Caterer Michelle Mulford Opens FAI Counter in South End Lobby

Michelle Mulford, who ran the Lynn catering company and restaurant Uncommon Feasts, has opened a small counter called FAI on the ground floor of a South End office building in Boston, the Boston Globe reported on October 15.

Mulford said she stepped back from the Lynn operation in 2024 after running both the catering business and a restaurant she opened shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic. She kept catering for the British Consulate, a longtime client, while deciding what to do next. Her partner, Nehal Patel, suggested she take over the vacant lobby space in his office building, which had housed an on-site diner serving first responders and construction workers for decades.

The menu includes porchetta with salsa verde and pickled fennel, a BLT with Sichuan chili crisp mayonnaise, grilled mortadella with stracciatella on focaccia, chicken pot pie, slow-roasted salmon, and desserts such as bittersweet chocolate beet cake. Sandwiches are served on Iggy's bread. Drinks range from Diet Coke to chai and mango lassi.

Mulford works the counter alone, with Patel helping from upstairs during rushes. The space has three tables, and many customers order to go. FAI is open weekdays for breakfast and lunch, with sandwiches starting at $14 and plates and prepared foods at $12. Mulford said the name is an acronym for "futility and insistence."

This story was first reported by The Boston Globe.