Nicole Christo was born and raised in Milford and then moved to Boston, where she opened her own restaurant, Blunch. Over the summer her restaurant was on the television show “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” on the Food Network.
Christo usually visits Milford once a month to spend time with her sister. She loves her hometown and graduated from Foran High School in 1986, where she played all-state volleyball and all-state basketball. Once she was 19 she moved to Florida and ran an employment agency. Two years later she moved to Boston and got her first job at a place called Atlantic Fish Co. This was a corporate restaurant where she was a server and a trainer for other restaurants.
Christo is very happy that she went into the food business.
“I loved cooking, interacting with people, and the camaraderie,” she said.
After working at a small family-owned restaurant, Christo opened a few other restaurants, one of which was lost due to a fire. However, Christo feels that even misfortunes like that had a positive impact on her life because it brought her to where she is now.
“I wouldn’t be here [at Blunch] if it didn’t happen,” she said.
Christo opened Blunch in 2007. It is mostly for takeout, but has 12 seats inside for those who choose to dine in. Also, everything is made from scratch. It is across the street from the Boston Medical Center, so many medical and dental students stop by.
“My sister, brother-in-law and I [designed] it. It is eclectic style with French [accents], and it is 425 square feet,” said Christo.
According to Eatblunch.com, the restaurant serves a variety of salads and sandwiches. The most popular ones are egg sandwiches, bagel sandwiches and pressed sandwiches. Blunch also has churros, brownies, croissants, muffins and other desserts. Also, every day there is a “pressed whim or sweet whim” or a special from the entrée and the dessert section.
“A ‘whim,’ in my terms, is just what happens to be made that day,” Christo said.
“Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” was filmed at Blunch at the end of May, and then released in July. The name of the episode is “Stuffed and Twisted.” “Stuffed” refers to the pressed sandwiches, while “Twisted” represents the other two restaurants seen on the episode.
Christo explains how nice it was to have Blunch on TV and what it was like to meet Guy Fieri, the host of the show.
“He is exactly the same as he is on TV. I heard him coming through my door and I recognized him right away,” she said.
Although Christo was seen on screen for only six minutes, she had a wonderful time and will always remember it.
“It was overwhelming, surreal and everything in between,” Christo said. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would be on the Food Network.”