Share the Scene:

Tara O’Riordan, colorful manager of local favorites Ashmont Grille and Tavolo shares her story on Broad Appeal

About this episode:

Anyone who has spent any time at local restaurants Ashmont Grill and Tavolo probably knows their colorful manager Tara O’Riordan. But what they may not know is the winding road she took to wind up there, including starting a career in higher education as a director of student life, or her current second career as a realtor for Gibson Sotheby’s.

Spend a half-hour with her and host Melissa Fassel Dunn on a new episode of “Broad Appeal” that is now airing Tuesdays at 8 p.m. and Thursdays at 9 a.m. on the Public channel.

How to watch:

Watch the latest episode here:

“Broad Appeal” is currently airing on the Public channel (Comcast 9/RCN 13) every Tuesday evening at 8 p.m. and Thursday morning at 9 a.m., with new episodes each month. Visit Milton Access TV for more info.

About our guest:

Tara’s mother owned a small coffee/breakfast/lunch restaurant spot, where Tara worked after school and on weekends. Not surprisingly, she always loved the energy of restaurants, so during college & grad school, she worked as a server & bartender. Tara seemed to always worked in the industry no matter what else she was doing and even taught a bartending class for a few years! Although she spent some time in the non profit world & higher ed, she fairly quickly decided that it wasn’t her ideal path. She turned back to her favorite work – and took the bar manger position at the Ashmont Grill, thinking “I’ll just do this or a few months and then reassess.”

14 years later as general manager of not one but two restaurants Tara also manages to successfully sell real estate in her spare time.

Learn more of her story in the latest episode!