Business & Tech

Canton Junction a Product of Serious Teamwork

Owner Joseph Muresco shares his side of the story on Canton Junction.

Joseph Muresco, owner of the Canton Junction Sports Bar started in the restaurant business about 15 years ago, but really started in the culinary arts while working at the Northbridge High School.

“I created a program with another teacher there, Al Richards, for kids with high truancy,” he said. “You know they were cutting class all the time. I originally signed on as a full-time substitute. Richards and I put together a program called "Pathway to Academic and Vocational Excellence.”'

Muresco said he had been taking classes to learn to cook at the time, and tried a program to give kids who didn’t really take to the academic side of learning and gave them hands on training.

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“We taught the kids who didn’t like coming to school,” he said. "Depending on well they worked on Monday to Wednesday, they would get to work in the room on Thursday and Friday.”

The reward-based program got extremely popular. He said the kids would be given a budget, resources and created a dinner for the faculty and staff for Friday.

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After the success of that program, Muresco decided it was time to move on to cooking full-time, and eventually came to own the Canton Junction.

He said the restaurant was a bit different, and was called the Viaduct Restaurant at the time. He said it was a full-service restaurant, where people would dress up and prepare for a night out.

“People wanted to come in and eat more casual and not feel they had to dress up to go out to eat,” he said. “Things started to change, people have stopped cooking at home and we wanted to make it less of an event and more casual.”

So, Muresco said, the Junction was born. He said was working in the kitchen at the time cooking with his good friend and future head chef Luis Pasos. He said his staff were instrumental in keeping the Junction running.

“The majority of people who work here are Canton residents, like my managers Patrick O’Sullivan and Benjamin Camara,” he said.

Muresco said they all work as a coherent unit in choosing their ingredients and materials, and try to be as green and organic as possible. They also buy local.

“Superior Bakers do our bakery products,” he said. “They brought us several different samples of rolls, but the roll we wanted to use was actually a cross between two different samples he had. We liked the texture but without the seeds. We use small companies for all our product. Thatcher Farms for all our dairy, all our beef we get from a friend of ours who has a butcher up in Dorchester and then we have a fresh produce delivery three times a week. Basically, we want everything fresh and never frozen.”

One of the things on the menu Muresco said he felt was unique was their five ounce sample burgers.

“On Monday we do a $2.49 burger platter,” he said. “It’s really a smaller version of anything we offer for a actual burgers. I think it’s just as big as most other places’ burgers though.”

Muresco again emphasized the importance the restaurant puts on community. He said they donate whatever they can whenever and however they can to local Canton causes.

“We donate all our oil for biofuel, donate all cans to the children’s hospital fund and we sponsor the kids basketball team,” he said.

The Canton Junction is located on 399 Neoponset St. and is open Monday - Wednesday, 3 p.m. - 1 a.m.; Thursday - Sunday, noon - 1 a.m.


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