I started this post way back in December, but between the holidays and an unexpected Steelers playoff game it never got published. Anyhow, Yinz in Boston made some big moves in 2023 and I want to highlight a few of the milestones (in no particular order).
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New Watch Party Organizer
If you made it out to one of our Steelers watch parties this year, you hopefully had a chance to meet Ailton. He volunteered to help us plan events for the 2023 Steelers season and was able to hit the ground running due to his unique background and connections in the restaurant industry. I’m not sure where we’d be without him – organizing events for 18 straight weeks takes a lot of work and attention to detail and Ailton made it look easy. He’s in it for the long haul and has some great ideas for making our Steelers events bigger and better so stay tuned!
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Pirates vs Sox at Fenway
The Pirates came to town early in the 2023 season and Yinz in Boston was there to see the Buccos raise the jolly roger in front of the stunned Fenway faithful. More than 75 yinzers came out to our pregame party at Cornwall’s and/or bought tickets to sit with us in the unofficial Pirates Cove. The season ended poorly for both squads, but on that night the Pirates sparked a sense of hope that has carried over into 2024. We expect the Buccos to return to Fenway at some point in the 2025 season (summer, hopefully) and we will absolutely be planning an event.
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Yinz in Boston Membership Program
In early 2023, we formally launched a membership program. There's a blog post here that covers the details of the program and how we got there, but the bottom line is that it’s been a HUGE success. Yinz in Boston is financially stable for the first time ever (more on that below) and that’s almost entirely thanks to our members. The program continues to evolve and we’re always looking for new ways to provide our members with value or special access. We are still taking on new members – check out all the details here.
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New Merchandise
More financial stability also meant that we had enough cash available to roll out new merchandise. In September, we started selling a custom sticker and in late November the first ever Yinz in Boston t-shirt went on sale. Both items have been well received and we’re on pace to turn a small profit from merchandise sales in the coming months. More importantly, we developed relationships with a couple of vendors which should pay dividends down the road. The 2024 tee shirt is already in the early stages of design and there are plans to launch a new Koozie design in 2024 as well.
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New Steelers Bar
For the first time in years, Yinz in Boston had a permanent home for the entirety of the regular season. Ailton was able to leverage his personal contacts to convince Tavern in the Square in Allston to reserve a private space for us to Yinz out every Sunday during the regular season. The new spot slowly gained momentum throughout the season as word spread.
We’re not sure yet where we’ll be for the 2024 Steelers season, but we hope to finalize a decision sometime over the summer. If you want to follow along with the planning, consider becoming a paying member to get insider access.
Strong Financial Outlook
For the first time since Yinz in Boston was born, we finished the year in the black. That's in large part due to the generous support of our members. It's also a reflection though of how much our little yinzer outpost has grown in recent years.
Our mailing list is now 500 yinzers strong and our website sees thousands of hits a year. In 2023, nearly 300 yinzers attended an event and more than100 of contributed financially in one way or another.
We're not done yet though! We have some big ideas for 2024 so check back in a week or two for another post that dives into some of our plans!
