LEO KEKA: Well, obviously, we all know on business, in our restaurant business, your margin is in your alcohol. Does that help? Does that become a sizeable business for you? And we've seen a lot of restaurants do similar things to try to bring in extra income. Leo, you have started to offer meal kits, or deliver steaks to people's homes. So with return of gift cards, people hopefully coming back, our business will come back and survive. So the hardest part for us right now is to keep our employees. And the business has been really struggling. And people really, really pitched in to help us as well as our service. LEO KEKA: Well, since we announced this, the response has been great from our guests. I mean, have your restaurants been open through all of this? What kind of customer flow have you guys seen? And what has the pandemic been like for you? And so in giving out these bonuses, I mean, I'm sure this was a surprise for your employees at a time where things have been tough. So each gift card people buy, our guest pot, we donated 15% to our staff. So instead of giving a bonus to our customers this year, we decided we're going to do that with our employees. So we decided what can we do for our staff? Because they're the ones who have been there for us since we opened this business. Well, we started this idea because we figured out it's a struggling time for all of us. I guess my first question is, how did you do this at a time when cash is hard to come by at a lot of restaurants? So Leo, we're talking what, about $30,000 in bonuses that you paid out to your staff. Construction is expected to start next year.Leo is joining us now. The block, which no longer involves a land deal with the city, is now called West of Chestnut and includes plans for new residential, restaurant and retail space. Street-Works’ first planned block, which was named Merchants Row, is now under the control of private investor Quincy Mutual Fire Insurance and developer Gate Residential. The first time around, Street-Works had planned to purchase all the downtown properties slated for redevelopment, but those deals have since expired. Last week, Redgate Real Estate Advisors, the city’s downtown consultant, told officials it could be a challenge for the city to negotiate with multiple land owners, instead of one. Like it did with Street-Works, the city will try to leverage its 10 acres of parking – Ross Garage and Hancock Lot – to partner with interested developers. The mayor has said he’ll approach the project on a block-by-block basis going forward. The city’s first attempt at redevelopment came to a halt earlier this year when Koch cut ties with Street-Works, the master developer behind a $1.6 billion redevelopment plan. The insurance agency is renovating the building with plans to relocate there. – the old Patriot Ledger building – for nearly $2 million. In February, a subsidiary of XS Brokers Insurance, which is located at 10 Granite St., bought 13-17 Temple St. “I’m completely committed here,” Keka said Monday. Alba had been renting the space at 1468 Hancock St. Last month, a company led by Leo Keka, the owner of Alba restaurant at 1486 Hancock St., bought the building that houses the restaurant’s seating area. “There are those who see it as a financial opportunity and some who see a development opportunity,” Walker said. Walker said the recent spate of real-estate deals shows the growth potential viewed in Quincy Center. Christopher Walker, a spokesman for Koch, said the mayor has been in talks with Shapiro about his plans for the downtown properties, and he expects those conversations will continue. Shapiro could not be reached for comment Monday. In September, a company led by Shapiro purchased properties at the corner of Cottage Avenue and Hancock Street for $4.1 million. One businessman showing great interest in Quincy Center is Andrian Shapiro, who last month purchased three properties on the Parkingway, including the IHOP restaurant and the building that once held Outback Steakhouse, for $14.6 million. “In the past six months, we have seen robust investment of private money in downtown Quincy,” Sean Kenealy, president of Quincy-based Key Realty, said. The deals come as Mayor Thomas Koch tries to execute a long-desired plan to revitalize downtown. Since February, private companies have spent more than $36 million to acquire 11 buildings in an area pegged for a major transformation. QUINCY – The city’s downtown redevelopment project has been on hold for the past year, but the lack of construction hasn’t cooled off the real-estate market in Quincy Center.
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