Alumni Win Big at Best of the North Shore Awards

Endicott College alumni racked up several accolades at the 2023 Best of the North Shore Awards sponsored by Northshore Magazine.

It was a great day and night to be a Gull on August 17 as Endicott College alumni racked up several accolades at the Best of the North Shore Awards (BONS). The event, sponsored by Northshore Magazine, was held on campus at Endicott’s Wylie Center & Tupper Manor. 

Though the annual event honors local businesses, several alumni-owned ventures also recently received national acclaim, including Flip The Bird, which came in second on USA Today’s list of 10 best regional fast food chains in July. 

The Beverly-based eatery—which is co-owned by Torie Farnsworth ’07 and chef Anthony Marino—won in three BONS categories: Best BBQ (Reader’s Choice), Best Sandwiches (Reader’s Choice), and Best Takeout (Reader’s Choice). 

“Last year we won two Reader’s Choice categories,” said Leah Phillips ’21, Marketing Manager for Flip The Bird. “It’s really awesome to still be recognized for new categories from our fans, and of course hold other titles year after year.”

Winning in the BBQ category was unexpected, noted Farnsworth, “but just goes to show that if you’ve only had our sandwiches, you’ve got to try the ribs too!”

Farnsworth said winning in the takeout category was also a distinct honor as the eatery worked hard to get their online ordering system “down to a science.” 

“Ever since COVID times, we’ve realized how important it is to have a system in place to help people place orders ahead of time, know when it will be ready, and know they can just come in and grab it as quickly as possible,” she said. 

Meanwhile, Holy Cow Ice Cream, owned by Mike Schifino ’09, took home the BONS award in the Best Ice Cream category, which Northshore editors and readers both agreed on. 

Last fall, Holy Cow garnered attention when the North American Ice Cream Association gave the chain’s Ritzy AF ice cream its highest honor—Flavor of the Year. 

“It has been a very rewarding experience,” said Schifino. “We started with just a little shop in Gloucester, and once we expanded to Peabody, we were able to reach a lot more people. We’re just very grateful for the opportunity.”

Downtown Beverly-based consignment shop Worthy Girl, the brainchild of Pam Hulbert ’02 and Jonah Hulbert ’02, won Best Consignment (Reader’s Choice). 

Best Barre Class (Reader’s Choice) went to The Energy Barre, a fitness and yoga studio founded by CEO Julianna Curtis ’08, while Best Spin Class (Reader’s Choice) went to The Inner Cycle, co-owned by Emily Skoniecki ’04 and Hillary Mandelbaum. Read more about The Inner Cycle and The Energy Barre in Soundings. 

Learn more about the 2023 BONS Awards.