela DiSarro, striking in her tan blazer and black boots, makes an impression when she enters the room, matched by a warm, confident demeanor. A graduate of Westwood High School herself, she's watched the evolution of Neroli from close range, beaming with pride while offering support and expertise.
"It has been a dream come true, truly," said Pamela. "It is probably one of the high spots of my life. I am so, so proud of him. This is my baby of five. You have to understand. He and I spent last winter going to New York and selecting merchandise - the finest that we could, finding all of the unique things we could. Going to markets like this is a hobby of mine. I go to all markets, farmers markets all over the state. I love to cook and I always love to entertain. I make my homemade raviolis every Christmas. My grandmother taught me - no machines, just the hands, Obviously, a couple of my recipes are here and quite a few will be showcased in the restaurant."
Also showcased prominently on a column in Neroli Mercato is a photo of her husband, Steven, and her son, Steven, Jr., both lost far too soon, but both remembered every day.
"Mike said, 'Mom, I want a picture of Dad and Steve because I wanna say that the restaurant was built in their memory and dedicated to them.' That makes me so proud."
Neroli is family, from staff to customer, and loyalty to family is what makes the DiSarro's tick.
"You show up to Christmas and there's 40 people there," said Chantal. "They're just a big close-knit group."
I ask Chantal if she thinks Neroli will be an extension of that holiday scene at Pamela's house.
"Oh yeah, definitely," she said. "His family will be here all the time. They already are"
They won't be alone. Westwood has yearned for a spot like this and it's finally here thanks to the perseverance and drive of a native son. Save a seat at the bar for me.
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Learn more about the people and businesses in Westwood as Tom Leyden hosts a series of one-on-one conversations.
By Tom Leyden
As the sound of "Chill" music emanates from the adjoining living room, Drew Chase sits at his kitchen table and pauses for a few seconds before sharing a perfect description of his personality and purpose.
"If you ask me what I do, I'm not gonna tell you I'm an Orthodontist. I tell you I make smiles. I mean, that's the bottom line - make smiles both physically and emotionally."
The son of an orthodontist, Dr. Andrew Chase wasn't always sold on the idea of following in his father's footsteps. In fact, when he was a student at SUNY-Albany, orthodontics was the furthest thing from his mind. And then he fielded a phone call from his uncle.
"He asked me what I wanted to do with my life and I told him I wanted to go into business," said Chase. "He told me I had what it took to be a good orthodontist. He said, 'You're phenomenal in sciences. You're incredibly artistic. You're super social. All of those are the ideal qualities of an orthodontist."
"And he left me with one thought. He said, 'It's also a business,' and he hung up the phone."
Drew's newfound awareness of his unique combination of qualities was a moment of reckoning. Shortly after the conversation with his uncle, Chase marched to the registrar's office and changed his major to biology with a business minor. The path to his calling was clear.
After completing his education and training, Drew was licensed and joined the practice of his father, Robert, immediately injecting life and vision. They rebranded the practice ARCH Orthodontics, an acronym for "Andrew and Robert Chavez and Chase."
The boy from The Bronx had landed in suburban Boston with a mission to build the family business and build smiles along the way. A practice that started with a single office in Stoughton in 1974 blossomed to a fruitful tree of seven locations - Hyde Park, Westwood, Canton, Bridgewater, Hyannis and Orleans.
The Chase family lives less than five minutes from the Westwood ARCH, which actually opened before Drew and his wife, Kim, moved to town with their daughters, Chloe and Mila, in 2015.
The current space on Route 109 is the second location ARCH has occupied in Westwood, and the journey to the finish line on that one has a story.
"We were down the street at the corner of 109 and High Rock. I had begged to get in the space for about a year and a half," said Chase. "After it was vacant for over a year, he agreed. I signed the lease and Kim and I sat down at Starbucks across the street. It was a beautiful, spring afternoon. It was about two o'clock, and we had our coffees on that front porch and about 45 middle school kids walked into Starbucks. It was insane. We just laughed and said, 'This is the perfect location.'"
While the bulk of his clientele is middle school kids, advancements in dentistry and orthodontics have broadened the scope of those ARCH serves on a regular basis. The explosion of lingual and invisible technologies has opened the door for more adults to pursue orthodontic care as they look to perfect their smiles.
"I provide an opportunity for people to enjoy who they are, what they look like, and that has an impact on their lives in the most positive way," said Chase. "Take a person - a kid, adult, doesn't matter - that doesn't have a nice looking smile, and they'll have a tendency not to smile. Now how approachable is somebody who isn't smiling ever? Not as approachable as somebody who is.
At ARCH, the staff create smiles while smiling. An effervescent personality, Dr. Drew doesn't take himself too seriously. He passes that love of life on to his team and his patients in obvious ways on a consistent basis.
"That beauty of having fun while you're making a smile," said Chase. "It's the foundation of what a smile is. Right? Love it."
That same approach works at home, where Drew and Kim empower their daughters and engage in the Westwood community.
"Kim is very engaged with the Westwood Community Chest. The fact the community is so passionate about supporting its neighbors is really wonderful," said Chase. "The heart of any community is the dedication of a family to itself and to their neighbors. Helping to grow and develop my girls into wonderful caring individuals is such an important thing."
Don't take yourself too seriously. Put your skills to work. Give back. Have fun. SMILE.
To learn more about Dr. Drew Chase and ARCH Orthodontics, listen to our conversation on the Westwood Living Podcast Network, found on SoundCloud and YouTube by searching "Westwood Living."
By Jay Resha
WESTWOOD – “Get busy living, or get busy dying!” You know the line, written by Stephen King for the novella that became the classic 1994 film The Shawshank Redemption. It was uttered by both Andy and Red in separate scenes, and remains one of those powerful, unforgettable cinematic quotes. It is so good, I have stolen it and used it as my own. That is, I have stolen it when pep-talking or lecturing…and have also been certain that the audience (kids, usually mine) has not yet seen the movie.
Anyway, back to business. The stages of life – some keep us very busy, some less so. And as for people? Well, there are folks who always seem to be stressed about getting things done; and there are others, who somehow have plenty of free time, all the time.
For those who never seem to catch up, I can only hope for you to slow down for a little while now and then; relax and contemplate things. At a minimum, try to carve out six, maybe seven minutes a month to read this column (okay, fine, read the rest of Westwood Living as well.)
On the other hand, for people who have tons of free time, and post on social media about boredom or TV binge watching, I actually have a suggestion for you as well: kindly write about a dozen brand-new, witty opinion columns about Westwood, then put them into an email and send them to jayresha@comcast.net. Trust me, you’ll be helping to solve more than one time management problem. 600 words or fewer, please!
Listen, friends. You may think you’re doing too much, and that you need to stop and smell the roses. Or you may think you aren’t doing enough, and that you MUST finish that list or else. And sometimes, you may think both of those things at the same time! It’s all part of our journey, as we navigate task to task, day to day, work to play. It’s honestly another reason for this magazine, and why Tom and the rest of us here keep proffering the same advice about connecting with one another, and building the bonds of our community as strong as we can. It really does help.
Put another way, being overwhelmed is not good, and underwhelmed is no better. So let’s work together to try to be…whelmed!
You know, I recently had some time off after Christmas. It had been many moons since I had such a long spell of days off and was at home – not on vacation, not up at the Lake, not in COVID convalescence. I found, to my surprise, that I didn’t enjoy it as much as I had expected to. If you have a full plate and never-ending list, it can really mess with your mind, and hinder your enjoyment of any down time, because there is this shrill voice in your other ear, nagging at you and saying things like “get busy living or get busy dying!”
If you feel like you can’t get it all done, I’m with you, and we’re going to keep working together to get there. And if you have nothing to do today – well, you really should have stopped reading by now, and begun working on those columns you’re going to send me, right?
Signing off here with a wish for us to be whelmed, and busy (but not too busy) in Westwood, living.
Westwood Living? No…thank YOU for living in Westwood. See you next month, and I look forward to hearing from you any time at jayresha@comcast.net.
P.S. 600 words or fewer, please!
Bailey Medeiros has witnessed and experienced it time after time - stereotyping and pre-judgement. Driven to succeed, Bailey blazed an unorthodox trail, through high-profile exposure as Miss Massachusetts Teen USA and NFL Cheerleader, to her current role as an associate at one of the world’s top law firms, Kirkland and Ellis.
“When I was an undergrad student at Bryant University, I majored in finance and was assigned to manage a $1.5 million equity fund with my classmates,” said Bailey. “Most of my peers managing the fund were male and I realized how under-represented women were in various industries, like finance.”
While taking classes at Bryant, Bailey also spent two years as a Patriots Cheerleader. She represented the organization at countless charity events, making media appearances and traveling to Houston and Minneapolis for a pair of Super Bowls. After her second season with the squad, Bailey focused on academics and her pursuit of a law degree.
“I was often stereotyped as an NFL Cheerleader and people were commonly surprised to hear I had aspirations of attending law school,” said Bailey. “Based on all of these experiences, I decided to start a foundation to encourage females to pursue male-dominated careers and to help them push back against preconceived notions and stereotypes.”
The Women’s Empowerment Scholarship launched in 2018 and immediately made an impact. In the four years since, the foundation has awarded more than $55,000 in academic grants to more than 30 recipients of all ages, each of whom endured a rigorous application review process to qualify for financial aid.
“I’m in awe of what the organization has grown into,” said Bailey. “In 2018, I had the idea of giving a scholarship to a high school senior graduating from my alma mater in Monson, MA. I never thought the organization would turn into something that would impact women all across New England, and I never thought we would be able to surpass $55,000 awarded in such a short period of time, if ever! It’s truly been a dream come true and something that would not have been possible without the Board of Directors and our many supporters.”
As a large community embraced the cause and supported the mission, Bailey remained on course, graduating ninth in her class at Bryant in 2019 and graduating cum laude from Boston University School of Law in 2022. While balancing an intense workload this past winter, Bailey also competed for the title of Miss Massachusetts USA and was named first runner-up.
“I’ve always set out to prove to people that there is much more to me than what meets the eye,” said Bailey. “I’m thrilled to be an associate at the world’s largest and most profitable law firm, representing clients in private equity matters. The road hasn’t been easy, and it’s far from over, but I’ve developed an enormous amount of strength and resiliency. I’m excited to help bring more women into the fields of law and private equity.”
Holly Sprow, currently a fourth-year student at the Tufts University School of Medicine, was among the group of women who earned academic grants from The Women’s Empowerment Scholarship in 2021.
“I was looking for local scholarship opportunities in the area and happened to come across The Women’s Empowerment Scholarship,” said Holly. “It really resonated with me after some of my own experiences at work. Being a part of this empowerment community was really appealing to me and having the scholarship money to put toward my medical education has been so impactful and I’m very grateful.”
“Thinking back on what we have been able to do in the past four years, I have no doubt we'll be able to surpass $100,000 in scholarships awarded,” said Bailey. “As we do that, I hope to grow both our network of supporters and scholarship recipients. I hope to develop and host mentoring events to help inspire and cultivate the next generation of female pioneers. I’m excited for everything that is to come!”
By Tom Leyden
Throughout the Patriots 20-year run of dominance, so many faces, names, personalities and characters paraded through the locker room at Gillette Stadium. One of the great joys of covering sports is getting to know more about the men under the helmet and what really makes them who they are.
I never really "root" for the teams I cover, but when they win, I do feel great happiness and satisfaction for the coaches, players and staffers I've gotten to know a bit more personally. On the flip side, I'm empathetic to the human side of things when the teams I cover lose.
This backdrop takes us to Atlanta in 2019, when the Patriots beat the Rams to win Super Bowl LIII. A year earlier, the season had ended in disappointment and we were on the field in Minnesota, surrounded by green and silver confetti as the Eagles celebrated and we wondered what the heck happened with Malcolm Butler? Two years before, it was a circus, the Pats going crazy after rallying to beat the Falcons in Super Bowl LI.
As the 13-3 win over the Rams wrapped up, we once again made our way onto the field for postgame coverage. To put it in perspective, most of the media is kept off the field until shortly before the Lombardi Trophy is presented on stage.
Remember - report on what you see. That's always been my mantra.
I politely weaved my way through a mass of humanity toward the stage, trying to get as close as possible so our videographer could get those "money" shots that last a lifetime. All was going well until I ran into a big body - all 311 lbs. of Shaq Mason, with his young daughter seated on his shoulders. And.... STOP. I figured we were close enough if we were standing next to Shaq as Roger Goodell handed the Vince to Robert Kraft.
With Shaq to my right, I looked to my left and saw a gentleman I didn't know smiling ear-to-ear. Right next to him was Sony Michel, the Patriots running back who scored the game's only touchdown. Well how about that? I was soaking this incredible moment of achievement with Sony and his father. Can you put a price-tag on that front row seat?
I had a good relationship with both Shaq and Sony, so after we watched the presentation, we spent a few minutes doing interviews - two players who had gone to school in Georgia, winning the Super Bowl in Atlanta. It was a special moment we spent together and ultimately shared with Patriots fans back in New England.
A story for another issue? The team party. Summed up in one word - Ludicrous.
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