- Lawrence Partnership
Lawrence's Revolving Test Kitchen Stirs The Entrepreneurial Pot
by WGBH Boston
When you watch Danny Torres prepare mofongo — a Puerto Rican dish that contains fried plantains, garlic, chicken stock, and a healthy dose of butter — you can tell he knows his way around a kitchen.
But for Torres, who's been cooking for years, the kitchen at 420 Common Street in downtown Lawrence is different. Starting Thursday, he’ll be running his own fast-casual restaurant there: El Encanto, or “The Charm.” And he won’t have pay rent or cover any startup costs.
The space in question is the permanent home of Lawrence’s Revolving Test Kitchen. Torres' stay the will be rent-free, thanks to the largesse of Northern Essex Community College, which owns the building. And he'll cook on equipment provided by Sal Lupoli, a local pizza magnate turned real-estate developer.