Paris Of The Eighties Brings Cafe Life To Worcester’s Main Street
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Cafe life is good at Worcester's Paris of the Eighties. Photo: Lyor Dotan.
This is not the only project for Besaw and Migliozzi: the two also run The Webster Theatre in Hartford, CT, The New England Metal and Hardcore Festival, and The Rock and Shock Tour. They met when The Palladium was in need of new management. Besaw had previously worked for The Palladium and Migliozzi came in from Mass Concerts. The space next door has had several businesses in and out and once the space was open they did not let the opportunity to expand on their dreams escape them. “Business keeps on building and turning very well,” Besaw said. They are happy with the success of the café and they will not stop adding to it. They have always hoped on expanding The Palladium and they enjoy the café that they have opened.
Cafe life, for Worcester
For Besaw and Migliozzi, the focus at Paris of the Eighties is on Worcester locals, and in fact, the cafe's name reflects an old joke in the city. Believe it or not, "Paris of the Eighties" was a city slogan in the 1980s. “However, the term did not catch, and we wanted to revive it,” Migliozzi said. Locals have shortened the name to Paris Café, which the owners have embraced. It is more important to keep the feeling of the unique city alive as opposed to the slogan. The Paris of the Eighties Café is happy with the rich historic, classic, charm of the small city.
“We believe the city was in need of a high end café. And we care about what people have to say, so we listen to all suggestions,” the owners say. They purchase everything they need for the café locally, adjust the menu based on seasons and customer requests, and have moved to baking pastries on-site. They make their coffees with roasted flavors as opposed to adding syrups or artificial flavors.
Promotions for locals
Chris Besaw and Gina Migliozzi's Paris of the Eighties is run by locals, for locals.
And for Besaw and Migliozzi, the evolution of their cafe is part of an overall evolution and renovation of The Palladium. “We want to restore what the Palladium was all about” says Chris. They hope to bring in a bigger crowd for the future. The Rock and Shock Tour is The Palladium’s big event taking place October 18th, 19th, and 20th. There will be appearances of actors from different movies, especially horror movies. The Palladium teams up with the DCU Center for the event. “Typically 7,000-8,000 people make an appearance at the Rock and Shock Tour, but for the ten year anniversary coming up we are shooting for ten thousand guests,” Migliozzi said. The cast of Walking Dead has already confirmed their attendance and The Palladium will keep announcing guests before the start of the tour. For more information visit: thepalladium.net.
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