CAPTION: John Moore, owner of the Navy Yard Bistro & Wine Bar.

Unlike most restaurateurs, John Moore had limited experience working in the industry before he opened the Navy Yard Bistro & Wine Bar in 2004.
One year earlier, Moore was laid off from his latest marketing position and decided to try something new. He enrolled in a culinary program at Bunker Hill Community College and soon found work as a line cook at the ill-fated City Square restaurant Meze. All the while, Moore dreamed of opening a restaurant in Charlestown, the neighborhood where he lived since 1997.
“All of my friends in Charlestown laughed at me when I opened this place up,” said Moore, now a resident of the North End.
Despite his friends’ criticisms, Moore was convinced there was a place in Charlestown for a New American restaurant that would offer “square meals for middle-of-the-road prices,” as well as a wine list with more than 100 different varieties.
“I wasn’t confident I could run the restaurant,” Moore said, “but I was confident in the restaurant concept.”
A Nahant native, Moore graduated from Bishop Fenwick High School in Peabody in 1986 and later earned a marketing degree from Saint Leo University in the Tampa Bay area. Moore then returned to the Boston and worked in sales for several local wireless and cable technology companies before launching his second career in the restaurant industry.
But even before Moore enrolled in the culinary program at Bunker Hill Community College, he found an early proponent in Bob Bowers, the former pastor of St. Catherine of Siena Parish. Bowers was among the 50 guests in attendance at Moore’s home for a 2003 fundraiser benefiting St. Catherine’s Youth Center, which Moore described as “the predecessor of MissionSAFE.” For the occasion, Moore prepared Spanish tapas dishes from scratch.
“Father Bowers said, ‘I could see you opening a restaurant,’” Moore recalled.
This became a reality the following year when Moore rented the First Avenue location that is still home to the Navy Yard Bistro. “Nobody wanted the space so I got it at a decent price,” he said.
During the first year of operation, Moore worked unhealthy hours, arriving at 9 or 10 a.m. and leaving at midnight Tuesdays through Sundays and returning on Mondays, when the restaurant was closed, to catch up on paperwork.
“The first winter was quiet, with Parris Landing empty,” Moore said. “It was tough paying bills.”
Over time, the Navy Yard Bistro developed a steady following and Moore was able to hire a part-time manager and an executive chef, Greg Digiovanni, formerly of Boston’s Grill 23 and Maison Robert restaurants.
“This brought another creative mind into the kitchen to raise the restaurant up a notch,” Moore said. “And it freed me up to talk to customers and get feedback.”
The Navy Yard Bistro also began sponsoring French and Spanish food and wine tastings in an effort to expand the menu. “It let people know almost anything can go on the menu,” Moore said.
In May of 2007, Moore opened the Downtown Bistro in Lynn. The new restaurant didn’t enjoy the same success as the Navy Yard Bistro, however, and closed after a little more than a year.
“I could have made it a success if it was my only restaurant,” Moore said. “And I also missed being in the Navy Yard.”
Undaunted by this setback, Moore plans to open up an Italian restaurant as his second foray in the Navy Yard at some point in the near future.
“I want to get [the Navy Yard Bistro] to its peak before I open another place,” Moore said. “I’m happy with this place, but I’m not satisfied yet.”

CAPTION: Durty Harry’s owner Michelle Fournier (at left) and employee Jenny Quinn, with Fournier’s dog and the business’ namesake, Harry.

Michelle Fournier, owner of Durty Harry’s “do-it-yourself dog wash and doggie boutique,” came across the idea for her Main Street business while walking her Labrador -Golden Retriever mix Harry in Brighton last March.
“Harry was covered from tip to tail in mud, and someone suggested I bring him to LaundroMutt in Fresh Pond,” Fournier said.
At that time, Fournier was unfamiliar with the Cambridge “dog wash,” but she was immediately taken with the concept.
“I liked it more than [Harry] did,” Fournier said. “He was just shivering in the tub.”
When Fournier, a Newton resident, was laid off from her publication relations job in early 2008, she decided to follow LaundroMutt’s lead and open a similar business of her own. And she soon decided Charlestown was the ideal location for it.
“I always loved Charlestown and knew it was a dog-friendly community…with young couples and singles who dote on their pets and want them to have a place to go,” Fournier said.
Fournier soon found a space for the business at the former home of Shear Delight hair salon on Main Street. She thoroughly renovated the site and equipped it with three groomer’s tubs — two for full-size dogs and another for smaller canines. After the owner bathes his or her dog, the pet walks up a ramp to an elevated drying table.
“The whole do-it-yourself dog washing concept is fairly new,” Fournier said. “It’s so much fun for the dog owner and the dog.”
The store will also carry a full selection of dog toys, collars, leashes, beds and five lines of organic dog foods, as well as the complete series of “Harry the Dirty Dog” children’s books. Dog groomer David McMasters and dog portrait artist Paula Estey will also be on site by appointment only.
As a new business owner in Charlestown, Fournier said she looks forward to getting involved with the community and has offered to sponsor a fundraiser for the Charlestown Mothers Association at Durty Harry’s this spring.
Meanwhile, Fournier said Durty Harry’s will have two grand openings in the coming weeks — one for owners and another for pets.
For more information about Durty Harry’s, visit ww.durtyharry.com or call 617-242-DOGS (3647).

Future NBA hopefuls and newcomers to the game take note: The Fitz Basketball Academy is now introducing a new generation of Charlestown youth to the sport at the no cost.
Under the guidance of Steve Tower of Sport in Society/MGH, the program for boys and girls, ages 12 to 16, runs at the gym at the Charlestown Community Center, 255 Medford St., from 6 to 8 p.m. every Monday through May. Tower has enlisted the help of current college coaches and players and former pro and college players to assist him with the program. Each week, participating kids will spend the first hour of the program learning the fundamentals of the game, while players will be divided into teams for scrimmage games for the second hour.
Tower said the program has already generated considerable interest and that he hopes it will come to include 100 youths by the season’s end.
“We’re trying to involve kids from all over the neighborhood,” Tower said. “We want it be fun, and it’s absolutely free.”

Charlestown Lacrosse and Learning Center has forged a partnership with an online shoe retailer with its origins in the neighborhood that allows customers to make a donation to the non-profit with every purchase they make.
Through the end of February, Charlestown Lacrosse gets a $15 donation and Shoebuy customers receive a 15-percent discount and free shipping when they order online at www.shoebuy.com/cllc. Shoebuy is a Boston-based company founded by Scott Savitz of Charlestown that serves 5 million visitors a month and offers more than 800 brands and 700,000 products.
“We couldn’t be happier to help out such a terrific local organization,” said Savitz. Donations will support programming and buy equipment for the more than 300 student-athletes that Charlestown Lacrosse currently serves.
Bob Cutler, executive director of Charlestown Lacrosse and Learning Center thinks this partnership will be a win win solution for both customers and his organization.
“This partnership allows families to support our programs while providing a low cost quality product for school, work or the coming lacrosse season,” Cutler said. “Take a look online at the brand names shoes, free shipping and customer service. Why would you not buy from [shoebuy.com/cllc]? ”