(Additional photographs below.)
Joseph’s Trattoria restaurant plans to return to Ward Hill by late next spring—starting a $5 million portion of what will be “Oxford Crossing,” a new neighborhood village with retail spaces and 220 apartments.
Owner Deanna Faro Gaiero and her family participated in a ceremonial groundbreaking Monday morning at the site off Route 125. She explained the project has been in the works longer than most realize.
“We started talking about this back before COVID actually, so six years in the plans,” she said.
Haverhill Mayor Melinda E. Barrett offered her congratulations.
“It’s an exciting moment to actually have this start. There were some doubters out there that said it wasn’t going to start. But some things take a little while to gel, and they persevered and this will be a great restaurant and, hopefully, she’s stays in her other location too, so we’ll have two great restaurants,” she said.
Although plans for the village were approved in 2022 by the Haverhill City Council, Joseph’s Trattoria was forced to prematurely move from its Knipe Road site after flooding in 2023. The restaurant opened a new “Joseph’s Trattoria Downtown” at the former Krueger Flatbread and Olivia’s Restaurant building, 6 Moulton Way, Haverhill.
The mayor noted there are improvements that will be “a plus for all of the people that live off Knipe Road,” including new traffic lights, which will help slow down speeding cars along that stretch.
Merrimack Valley Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Michael Bevilacqua served as master of ceremonies. Sen. Barry R. Finegold and Rep. Ryan M. Hamilton presented citations to the family, noting their perseverance and resilience, recovering from severe flooding three years ago. Finegold noted the ceremony also celebrates another milestone.
“Congratulations on the happy occasion of your groundbreaking and the 30th anniversary of your business in the community of Haverhill,” he said, on behalf of himself and Sen. Pavel M. Payano.
Hamilton, who also spoke for Rep. Andy X. Vargas, almost seemed to have a knife and fork ready. “Perseverance is key. You could have chosen to go somewhere else and just kept downtown, but you guys stuck with us and the City of Haverhill is better for you and your family, and I know our stomachs are definitely going to be better off for you and your family here,” he said.
The restaurant’s builder, Beverly-based CMB, and Vernon Apgar, of Portsmouth, N.H.-based Market Square Architects, and Tuscan Brands’ Max Faro also took part in the ceremonies.
Joseph’s Trattoria’s Nick Gaiero and Deanna Faro Gaiero, center, give the word to raise shovels to ceremonially break ground. (WHAV News photograph.)
Joseph’s Trattoria groundbreaking speakers were Sen. Barry R. Finegold, Haverhill Mayor Melinda E. Barrett, owner Deanna Faro Gaiero, Rep. Ryan M. Hamilton and Merrimack Valley Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Michael Bevilacqua. (WHAV News photograph.)