With the opening of La Padrona in Raffles Boston, Eric Papachristos reflects on his road to becoming a restaurateur.
Eric Papachristos is the owner of several restaurants in Boston, and there’s more openings on the horizon.
For many years, Eric Papachristos led a double life. By day, he worked in finance for storied institution Harvard University and international law firm Ropes & Gray. And by night, he was a hot shot bartender and club owner who won the esteemed title of Beloved Bartender from the erstwhile Improper Bostonian magazine. His phenomenal night life even landed him on prime time as a contestant on the fourth season of the hit reality show The Bachelorette, and still, he went to work at his corporate job, never telling a soul.
Why the secrecy? Papachristos was a man divided. His heart loved the restaurant industry—he had grown up working alongside his brother at his father’s restaurant Niko’s in Weymouth, which is still open today. But his father’s voice in his head told him to walk a different path. “First generations that come to America, they rarely make money in the restaurant business. They’re sacrificing their life for their kids. My father wanted me to have a better quality of life,” Papachristos says.
On the quest for that promise of an improved life, Papachristos got one MBA in international business from Suffolk University and then a second, an MSF in finance from Northeastern University. To support himself, he bartended at the Mercury Bar, which eventually became Pravda, working for moguls Kevin Troy and Steven Foster. Once he had the two master degrees and a lucrative job as a financial business manager at Harvard University, he didn’t put the cocktail shaker down, but instead went all in on a new club called the Gypsy Bar with Foster and Troy. “I thought, I’m leaving an amazing job at Harvard, I have two master degrees in finance and I’m going to leverage myself and open up a nightclub.” The risk paid off. Within one year, he had his money back. Gypsy Bar remained open and busy for 15 years.
And yet, Papachristos didn’t open another club, despite his triumph and willing partners with deep pockets. “I’m not a big partier. As much as I love night clubs because I understand the business, I don’t enjoy coming home at four in the morning,” he says. The parttime club owner put his suit back on and returned to his double life, spending his days as the team lead for financial planning and analysis at Ropes & Gray. He quietly bought Victoria’s Diner on the edge of Dorchester, as well as the empty storefront across the street, an old Boston House of Pizza that he turned into the Hen House, bringing one of the first chicken and waffles spots to the area. He quadrupled the diner’s sales in just four years.
A rendering of the interior of the soon to open La Padrona Italian restaurant in Raffles Boston. RENDERING COURTESY OF A STREET HOSPITALITY
He may have continued to be a restaurateur only on the side had he not had the good fortune of becoming friendly with renowned chef Jody Adams. Their relationship evolved over the nights Papachristos would grab dinner at Rialto, Adams’ acclaimed Italian restaurant that was in the Charles Hotel for just over twenty years. “I wanted to open another restaurant and Jody wanted to open another restaurant,” Papachristos says. “A broker, on a whim, showed us a space in a building that was getting renovated. The Big Dig had just finished and the Seaport was still years away from breaking ground, so it was a really good deal,” he says. Papachristos sold the diner and the Hen House in 2011, finally quit his white collar job for good and opened Trade with Adams.
Together, they formed A Street Hospitality group (astreethospitality.com) that has begot many more successful restaurants, including Porto and Saloniki. Perhaps more importantly, the partnership has joined Papachristos’ fractured selves. He’s a legitimate player in the industry he loves, in a role that utilizes his analytical mind. “Now, I’m the coach. My job is to grow the company and give opportunities to my partners and to my staff,” he says.
One of those opportunities, La Padrona, is opening this month inside Raffles Boston. The anticipated opening promises to transport diners to a glamorous Italian villa where they’ll dine on classics rooted in fresh ingredients. But this isn’t the only opening Papachristos has planned. During the pandemic, he purchased 10 buildings in Weymouth that are adjacent to Niko’s, including the iconic restaurant The Venetian. He worked with the town to rezone and plans to build 200 apartments. Within the buildings, he wants to open four restaurants. He’s doing it solo, no investors, no partners. He also has four other projects in the works that he can’t talk about just yet.
Despite his father’s warning, Papachristos works seven days a week. But unlike his father, it’s not out of necessity. A lot of what keeps Papachristos working this hard today is fear of failure —he’s never had to close a restaurant in his entire career and he’s petrified of when that day will come. He also fears stagnation, and no longer being relevant. “In life, there are two stages, growth or death. It’s the same thing with business, and I don’t want to relax,” he says. And lastly, he fears being a disappointment to his parents and his community who gave up so much so that he could succeed. So he’ll keep hustling from nine to five and from five to nine, but this time he’s doing it with his whole heart.
Photography by: ELEVIN STUDIOS
