SCOUTV

[from SCOUT's article]

Unlike Mike’s and Jerry’s, the other spots in this story, Leone’s is still, well, Leone’s. The beloved Winter Hill sub shop has been in the family for more than 60 years.

But if you’ve ever stopped in to get a slice and a soda on your lunch break, there’s a good chance it’s partner Nick Ruccolo who you recognize behind the counter. He’s there seven days a week, and name aside, he is part of the family; his sister is married to Vic Leone, who works nights under the eatery’s iconic, zig-zagging neon beacon.

Leone’s opened as Santoro’s in 1953. “Mr. And Mrs. Leone came into the place, they ran the sub shop for Sam Santoro,” Ruccolo explains, taking a break from rolling a batch of Leone’s massive meatballs. They later purchased the restaurant, and in the late ’50s, gave it their own name. “It’s been that for 64 years, now.”

Ruccolo was born in Cambridge and grew up in Revere, but he knew the Leone’s name; he had family who lived just around the corner. After studying at Salem State and spending a year as an accountant—a job he “hated every minute of”—he stepped into the Leone’s kitchen at 22.

Today, Leone’s is almost exactly as it was when Ruccolo joined the staff, one of myriad reasons the shop endures as a community staple—a landmark, even—to this day. There’s also the fact that the food is incredible, the famed square slices so doughy and delicious the shop has shipped pizza to former customers as far away as Hawaii and Florida. The shop has partnered with and donated to nonprofits throughout the city since just about the day they opened their doors. And Ruccolo says they’ve never turned people away if they can’t pay. “I’ve been here so many years,” Ruccolo says. “If a kid didn’t have money, I’ll take care of them. We’ve always taken care of people who are down and out.”

And then, of course, there’s the sense of belonging that comes from seeing the same friendly faces every time you drop in, catching up over a sandwich at the counter. “You’re never gonna leave here, are you, Nicky?” a customer asks after placing an order for three slices. “You could go over to Italy, sit down, drink wine in the afternoon…”

But Ruccolo loves this job, and he doesn’t have any plans to retire just yet. “I enjoy what I do,” he says, smiling. “If I didn’t enjoy it, I wouldn’t come in.”

“And I can still go to Italy,” he adds. Then the phone rings, and Ruccolo turns from the counter to answer, running down the succinct list of questions familiar to so many in Somerville. “Leone’s. What is it? Who’s it for? When are you coming? We’ll see you then.”

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SCOUTV is a multimedia collaboration between Scout Somerville and SCATV that brings the stories in each print edition of Scout to life with video and audio. You can find more installments in the series here.

[from SCOUT's article]

"There’s an argument to be made that Davis Square is the Somerville neighborhood that’s changed most over the last 40 years, and Maria’s watched it all transpire from behind Mike’s wide front windows. The eatery predates the Davis MBTA station, and she remembers when the area was a “ghost town” by 5 or 6 o’clock. Now, of course, it’s something of a destination.

But as the neighborhood shifts around it, Mike’s hasn’t changed much. Many of the recipes in use today were passed down from Maria’s Italian grandmother."

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SCOUTV is a multimedia collaboration between Scout Somerville and SCATV that brings the stories in each print edition of Scout to life with video and audio. You can find more installments in the series here.

In a corner of Sarah Morrison’s apartment, nestled among things you’d expect to find in any Somerville kitchen—a recycling bin, a case of Mountain Dew—there’s a shimmering emerald gown.

“Oh!” Morrison exclaims, “I should turn it on!” Sure enough, with the click of a remote, the dress starts glowing with an otherworldly green light. “I have too many hobbies, and one of them is making ball gowns,” laughs Morrison, who’s been drawing and creating since she was a kid.

Morrison has always been interested in fantasy. She sees it as a way to unwind after a tough day at work, to manage the drudgery and uncertainty of day-to-day life. “There’s so much stuff going on [in the world] that’s really stressful, and fantasy has always been a form of escapism for me,” she explains. “I think it’s really important because of that.”

Morrison’s apartment is on the smaller side, which means that Open Studios is your one chance each year to check out that light-up ball gown and a lot of the other work she usually keeps stashed in closets. But the smaller space is still a hub for her creative community. She welcomes artists of all skill levels into her kitchen for figure drawing sessions on the first Wednesday evening of each month, where models hold one-minute, two-minute and five-minute poses, and sometimes hold a pose for the full three-hour session. Other times, she takes a day to use her home as a shared coworking space. She says that working around others helps inspire and encourage artists who might feel stuck or need a reason to make something. The collection of creators that drops in on these workdays includes painters and illustrators, but also programmers who show up with their laptops.

“We’ll get together starting at 10 or 11 in the morning and we’ll go until 10 or 11 at night,” Morrison says. “It’s a lot easier to stay focused and stay working when it’s a lot of us working together rather than working alone.”

SCOUTV is a multimedia collaboration between Scout Somerville and SCATV that brings the stories in each print edition of Scout to life with video and audio. You can find more installments in the series here.

“People have pegged me as a whimsical sculptor,” says Somerville’s Hilary Scott. “I enjoy faces, I enjoy making large things. I think of myself as a problem solver.” At his home on Browning Road, you’ll find cats (and mice) gearing up for battle, along with rocket ships, sea creatures on the ceiling and dinosaurs in the yard.

Scott is one of the hundreds of artists who open their doors for Somerville Open Studios each year, but you don’t have to wait until May 6 and 7 to check out his incredibly cool house. In this installment of SCOUTV, we’re taking you on a tour of his home and the fantastical works inside.

Meet Martha Friend—a found-object assemblage artist and collector who’s spent decades filling her house with art and antiques from around the world.

Friend is one of the hundreds of artists who open their doors for Somerville Open Studios each year, but you don’t have to wait until May 6 and 7 to check it out. In this installment of SCOUTV, we’re taking a behind-the-scenes tour of her incredible home and the collection that fills it.

SCOUTV is a multimedia collaboration between Scout Somerville and SCATV that brings the stories in each print edition of Scout to life with video and audio. You can find more installments in the series here. SCOUT Article: http://scoutsomerville.com/martha-friend/

(C) SCATV 2017