Black & Blue Steak And Crab Offers Fine Dining And Hospitality

Black & Blue Steak and Crab is a sophisticated dining establishment located in Burlington that offers inventive design, inspired cuisine and a complete focus on gracious hospitality. Patch caught up with Charlie Fitzsimmons, owner of Black & Blue Steak and Crab, to learn more about the recently-opened restaurant and its hardworking team.

Patch: How long have you been doing business in town?

Fitzsimmons: We are new to the area, just recently opening on District Ave in Burlington, wedged between the Burlington Mall and Lahey Medical Center. We opened in late summer of 2018, so we are new to the market. The people we have met couldn’t be nicer, or more welcoming. My next door neighbor, Island Creek Oyster, even fed our whole staff multiple times during our final days of getting ready to open. A wonderful gesture I won’t soon forget.

Patch: What attracted you to the line of work you’re in, and how did you get started?

Fitzsimmons: I was attracted to this line of work because I like to entertain and make people happy. The food and beverage business was a great combination of these two things.

Patch: If you had to sum up your business mission to a stranger, what would you say?

Fitzsimmons: Make guests return.

Patch: What’s the biggest challenge or most difficult moment you’ve faced in your job?

Fitzsimmons: As a small business owner you are constantly faced with new challenges and adversity. You always seem to find a way to persevere and come out on the other side stronger. I wish our industry afforded more high paying jobs, but that just isn’t the case. We have so many hard working people on our team, but the restaurant industry is just limited by the economics of what we do, so attracting and keeping good people has always been our greatest challenge.

Patch: What’s the most satisfying part of your job?

Fitzsimmons: Honestly, reading a simple review of a happy guest is all the satisfaction I need. If
I receive that, I know we must be doing (most of) the other stuff correctly.

Patch: How would you say your business or organization distinguishes itself from the others?

Fitzsimmons: We are a bit different in that we put our employees before our guests. We have a
strong culture within our stores of hard work, respect and recognition. If our employees are happy, our guests will be too, a philosophy that seems to be working for us.

Patch: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given when it comes to success?

Fitzsimmons: Don’t ever give up.

Patch: Are there any new projects or endeavors you’re working on that you’re extra excited about?

Fitzsimmons: We have recently partnered with a prominent vineyard to release our own
signature black & blue bottling which is pretty cool. My family owns a fish and seafood supply company out of Tampa, so we are able to offer some really great great stuff all winter long – even after the local fish migrate. This allows us to bypass distributors, brokers and "old" product. We fly it in direct to all of our stores. We use as much local seafood as possible, when in season.

Patch: Do you have any events coming up in your community?

Fitzsimmons: We do not have any events ourselves, but we always have a strong outreach into
the community. We try to participate (in some way) in just about every local fundraiser that comes across our desk. We like to give back, and become part of the local social fabric.

Patch: How can Patch readers learn more about your work and business?

Fitzsimmons: We have some fun additional information on our website.

This Patch article is sponsored by black & blue steak and crab.

Image Credit: black & blue steak and crab