Hi! My name is Mike Barbera. I am a father of two, husband of one and colleague, partner and friend of many. I am a third-generation, born and raised, Worcesterite, save only for my college years in RI and a brief, but magical, stint in Florence, Italy. My family and I now live just outside of Worcester, but the city will always be my home. Also, my first and only follow-up question to Jessica after my nomination was “is there a character limit on responses?” I am positively incapable of providing a single answer to a pointed question. Can’t do it.
Q: Please tell us about your current career and what you love most about what you do?
I own and operate two real estate brokerages, one serving home sellers and buyers ( BA Property & Lifestyle Advisors) and the other serving commercial real estate clients (Rubric Commercial) from offices in Worcester and Brookline. My primary function within both organizations is the support of our respective brokers/ agents. My gratification comes in two flavors; the first- impacting the growth, development and success of our team members as businesspeople and citizens of our community. The second- by extension, improving the experience that our clients have while making changes to two of the most important components of life, namely shelter & lifestyle (via residential brokerage) and commerce (via commercial brokerage).
Q: What is your favorite restaurant in Worcester, and what is your favorite dish?
Deadhorse Hill- Anything that they are serving. Their creativity and execution are, I believe, the best in Worcester. Honorable dish mentions; Vitello Mariano at Piccolos, Grilled Octopus at Volturno, Shrimp sliders at Bocado, Roasted bone marrow at Armsby Abby.
Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve ever met?
Surprise; I have a couple; My cousin, by marriage, Sam Talala. He is a member of the Maasai Tribe and was raised in Kenya, moving to Los Angeles as an adolescent. Beyond his interesting stories, he has a disposition about him that I find captivating. He is a brilliant guy and has well-founded, but humble, opinions on most topics that I find interesting. He is also sincerely inquisitive, which is an admirable trait and makes for great conversation. My friend and business partner, Taylor Bearden. Taylor is a co-founding director of Rubric Commercial and also a partner and director of several local and regional real estate development organizations. A native of Alaska, Mexico and Oregon, he is a graduate of Clark University and a Worcesterite by deliberate choice. He is an articulate speaker, a deep thinker and conversations with him challenge my thinking in the best possible way.
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be and why?
Florence, Italy. The people and the food are the best that I’ve found so far and I have not travelled there since starting my family. I want, more than many things, to watch Katelin, Cora (2) and Bailey (8 months) experience the beauty of the culture contained therein. I also love Tuscan wines. In terms of new places; I have a deep desire to explore Southeast Asia and East Africa.
Q: What is your go to band when you can't decide what to listen to?
I love and appreciate live music spanning most genres, but I just don’t listen to recorded music very often. I am a podcast and audiobook person 95% of the time. The other 5% is an eclectic mix of underground hip hop, select 70’s classic rock, Sinatra/ Ratpack era stuff and the venerable Coco Melon collection.
Q: What is your best advice?
Be nice and be honest. If these two principles govern your actions, life is surprisingly pleasant and easy. Sprinkle in some genuine curiosity and a commitment to productivity, whatever that means to you, and you will likely fare well.
Q: What is one of the top three items on your Bucket List?
I will open a small, farmstand-type business selling wines, cheeses, cured and fresh meats. It will not be for profitability, but just to serve the community as an aggregator of fine and rare eatables and drinkables and the life experiences that they augment. I’d also like to own a cow. Maybe two.
Q: What current/former local business makes you the most nostalgic about Worcester?
I really miss the Corner Grille on Pleasant St. The chicken Caesar pizza on that razor thin crust was special and genuinely unique.
Q: Choosing anyone alive and a non-relative with whom would you love to have lunch? Why?
This is the question that took me the longest to answer. I came up with Naval Ravikant. Perhaps not a household name, Naval is ostensibly an early-stage investor who is financially successful, but it is not his professional achievements that interest me. It is his philosophy on life and happiness that would compel me to select him for a discussion over lunch. Check him out, preferably in a long format podcats interview or two.
Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years?
Hard. This answer changes, significantly, every 2-3 years as I think it should. Having a happy and healthy family is paramount. Beyond that, I am hopeful that my time will be better allocated. Specifically, my efforts toward productivity should be more efficient and leveraged and my allocation of time toward simpler gratification should be greater.
Q: What is something interesting that most people don't know about you, even your friends or family.
I suffer from cinematic amnesia, which is a totally made-up ailment whereby I immediately erase all memories of a movie once I have seen it.
Q: What 3 words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word HOME?
Love, family, security.
Q: If a motion picture was made of your life, what actor/actress would you choose to play you?
Al Pacino circa 1972.
Q: What is your favorite thing or something unique about Worcester?
I always describe Worcester, to the uninitiated, as a giant town. For a city of 200k ±, I find it charming and special that everyone seems to be related by one or two degrees of separation. This familiarity breeds accountability and that, I think, is a good thing for a community.
Q: What is your favorite smell?
The smell of the forest/ woods as each season changes.
Q: Who inspires you to be better?
Equally cliché and accurate; my wife and children. First with marriage, then with the birth of our first daughter, I came to realize that my actions and their effects are profoundly more important and enduring than they were before. I feel a paramount obligation to contribute to the best possible environment for my family, now and in the future.
