Cardullo's: One Corner. Seventy-Five Years.
(I am writing "Boston Days" as a series of articles for quick reference for myself and other retail pilgrims. This article covers what a 75-year-old gourmet store at Harvard Square taught me about the one decision no retailer can ever get wrong — and what happens when a business outlasts the family that built it.)
Ownership changes. Legacies don't.
There is a small brass plaque on the pillar outside Number 6, Brattle Street. It reads: Cardullo's. Since 1950. Three owners later, that plaque has not moved an inch.
On April 1st, 1950, he opened Cardullo's Gourmet Shoppe at Number 6, Brattle Street, to serve the neighbourhood's fiercely international community. Imported foods, a deli counter, an oyster bar and fine wines became its staples.
In 1978, he originated Harvard Square's Oktoberfest, now an annual tradition.
When Frank Sr.'s health began failing in 1993, his son Francis — a former airplane pilot — stepped away from the skies, bought the shop from his father, and took the counter. He sold the Wursthaus to focus entirely on the gourmet store.
Frank Sr. passed away in October 1997, four years after handing over the keys — but not before Cambridge's Mayor officially proclaimed him the originator of Oktoberfest. He lived to see his life's work in safe hands.
Francis died in 2009. His daughters Donez and Francesca took the counter next — the third generation of Cardullos at Number 6. They ran it for six years before making a decision that no family business takes lightly.
In 2015, they sold. "We have children who are still at home," said Donez. "We're switching our efforts from family business to family."
The buyers were Rich and Kim Wilson, a Newton couple walking away from corporate careers.
"We wanted to leave the corporate world," said Kim, formerly of Staples.
"And we wanted to continue this legacy in Harvard Square."
Three years in, they made a decision the Cardullo family never had — they expanded. In August 2018, a second location opened at Boston's Seaport.
"It felt like the perfect fit," said Kim, "to bring our rich legacy from one of the city's oldest neighbourhoods to one of its newest."
In late 2024, restaurateur Joel Hidenfelter took ownership, partnering with hospitality group Flying Line — and announced a third location at Chestnut Hill for 2026.
Four ownership chapters. Three locations. Seventy-five years. The same corner that started it all.
Every time Cardullo's changed hands, the incoming owner said the same thing in different words — I am here to protect this, not replace it.
That is not sentiment. That is the power of a location so right, so embedded in the life of a place, that no new owner dares disturb it.
Frank Cardullo settled one question in 1950 — where. Every owner since has simply had to honour it.
Boston was teaching me. Again.
Cardullo’s was among the 150 cases that we studied during my ongoing Senior Leadership Program at Harvard Business School, Boston, MA.
(I am writing "Boston Days" as a series of articles for quick reference for myself and other retail pilgrims.)
Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11 and Part 12 here.
