[Pete Ricci Photography]

From the decor to the drink menu to the people working behind the bar, Trina’s Starlite Lounge is a space where you feel more than welcome: You feel like family. The most (in)famous aspect of this hospitality-in-action manifesto is a weekly tradition that started roughly six months after Trina’s opened its doors in 2009 and that’s grown in size, volume, and good cheer ever since.

“Having a Monday brunch was important, because my partners and I have been in this business our whole lives, and we’ve never been able to go to a Sunday brunch,” says Emma Hollander, who was part of the opening bar crew and became managing partner six years ago.

“Whether working Sunday brunch or working that night, brunch isn’t fun for restaurant kids,” she continues. “We really wanted [them] to be able to enjoy brunch and have a community of people who understood that. We wanted to give back to the people who bust their ass every day, every week.”

While Monday brunch is, schedule-wise, not convenient for everyone, Hollander says it’s become a draw for firefighters, hair stylists, and other local people who have a Monday-is-my-weekend worklife.

“We knew it was going to turn into a big party, and it did,” she says. “Boston is one of those towns, particularly if you’re in the [restaurant] industry, where everyone knows everyone, and [brunch] turned into this really enjoyable thing for everybody involved.”

In addition to providing a much needed sit down meal for bartenders, cooks, and servers citywide, Industry Brunch at Trina’s is also one of the most effective fundraising and activism hubs in town. “Our community, specifically, is very LGBTQ as well as full of immigrants. We’re out to show our community that we support them,” Hollander says.

[Pete Ricci Photography]

Trina’s Starlite Lounge

3 Beacon St.

Somerville, MA 02143

(617) 576-0006

www.trinastarlitelounge.com

 

 

 

[Pete Ricci Photography]

Rockin’ Chair

2oz black tea infused bourbon

1oz Canton

.75oz simple

.75oz lemon

1oz water

Hard shake, pint, mint top garnish