When you walk into Dempsey’s Muffins & Bagels, it’s obvious you are not the first to discover this time-tested gem.
“The same people ordering the same thing while sitting in the same seat. It’s nice,” said Angie Agganis, whose father, Jimmy Nentis, opened the shop in 1976.
But not everything has stayed static in and around the square. It is filled with international food stores, cafes and restaurants that did not exist in Nentis’ day, a sign of the influx of immigrants over recent years.
“The village used to be all Italian down the line,” said 72-year-old Frank “Sonny” Dascoli, referring to the stretch of Broadway as it extends south to Chelsea.
The nearby Immaculate Conception church is celebrating its 125th anniversary. The “Tree of Peace” is lit for the holiday season. And some of the boys from the neighborhood take on Billerica today in another high school football playoff game, hoping to build on a tradition of excellence.
“Everett pride is something else,” Dascoli said.
