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In March 2020, as the world locked down due to the pandemic, Nicky Bandera found herself and many of her friends, family, & colleagues out of work. She knew she had to do something, so she started cooking. At 5:00am each morning, Nicky would start making her mom’s sauce and baking lasagna for the people in her circle who needed a little boost. Before she could realize the impact, the circle grew and she had sent over 2000 lasagnas to people in need, with the support of a core group of friends and her surrounding community who helped sponsor and deliver the care packages. The support she received allowed her to support others. That’s how “we feed each other," and that’s how Project Paulie was born.
It’s Paulie from Goodfellas! When Nicky was looking to get the word out about the lasagna, her friend and local artist Braun Hill (AKA "Braunski Beat") made a video featuring the classic scene of Paulie in jail, slicing garlic with a razor blade. Nicky was Paulie, making food for all the friends. Here's the video of how it all started!
The "Little Tomato" is a reminder of where Project Paulie started, symbolizing the tomato sauce Nicky made for all those lasagnas. We think of it also as a way to get people talking! When people ask “What’s the tomato all about?”, it’s an opportunity to talk about the organizations supported by the purchase of each hat, and maybe a chance to get people to connect and think of ways we can all help our community.
Nicky wanted to keep going, but realized that maybe baking thousands of lasagnas each morning was not sustainable. Tapping into her fashion design background, Nicky worked with local artists to create the Project Paulie Tomato, and featured it on a series of beanies. Each beanie color was assigned to a local organization, who would then receive proceeds from each hat sale. Over time, the product line has grown, so much so that, in August 2022, operations moved out of Nicky’s home and into Project Paulie’s official headquarters (“the House”) on Prince Street in the North End of Boston, MA.
