News
VP of City and Community Engagement Talks to Globe About the Opening of Locally-Owned Restaurant on Northeastern's Campus
September 20, 2021
"Nia Grace used to drive past the new LightView building on Northeastern University’s campus every day on her way to Darryl’s Corner Bar & Kitchen, the famed Roxbury restaurant she took ownership of in 2018. But she never imagined she might occupy it herself.
“I can’t compete with a Tatte or a Panera,” she thought whenever she let herself contemplate expanding into the space.
But this month, thanks to a new initiative launched by the university and the building’s developer, American Campus Communities, she’s doing just that. Grace’s new restaurant, The Underground Cafe + Lounge had its official opening Monday. It’s a cafe and event space in the ground floor of the luxury dorm, catering to both students and the surrounding Roxbury community.
The restaurant came together through ACC’s new Neighborhood Business Nurturing Program, an effort that promises to help bolster local businesses, especially those owned by women and people of color. Northeastern administrators say it’s a recognition that the university needs to use its deep pockets to support neighboring communities. And it’s one of several similar small business initiatives being rolled out at the region’s universities this fall with diversity and inclusion in mind."