LYNN — If you’ve driven down Essex Street lately, you’ve noticed that longtime grocer Ernie’s Harvest Time is gone, and so is the community mural created for it.
Ernie’s originally opened in 1945 on Boston Street and later moved to 597 Essex St. around 2015. It was only a year later that Johnny Figueroa bought it out from the original owners to run and operate with his wife and in-laws. Now, the Item has learned through the city assessor’s office that Ernie’s sold last December for a whopping $1.5 million to a realty group based out of Revere.
The 11,377-square-foot plot will go from being one business to three smaller ones, according to the city clerk’s office. There will be a Papa John’s pizza, a small grocer-type market called Arevalos that is said to be similar to Ernie’s, and then a small convenience store.
Last week, when Item lead photographer Spenser Hasak and I drove by the old Ernie’s, we saw major work being done to the outside and the inside of the business. That’s when we noticed the beloved community mural that covered the outside of the Essex Street store was gone.
Michael Aghahowa, the Lynn-born artist who created the mural, is pretty upset at having to say goodbye to the piece of art that he says he is most proud of.
“I was just sad [when I found out] because I felt like this was my best work,” he said. “The visuals, the concept, the way the community was able to be involved, the location… It was just a beautiful spot. I felt like it was a statement piece.”
He created that statement piece in 2021, alongside dozens of community members and local kids. He was awarded the opportunity through a grant that Lynners Cinda Danh and John Wayne helped him lock down. Aghahowa said the mural would never have happened if it hadn’t been for the countless hours of help from Danh and Wayne.
And they weren’t the only ones to help make it happen. Aghahowa said whenever he would be outside working on the mural, he’d let any of the kids walking by and watching him in awe pick up a brush and leave their own mark on it. The importance of community didn’t end there; it’s what led the way to the creation of the mural.
“In public art, I feel like I have a duty not only to say something with my art but to give the community a chance to be a part of it as well,” he said. “The mural had a bunch of hands-on there, and I always just felt joyous looking at it. Hands passing back and forth to each other, that felt like community to me. It felt like sharing with your neighbor.”
While this mural didn’t stand the test of time like he initially hoped, Aghahowa said he’d be open to bringing it back somewhere else if the right opportunity presented itself. And even if that doesn’t happen, the Lynn artist is already booked and busy. He has been asked to create murals inside two Lynn elementary schools.
He said he’s excited to get kids involved in these ones as well and to make something that can represent each and every student. While he is sad to see his favorite mural go, he knows this just means there’s more room to create something even greater.
“A kid from Lynn who was able to get this opportunity independently, I think that’s dope,” he added. “Beyond Walls and Raw Art Works have truly changed the landscape of Lynn and have done a lot of cool stuff for and across our city, but I have to say it’s also cool to see local artists make waves and be able to affect the community in their own way.”
