Vincent Francis Zarrilli (April 26, 1932 – March 28, 2018) was an American

businessman A businessperson, also referred to as a businessman or businesswoman, is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial ...

and

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

. Zarrilli owned and operated the cookware store called The Pot Shop in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and other locations within

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. He was also a noted critic of the

Big Dig The Big Dig was a megaproject in Boston that rerouted the then elevated Central Artery of Interstate 93 that cut across Boston into the O'Neill Tunnel and built the Ted Williams Tunnel to extend Massachusetts Turnpike, Interstate 90 to Logan I ...

in Boston.

Career

A native of

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnock River on Long Is ...

, Zarrilli was born to Michael Zarrilli (1897-1950) and Gina DiMaio (1894-1976). Zarrilli attended Central High School in his hometown. In 1954, he graduated from the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

and married Mary Elise Larkin (1930-2019). Five years later, Zarrilli opened a cookware store named The Pot Shop. Its first location was on

Boylston Street Boylston Street is a major east–west thoroughfare in the city of Boston, Massachusetts, and its western suburbs. The street begins in Boston's Chinatown, Boston, Chinatown neighborhood, forms the southern border of the Public Garden (Boston) ...

. He later opened other locations such as on

Boston Post Road The Boston Post Road was a system of mail-delivery routes between New York City and Boston, Massachusetts, that evolved into one of the first major highways in the United States. The three major alignments were the Lower Post Road (now U.S. Ro ...

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario ** Sudbury (federal electoral district) ** Sudbury (provincial electoral district) ** Sudbury Airport ** Sudbury Basin, a meteorite impact cra ...

, where he resided, in 1962. Today, the company operates as an online-only store run in

Framingham Framingham () is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The city proper covers with a popula ...

by his daughter Mary Zarrilli and her husband, Rick Connaughton. Zarrilli became an activist and major opponent of the

and its effect on traffic in Boston. He proposed the Boston Bypass as an alternative project. The plan consisted of building a ten-mile double-deck road-and-rail bridge over

Boston Harbor Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, located adjacent to Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the Northeastern United States. History 17th century Since its dis ...

from Dorchester to Charlestown, including railway access to

Logan Airport General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport — also known as Boston Logan International Airport — is an international airport located mostly in East Boston and partially in Winthrop, Massachusetts, United States. Covering , it has ...

. Its intent was to remove traffic from the

Central Artery The Central Artery (officially the John F. Fitzgerald Expressway) is the concurrent section of Interstate 93, US 1 and Route 3 through Downtown Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The modern-day Artery, built as part of the Big Dig from ...

. In 1995, Zarrilli entered the Boston City Council election for District 1 councillor. He ran against Diane J. Modica and John Hugo. Modica won the race with Zarrilli receiving fifteen percent of the votes. In 1996, Zarrilli published a book titled "Boston Beanpot Cookery." Zarrilli died in 2018.

Works

*''Boston Beanpot Cookery'', 1996

References

External links

The Pot Shop websiteFacebook page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zarrilli, Vincent Francis 1932 births 2018 deaths American people of Italian descent University of Connecticut alumni Businesspeople from Bridgeport, Connecticut People from Sudbury, Massachusetts Businesspeople from Boston Transportation in Boston

Career

Works

See also

References

External links