A Cambridge business that focuses on wholesale meats--and which is known in part for its iconic sign--is saying farewell to its longtime home.According to an article in the Cambridge Chronicle-Tab and Wicked Local, Mayflower Poultry on Cambridge Street is shutting down and its "Live Poultry Fresh Killed" sign will be auctioned off. In the article, owner Jim Gould hints that gentrification of the neighborhood led to the decision, saying that "I tried to buy it about 10 years ago for a million, a million and half, then two million. They kept telling me they had lots of offers. So I asked for first right of refusal which they nicely did." When the price recently approached $5 million, however, that was apparently the tipping point, with Gould stating that "So much stupid money around now, it's just insane....It was just impossible to justify. I'm not a developer, you know, it would just be buying my home."
The article mentions that the business will move to "the Boston Meat Market, off Route 93," though we are still trying to confirm exactly which market this is, while the sign will be auctioned off by Paul Saperstein. As for the Mayflower Poultry space itself, the future is unknown, and the fact that the structure is recognized by the National Historic Register means that any plans for it will first need to be cleared by the city of Cambridge.
The address for Mayflower Poultry is 621 Cambridge St, Cambridge, MA 02141. Its website can be found at http://www.mayflowerpoultry.com/
[August 24 update: A tweet from @mtgoldman mentions (via a pesco.com page) that the auction for the Mayflower Poultry sign is slated to take place on Thursday, August 26 at 1:00 PM.]
[August 31 update: Cambridge Day states that the East Cambridge Business Association was the winning bidder for both the physical Mayflower Poultry sign and its trademark, with the plan now apparently being to have the sign live on somewhere in East Cambridge.]
by Marc Hurwitz (Also follow us on Twitter at @hiddenboston)
[A related post from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): List of Restaurant Closings and Openings in the Boston Area]
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[A related post from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): List of Restaurant Closings and Openings in the Boston Area]
Please help keep Boston Restaurant Talk and Boston's Hidden Restaurants going by making a one-time contribution or via a monthly subscription. Thanks! (Donations are non-deductible.)
