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Voting Members Approve $353k Investment in Comfort Kitchen, Ama at the Atlas & Foxglove Terrace
- Feb 26
- 4 min read
Boston Ujima Project, Inc. is pleased to announce that we successfully reached quorum on the 2026 Comfort Kitchen, Ama and Foxglove Terrace Ballot! Members have approved a $353,000 investment! Read the full ballot results here.
Ballot Results & Participation
This investment ballot marks our first vote of the year. Out of a total of 246 eligible voters, 167 members participated in the ballot. This translates to a new record, with a turnout of approximately 67.89%. Of those voters, 91.02% voted to approve the investment in the restaurants. The breakdown of results reflects a range of perspectives.
When asked why they wanted to invest, voters had a myriad of reasons to support it; voters said:
"I am very interested in what follow-on investment looks like at this scale, and I believe that both the Investment Memo and credit memo recorded meeting (thank you!) have affirmed this business is in good standing, aligns with our values, and has the market buy-in/growth capacity to pay this back in a timely manner."
— Kristen, Voter.
"As a business owner, I understand the importance of funding in order to keep our business open during this tough economy."
— Tasha, Voter.
"I’m supporting this $350,000 investment because the business sits at the intersection of strong leadership, proven demand, and a clear path to scalable growth. The operator has demonstrated discipline, community credibility, and the ability to execute in a competitive market—three traits I prioritize when deploying capital.
This investment is not just about food; it’s about building a durable local brand with repeat customers, efficient operations, and room to expand. The capital will be used strategically to strengthen infrastructure, increase capacity, and position the business for long-term profitability and value creation.
I back businesses where fundamentals are sound, downside risk is understood, and upside is driven by execution—not hype. This opportunity checks those boxes. "
— Jeff, Voter.
"I support making these investments in these ventures that can be rewarding to both the restaurants and Ujima. I am concerned that the restaurant industry can be risky and is dependent on several other factors outside of the control of the proprietors. I think being placed in a high traffic area such as a hotel in Allston can appeal to travelers, students and visitors, academic, industry, etc.
Restaurants will still need support and commitment to make sure they are sustained and integrated across the community. I hope this would mean them being the go to for catering and other local food"
— Jonathan, Voter.
Neighborhood Representation
The top four neighborhoods by votes were Dorchester, Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, and Outside of Boston Proper.
Noting that Ujima's Voting membership includes those who have been gentrified out of the city of Boston, we appreciate that this process helps mitigate the loss of their decision-making power due to displacement. To learn more review the ballot results.
Supporting Beyond Investment
When asked how they would support Comfort Kitchen, Ama & Foxglove Terrace beyond investment, voters committed to:
Stay informed about the restaurants (75.00%)
Spreading the word about the restaurants (62.50%)
Attending Events at the restaurants (68.45%)
Purchase gift cards to the restaurants (17.26%)
Purchase merchandise from the restaurants (17.86%)
Artists & the Ujima Investment Process
In this ballot, the artist vote accounted for 18.56% of total voters.
Tracking artists among our voters allows us to see more clearly who is participating in collective decision making and how cultural workers show up in our economic governance. Many artists are also workers, entrepreneurs, tenants, neighbors, and community members whose material lives are shaped by investment decisions. This tracking also helps us see the full scope of our ecosystem. It gives us a clearer picture of who is shaping the direction of our investments and how cultural life and economic life move together.
By paying attention to how many artists are participating in the voting process, we can better understand how cultural producers are engaging with community ownership and shared governance. The 18% artist vote in this ballot shows a significant and potentially powerful bloc, that can shape discourse, build coalitions, and influence outcomes. This number is impressive as artists are not typically overrepresented in financial decision-making.
Cultural workers shape political language, build shared symbols, hold collective memory, and help people imagine what does not yet exist. Artists have always been central to how communities organize, remember, and move together.
About Ujima
The Boston Ujima Project is a Black-led democratic organization building cooperative economic infrastructure in Boston, with a mission to return wealth to working-class communities of color. Ujima is bringing together neighbors, workers, business owners, investors, grassroots organizers, and culture-makers, to create a community-controlled economy in our city.
About the Ujima Fund
The Ujima Fund is a democratic investment vehicle raising capital to finance small businesses, real estate and infrastructure projects in Boston’s working-class Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color, as part of the larger Boston Ujima Project. Ujima, named for the Swahili word for collective work and responsibility, uses a participatory budgeting process in combination with traditional underwriting to put economic development decisions in the hands of community members.
