Business Bulletin

Cook to Leave Greater Haverhill Chamber in Fall to Pursue AI Doctorate

By |

Greater Haverhill Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Katie Cook plans to step down from day-to-day Chamber activities in September as she pursues a doctorate in business communication with a focus on artificial intelligence. Cook, who took the Chamber post 15 months ago, told WHAV she considered both part- and full-time college programs and decided to go all in. “I’ve been wanting to go back for a program. I’ve known that for awhile and I looked at a number of different programs,” she said. Cook, of Salem, N.H., said the program will focus on ethics of AI, but she said she is not ready to mention where she’ll be taking classes.

Business Bulletin

Costello’s Famous Roast Beef Shuts Door Leaving Unpaid Bills

By |

Costello’s Famous Roast Beef, Seafood and Pizza near the Haverhill and Plaistow, N.H. line, abruptly closed May 20, leaving behind $222,627 in state taxes, according the Department of Revenue’s website, and with at least one worker saying paychecks bounced. Nicholas K. Flynn, administrator for the city’s License Commission, told WHAV the restaurant’s manager notified the city of the closing. The eatery’s website was still up as of Monday, June 15, with a note saying it was closed for vacation “until after May 14.” The listed telephone number is no longer in service. There was no note on the restaurant’s front door indicating the restaurant was closed and no longer in business. According to the Corporations Division of the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s office, Costello’s is owned by Quincy-based W & W Holdings.

Business Bulletin

Haverhill Chamber Honors Four at Annual Awards Dinner

By |

(Additional photographs below.)

Three community leaders and one nonprofit were honored by the Greater Haverhill Chamber of Commerce at its annual dinner last Thursday night. Kendalle Burlin O’Connell, CEO of the life sciences industry group, Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, served as the keynote speaker for the sold-out event at the Haverhill Country Club. O’Connell said when many people think of innovation in Massachusetts, they think of Kendall Square, Cambridge or Boston’s Seaport. She thinks, though, of inventers, business owners and entrepreneurial risk takers in Haverhill where she resides. “When I think about innovation, I really think about places like Haverhill.

Business Bulletin

Guilfoil Public Relations Wins 12 Bell Ringer Awards

By |

John Guilfoil Public Relations of Groveland took home 12 awards at last week’s 58th annual Bell Ringer Awards and held its position as a finalist for New England’s top public relations campaign for a second consecutive year. The Bell Ringer Awards are sponsored by the PR Club, whose awards honor exceptional work in the public relations in New England. Company founder John Guilfoil expressed pride about his company’s achievements, saying, “As I stood at the Bell Ringer ceremony on Thursday, watching our team receive awards in nearly half of the categories, I could not help but be moved by the efforts of our team and the faith that our clients put in us every day.”

The firm was awarded with a Gold Bell for its campaign that focused on supporting and celebrating the 250th anniversary of Battle of Lexington and reintroducing the role of Lexington to a worldwide audience. In total, the company took home two Gold Bells, three Silver Bells, two Bronze Bells and five Merit awards which were awarded to different team members. Founded in 2013, John Guilfoil Public Relations was previously a Super Bell finalist in 2016 for the company’s work on Gloucester’s Angel initiative, and again in 2025 for its role in communicating to the public about the Dennis Police Department’s new Fourth of July beach public safety initiative.

Business Bulletin

On the Corner Grill Opens on Haverhill’s Downtown Riverfront

By |

On The Corner Grill, Haverhill’s latest restaurant entrant, is open for dinner this weekend in newly built out space overlooking the Merrimack River. The new eatery at Harbor Place is opening just for dinner, 4 to 9 p.m., through the weekend, as it guards against any grand opening kinks. Owner George Chiachio told WHAV he expects to “soon” expand the restaurant’s hours to include lunch. A sister to Chiachio’s Derry, N.H., restaurant of the same name, the Haverhill outlet is in a storefront at Harbor Place Residences at 28-44 Merrimack St. It faces the courtyard shared by Barrio Haverhill.

Business Bulletin

Pentucket Bank Dedicates New Downtown Office, Notes History

By |

(Additional photographs below.)

Pentucket Bank officially opened its new downtown Haverhill main office Tuesday, while honoring a former president and chairman and who presided over the same corner for years. President and CEO Stephen M. Jaskelevicus welcomed public officials, business people and other dignitaries to the formal return to One Merrimack Street at White’s Corner. He praised late bank President and CEO and later Chairman Edmund J. Cote Jr. who saw opportunity at the busy intersection. “Ed had a long commitment to this community—I think over 37, 38 years—for Pentucket in various roles, and was instrumental in getting Pentucket Bank down here on the corner,” he said. He presented Cote’s son and later President and CEO Scott D.  Cote with a plaque dedicating the new building in the elder Cote’s name.

Business Bulletin

Dar Rafiki’s Haverhill Bakery Moving to Larger Storefront

By |

Dar Rafiki’s, a French-Moroccan bakery on Main Street in Haverhill, is moving to a new, larger location later this summer, expanding its offerings and likely adding staff. Owner Lhoussine Rafiq said the new bakery and café within Academy Plaza on South Main Street allows him to offer seating and a breakfast menu. Currently the space is being transformed into a small restaurant. “I am planning some very special delights,” Rafiq promised. Dar Rafiki’s, which means “house of friends” in Arabic, began as a food truck in 2016.

Business Bulletin

CiderFeast Returns to Downtown Haverhill June 18

By |

CiderFeast, founded by Haverhill’s Jimmy Carbone is coming back downtown as part of its 2026 East Coast Tour. More than a dozen cideries and brewers from across Massachusetts and New England pair their hard ciders with local restaurant samples Thursday, June 18, on the Merrimack River. “Crisp cider tastes even better when you’re watching the sun go down over the Merrimack,” says Carbone. “We’re thrilled to pair some of the area’s most exciting cideries and brewers with bites from Haverhill’s standout local restaurants.”

Cideries and breweries at the 21+ Haverhill festival include 1634 Meadery, Altamira Cider, Absolem Cider, Bird Dog Cider, Eden Ciders, Far From The Tree Cider, JMASH Cidery/Hilltop Orchards, New England Cider Company, Original Sin Cider, Ragged Hill Cider. Russell Orchards, Saltbox Cider, Samuel Smith Cider, Stormalong Cider and Watson Wheeler Cider, among others.