Everett-based Boston’s Best Cookies, LLC or HP Cookie is relocating to join forces with Jessica’s Brick Oven under one roof on Danton Drive in Methuen. HP Cookie is a family-owned and operated company incorporated in 1977, whose gourmet Italian cookies have been a staple in supermarket bakeries ever since. Owned and managed for many years by Rocco Botta, in 2017 Rocco Botta sold the business to his son Enrico Botta and Nabil Boghos, the owner of Jessica’s Brick Oven formerly located in North Andover. 

Mr. Boghos relocated Jessica’s Brick Oven from Osgood Street in North Andover to the Danton Drive Methuen location in 2020 with assistance from MVPC’s revolving loan program, Merrimack Valley Economic Development Corporation (MVED). MVED is a 501-C-4 non-profit organization housed within our Economic & Community Development Program designed to provide financial incentives to small businesses throughout the region and stimulate the local economy. Financing is routinely cited as one of the biggest challenges for small businesses, the MVED revolving loan program was created in partnership with the U.S Economic Development Administration and Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development to provide that assistance. 

Mr. Boghos and Jessica’s Brick Oven have been a strong MVED client whose work with the program has helped grow Jessica’s into a valued baked good supplier of the region employing 95 workers. With the same dedication and support from MVED, Mr. Boghos and Mr. Rocco have utilized Nabil’s relationships with national supermarket chains to do the same with HP Cookie, employing 65 and increasing sales revenue by 900% since 2017. Their latest project other than the move to Methuen, is a new cookie product for their partnership with a national retailor, expecting to be in high demand. 

Utilizing the MVED program, HP Cookie and Jessica’s Brick Oven have been able to come together under the same roof of an updated facility that will allow each business to continue thriving, creating an economy of scale to help production costs and times. The latest loan from MVED will assist in purchasing new equipment to meet the demand of the partnership with their national retailor and other large orders as well as employ five more of our own Merrimack Valley residents. 

Small and medium businesses are the life blood of our local economies. They cultivate a sense of place, provide opportunities for growth by keeping money local, and contribute to our communities’ resiliency in the face of economic, environmental and social stress. They are some of our foremost community builders. MVPC is committed to supporting our small and local businesses so that our regional economy thrives. 

For more information about MVED and the revolving loan program, check out the MVED page. 

Know of another small business that could use support? MVPC also offers a small business technical assistance program called MV Strong, providing small businesses with free access to technical guidance and resources. Visit WeAreMV.com for more information.