As a co-founder and owner of One Mighty Mill — a wheat mill, cafe, and bakery in downtown Lynn — I am writing to enthusiastically express my support for Marven Hyppolite’s candidacy for Lynn city councilor at large.
When we launched One Mighty Mill about three years ago, we had a big vision. Our goal was not just to make delicious bagels; we wanted to help communities be healthier and thrive. We wanted to put our first mill somewhere that could make a real, positive impact on the surrounding community.
When we met Marven through his role in U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton’s office, we were deep in the process of finding a place to set up shop. Marven immediately understood our vision and had an intuition that our business would contribute to Lynn, and that the community of Lynn would support the work we wanted to do.
Marven gave us a tour of the city and sold us on how special of a place Lynn really is. He connected us with the Economic Development and Industrial Corporation of Lynn (EDIC/Lynn), which helped us secure our current downtown location.
The way he helped us get our small business off the ground, and the way he connected us to the city, is a testament to his leadership and to his vision. He is the kind of leader we need to keep pushing the city forward.
Since opening our doors in 2018, we have fallen in love with Lynn and deeply believe in Lynn’s potential. We try to give back to the city that has been so good to us by offering discounts to Lynn residents, hiring locally, and delivering our nutritious, organic bagels to the Lynn Public Schools.
Our mutually-beneficial relationship with the Lynn community became possible because Marven had a big vision for what Lynn could be, saw how we fit into that vision, and did the groundwork to actually make it happen.
We want Lynn to be a city where everyone can thrive. Lynn can bring in community-oriented small businesses like ours, looking for a special place to root and grow. Lynn can bring development into the city in a way that supports the community and does not contribute to displacement.
Our story is a testament to the possibility that exists in this city. Having a leader like Marven in City Hall can turn Lynn’s potential into Lynn’s reality.
Tony Rosenfeld is the co-founder and co-owner of One Mighty Mill.
