New Partners at Boloco Hanover

L to R: John Pepper, Shamar Shand, CJ Jackson - April 5, 2024

The lease for the Boloco in Hanover, NH was set to expire on April 30, 2023. My landlord - who is more of a friend these days than a landlord - and I talked about it briefly sometime in mid-April and agreed to extend it to August 31 to see how we felt after the summer.

Three years since the onset of Covid and the decision I made in late 2020 to no longer renew leases for restaurants was still holding firm. 25 years was a great milestone to celebrate in 2022, but I wasn’t eager to hit 30, especially in the aftermath of the pandemic. Boston, especially, was hit hard and I knew that by the end of 2023 all of the locations there would either be sold or closed (it turns out 2 locations are still operating for at least the rest of 2024 and the teams down there are grateful as am I for their dedication and operating mostly autonomously without my assistance).

Come late August I decided to make one last ditch effort to recruit new leadership for the Hanover restaurant. After all, it's where I live. But more importantly, my 10-year old son was so opposed to my closing it that I was worried it might negatively impact him - probably not the case, but it definitely weighed on me. One of his favorite things to do is set up shop at Dartmouth Football and Hockey games with his buddies and sell burritos to the fans, manage the cash and credit cards, and deliver amazing hospitality. Its one of my favorite things to watch, too… they really do an amazing job.

I hired a manager who seemed very strong and capable. And she was, although it was clear pretty quickly she didn’t have the ownership attitude it would require to truly run a business like Boloco Hanover (which means, of course, the business ultimately runs the manager). It’s too often a brutal business for those managing and leading it - taking more than it gives to those who have cared for her in the 20 years since first opening. “Labor” in the Upper Valley is tough, and that’s the primary challenge. You can’t make up some of the situations small business owners face up here with staffing, and I could (and may one day) write a book on the topic.

In early September, with the lease now extended again on a month-to-month basis - I still couldn’t commit! - I learned of two individuals seeking a space in Hanover for a salad and smoothie spot. I agreed to meet with them on behalf of the building to see if maybe there was something there.

CJ and Shamar and a common acquaintance of ours Nick met at The Nest in Hanover and immediately hit it off in that rare circumstance where everyone feels comfortable sharing openly and honestly and even somewhat vulnerably. That being said, I still managed to misread the first half of the conversation, digging into backgrounds and trying to get a sense for this smoothie salad idea I had heard bits and pieces about. Shamar set me straight.

“I got a question for you. Why would you walk away from something that’s working?” he asked, with a slight bit of hesitation in his voice but still clear he genuinely wanted to understand.

“It’s hard to explain until you are where I am so many years later, but it’s no longer worth it to me. The headaches, the heartaches, the repetitive nature of the same problems over and over again far outweigh the benefits to me personally these days", I said. I talked about how Boloco in Hanover was a tool I loved to support the community and good causes, how the income was meaningful but not irreplaceable, and of course I personally liked having a fast, healthier option in town as a resident myself, but that being the one under the gun for so long had taken its toll.

“Well, what if someone was to buy it? Like us?”

Shamar was not one to waste time or mince words.

We set up another meeting so that I could regroup and figure out what I really wanted here.

Meetings with CJ and Shamar followed, and in early November Shamar resigned from his sous chef position down the street at Hanover Inn’s Pine and came to work in the kitchen at Boloco. He says himself it was an eye opener. CJ worked shifts in the front of the house, clearly showing her authentic love for being kind to guests and going above and beyond.

I tried to talk them out of it multiple times. “It’s a brutal business,” I heard myself saying to them with disturbing frequency. “Are you really sure you want to do this?!” They wouldn’t have any of my negative shit. What had become too often a nightmare for me was, in their words, their dream. To own their own business.

Shamar grew up in Jamaica before moving to NH when he was young (and he’s still young, by the way.). CJ, also young!, grew up in East St Louis. Their stories of getting to where they are today are humbling and inspiring. We talk about our different upbringings, we acknowledge the differences, we see possibilities of combining our life experiences for the benefit of those who come through our doors as employees. The dialogue we have means a lot to me and I hope to them.

On February 15, the majority of the business ownership transferred to CJ and Shamar. I am honored to be the behind-the-scenes minority partner of two such determined human beings. They also own the Boloco brand as part of the transaction. The IP was held in a separate entity that operated the Massachusetts (and beyond back in the day) operations but since those are sunsetting in the near future it made sense for them to take over responsibility for the brand assets.

The learning curve of being a first-time business owner is steep. Super steep. Boloco in Hanover has good days and also challenging days. Lines get long and sometimes they move fast, other times a bit slower. We get complaints, as we always have. There are days when I know they are frustrated. Like every other restaurant operator I’ve ever known, they work long hours.

The food, however, has improved dramatically… Shamar hasn’t made significant changes yet, but he’s doubled down on retrieving and actually following tried-and-true Boloco recipes that in times past yielded flavors second to none but had slowly drifted off-spec as various managers and team members layered in shortcuts that undermined the quality of the food experience. The innovation and changes Shamar has in mind are set to begin later this year - following an upgrade of all of the equipment in the back as well as new flooring and a break room for the team.

Most importantly, they are stoic in the most challenging moments. Seemingly undeterred by things that used to knock me and my co-founders sideways when we were first starting out. The obstacles are expected, they relentlessly seek answers and solutions, and push forward. I’m optimistic for them and for the brand.

As far as we all know, the Boloco brand will carry on in this single restaurant up here in the woods of New Hampshire. But something tells me if they build the kind of success they envision in Hanover, expansion won’t be far from their minds. I’ll probably try to talk them out of that, too, if it ever comes up. Of course, I’ve learned already that their determination and optimism are far more powerful than any words of caution and concern I might throw their way.

Bottom-line. Not long ago I truly believed Boloco was in its final months, and that by the end of 2023 the story would have come to a graceful end. I was wrong. The story continues, and Boloco is very much alive… thanks to my new friends and partners CJ and Shamar.