Business & Tech

Regional Business Roundup: Stray Tatt Strut, Historical Reconstruction and Family Pizza

A regional smattering of business news.

Attleboro


Stray Tatts in Attleboro Sharing a Lifetime of Art

 

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Eric Berghman has been in the tattoo business for more than 37 years, but he said his passion for the art began before he was making money doing it.

"I first started drawing when I was a little kid," he said. "From as far back as I can remember, I wanted to be a tattoo artist."

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Berghman owns and operates Stray Tatts Studios in Attleboro. He said he has been around tattoos for most of his life.

"My grandfather was covered in tattoos," he said. "We were very close."

Berghman said he always enjoyed drawing cars, especially modified stock cars like the ones his cousins used to drive.

"I grew up around them," he said. "My cousin is a three time NASCAR modified champion. A lot of cars, and Mad magazine."

Seekonk

Grist Mill Tavern Reconstruction Unearths Seekonk's History

 

Greg Esmay is rebuilding the Grist Mill Tavern in Seekonk and keeping the historical feel that old building had.

“We’re not trying to build a new building,” he said. “We want it to look and feel like the Grist Mill.”

Esmay said he’s always been interested in the history of the place. Back before Seekonk was even a town in the 1700s, the Grist Mill was a working mill, and, Esmay says, a focal point for the community.

“It would be like a shopping mall for the 1700s,” he said. “It was very much a center of that town for the farmers.”

Esmay said the mill was not only a food production mill, but also a sawmill and an ice house. At the time, when Seekonk was part of Rehoboth, the population of the area was mostly farmers. If you needed to build something you could get the wood from the mill, if you needed your crops processed you ground it at the mill.

Wrentham
Hair Body and Soul in Wrentham a Success of Word of Mouth

Carol Mucciarone started the 13 years ago, and she said her passion for hair began a lot longer than that.

“I just always had a knack for it,” she said. “You know, just growing up having long hair and sisters. We were always doing each other’s hair and nails.”

As an adult, she knew she wanted to work for herself. She said she had worked before as a bartender and an administrative assistant.

“I was tired of helping everybody else make money,” she said. “I wanted to be rewarded for the effort I put into it. The hard work I put in now is what I get back.”

Mucciarone said she grew up in Wrentham. She saw an opportunity to go to the Tri County Regional School in Franklin and go her haircutting license.

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Foxborough

Foxborough health department officials will be keeping a close eye on the Gaard Motel on Route 1 after finding dozens of violations during a recent inspection.

The owners of the motel - Ravi Sarin, Rikki Sarin and Shaliny Sarin - went before the Foxborough Board of Health on April 1 to review the violations and discuss what needs to be done moving forward.

According to Foxborough Health Director Pauline Clifford, the violations at the motel, which include bugs in light fixtures and replacement of worn out pillows and blankets, have been an ongoing issue.

At the meeting on April 1 the board decided to allow the owners to come up with a maintenance plan that would fix the violations. The owners have until April 29 to have a plan in place.

“A plan is a plan," Clifford said. "It’s all good on paper, but I want to see this implemented. I’m just really tired of going up there and writing up the same report year after year.”

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Norton

Cigarman in Norton Lives His ‘Wildest Dream’

Tom Fresoni has owned the Cigarman Shop in Norton for over 13 years, and he said he’s amazed at his own success.

“I hoped it would turn into a neighborhood place, and to my wildest dreams it pretty much has,” he said.

Fresoni said he has always had a love of cigars, and he didn’t have anywhere to go in the area that was serious about cigar smoking.

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Mansfield

Cousin’s Pizza a Family Affair

Frank Mylonas started working at Cousin’s Pizza in 1981, and has been working there ever since.

“If you enjoy hard work, it just becomes your passion,” he said.

Mylonas said he first started making pizza when he was 16 working as a pizza marker for a moving carnival. He said his boss, Dominic.

“He taught me how to make pizza,” he said. “It was fast paced, you always had to have pizza going. It was kind of cool.” Mylonas said Cousin’s was originally named when the landlord of the plaza let his cousin open the pizza shop.

“In senior year of high school I started working at Cousin’s,” he said.

Six months after starting at Cousin’s, Mylonas was able to purchase the shop.

“It grew a lot,” he said. “It’s a nice community with great people.”

Mylonas said his family originally moved from Greece to Massachusetts. He said he grew up in Brockton. He said his experience in the carnival helped to figure out what good pizza was.

“Everything is fresh,” he said. “Every night we make the dough. Freshness is the key.”

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Attleboro


Stray Tatts in Attleboro Sharing a Lifetime of Art

 

Eric Berghman has been in the tattoo business for more than 37 years, but he said his passion for the art began before he was making money doing it.

"I first started drawing when I was a little kid," he said. "From as far back as I can remember, I wanted to be a tattoo artist."

Berghman owns and operates Stray Tatts Studios in Attleboro. He said he has been around tattoos for most of his life.

"My grandfather was covered in tattoos," he said. "We were very close."

Berghman said he always enjoyed drawing cars, especially modified stock cars like the ones his cousins used to drive.

"I grew up around them," he said. "My cousin is a three time NASCAR modified champion. A lot of cars, and Mad magazine."


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