An Interview with Bruce Flax, President of the Mystic Chamber of Commerce

What makes Mystic one of New England's most beloved destinations?

In Episode 2 of Mystic Mash Podcast, we sit down with Bruce Flax, President of the Mystic Chamber of Commerce, to talk about the people, businesses, and organizations that make Mystic such a special place to live, work, and visit.

Bruce shares the Chamber's role in supporting the local business community, promoting tourism, and helping preserve the unique character of this historic seaside village. We also discuss Mystic's continued growth, the importance of community partnerships, upcoming events, and what the future holds for one of Connecticut's most iconic destinations.

Whether you're a lifelong resident, a local business owner, or someone who simply loves Mystic, this conversation offers a behind-the-scenes look at the community's past, present, and future.

This episode is hosted by Alec Asten. 

Listen now and discover the heart of Mystic, one conversation at a time.

#MysticMash #MysticPodcast #MysticCT #MysticConnecticut #VisitMystic #ExploreMystic #MysticChamber #BruceFlax #NewEngland #Connecticut #CommunityStories #SmallTownAmerica #Storytelling #Tourism #LocalBusiness #HistoricMystic #DiscoverMystic #Podcast 

Transcript

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SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hello there. This is Alec Aston from the Mystic Mash Podcast. And today we are very grateful to have with us the president of the Mystic Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Bruce Flex. Hello, Bruce. Hey, Alex. Thanks for having me. All right. So, Bruce, let's just talk about your first knowledge of Mystic, how it came to be that you came here to this place.

SPEAKER_00 0:25

Yeah, so uh I can't believe it was um, geez, 30, almost 32 years ago. It was 1994. I had just finished working for FIFA World Cup Soccer, um, which was uh the first time in the United States in 1994. And I worked, uh I was director of ticketing at Foxborough Stadium, which is now Gillette, and actually going to be hosting the World Cup again this year. Um, and uh had done the ticketing and was looking for another job, was working for the Kraft family who had just bought the stadium, kind of doing some marketing stuff for them. And somebody had said to me, Oh, there's a uh ticket manager position available at Foxwoods. And so um I uh applied for the job at Foxwoods and ended up getting the job. So in December of 1994, I moved to I moved down here. And uh it's it's funny, um, when I moved down here, I like the only way, only reason I knew Mystic really, because I I grew up in Massachusetts and went to school in Washington, D.C. And so every time we drove back from college to or from college, we'd pass by the exit for Mystic and Mystic Aquarium and but never had stopped really, never been here. And uh so when I dis when I took the job, the office for HR for Foxwood used to be in in Pocketuck. And so um when I was there, I was like, all right, where well where do I live? And uh they said, Well, you know, you're probably either either Mystic or Westerly. So I went tooling around westerly, and I went tooling around Mystic and uh ended up landing in Mystic. So uh, and then we've been I've been here ever since.

SPEAKER_01 2:02

Since you've moved here, what changes have you seen within the area?

SPEAKER_00 2:08

So when I first moved here, um Main Street was dramatically different. There was um, you know, John's bar was downtown. There was a uh a Rexol Drug, there was BB Dairy, there was a sporting goods store. Um, you know, it was like a small town um with no big box stores. You know, that's where people went. They went downtown to shop. Um and uh as it as the years went on um and Mystic kind of went went through its ups and downs, um, things started to disappear. So the Rex Al drug went and BB Dairy went and the sporting goods store went and different things moved in. So I I landed in December of 94. I got engaged in March of 95, got married in August of 95. My wife, um, who's from Vermont, she got a teaching job at Ledyard High School and started two days after our wedding um at Ledyard High School. So that was 95. And uh in 96, we bought the house that we still live in now. So if you look at the time, like when we had our first child, Haley, um, we we had a dog and I would walk from we live on No Ink Road, I'm like a mile from town, and I would walk, I would get up in the morning and walk the dog and have Haley in a carriage and walk down to town in the morning, let you know, let my wife sleep, try to get out of the house. And um it was very quiet, quaint. Um, you know, the the number of people who are here now were not there before, but the memories of of you know going down, walking around Willow Point, going into town, going into Mr. River Park, walking the boardwalk, getting coffee, hanging out with the dog and the baby, and uh having people come up and yeah, very pleasant memories.

SPEAKER_01 3:57

And and knowing now that you you know were mayor forgotten, what is it really that inspired you to kind of really pursue that as a career?

SPEAKER_00 4:05

Yeah, so when the kids were in elementary school at SB Butler, I uh I became a community organizer in that I I um I was on the PTO and was PTO president. And um, and it was interesting because at that time there weren't a lot of men who were, you know, getting involved in in those kinds of organizations. And so started meeting more people. Yeah, you like you kind of establish um your social circle based on your kids' friends and where they go to school. And you know, you're at sporting events, you're at T-ball, you're you're meeting different people. Um and uh a friend of mine, uh Peter Bartnick, said to me, Oh, we need people to run for town council. Do you want to run for town council? And I was like, uh I mean, I g I guess so. What do I need to do? And they said, Well, you need to be a Republican. I'm like, all right, well, I was a Democrat, but I'm like, all right, I'll I'll flip over, doesn't really matter to me. Um, you know, you're talking about 2007, 2006, somewhere around there. And uh, and so I ran. And um I uh lost the first time, lost the second time, but was the like one candidate away. There's nine members of council, and um and uh and then the mayor or I think it was mayor Heather, um Bond Summers had gotten a uh senator, state senator job, and so she had left, and then I got brought in to serve on council, and then I served for um eight more years, nine more years, and the last two I was mayor, which was great. Like being mayor, you know, we're the political makeup of Groton is that it is a nine-person council and the town is run by a town manager. So the mayor is not a paid position, it's an elected position that you do volunteer, um, and you're named mayor to run the meetings and to be kind of the face of the town. So once once the council is elected, the council elects the mayor.

SPEAKER_01 6:17

And you know, in your time, you know, being mayor, how can it change your perspective of Mystic after living here for the years you've been, and then all of a sudden, you know, having that kind of elevation position?

SPEAKER_00 6:28

Yeah, you definitely see in um in government how slow it is and how it's very hard to get things done if you're a doer. Um you think, okay, I want to get elected to town council and I want to, I want to I want to have meaningful changes. And um, first of all, you're one of nine, um, and the town has an RTM, which is a representative town meeting, which gives another layer of government um or like elected officials that also things have to go through. So it's very difficult um in the town to get things done. But the perspective was yes, very interesting, because you can being in the meetings each week, there's like the majority of people in the town have no idea what's going on, what people are saying. So when even when there was something that was controversial, um that's when the people would come out, but only the people who were staying connected. You know, so there's a what it teaches you is that there's an there's a very small group of people who have their thumb on what's going on and in and in turn can kind of um influence what's happening too, because there's so few voices that are really paying attention.

SPEAKER_01 7:41

So I want to ask you now, going back, you know, with with what you've seen already since your time coming in as a chamber, how have you seen even mystic change even more, you know, since the the the pandemic? And since I think more people have probably moved into this area than than I know.

SPEAKER_00 7:59

Yeah, uh it's it's really transformed, I think, a lot. I mean, it definitely went through some transformation when the bottom fell out of the economy in 2008 and a lot of there was a lot of empty storefronts, but it's kind of climbed out of that um and had small peaks and valleys. But uh after it seems that um when COVID came, um, that Mystic survived because it was a pleasant place to walk around and outdoors. So when people were trying to find what they could do, um, we were a perfect place because you could park downtown, you could walk around, you could eat outside, and um, and if you wanted to go into a store, you threw a mask on or whatever and went into a store. And since that time, uh, we haven't looked back, and part of it has been just the uh evolution of the storefronts and also a huge evolution of the food scene in Mystic. So, you know, there was always some great restaurants in Mystic, SP Oyster, uh, Bravo, Bravo, Red 36. Um uh, but when um when Dan Meiser opened Oyster Club and brought Renee in and had um took took uh engine room and um and the Shipwright's daughter and David Standridge came into town, um, it just elevated things and they continue to elevate when two years ago David and Renee were both um finalists for James Beard Awards, and David won one for Best Chef Northeast. And right now, um David is up for um a finalist for Chef uh Best Chef of the Country, and that's gonna uh that's happening in June in Chicago. Those things people watch. And so that's contributed to um the um the the people coming to Mystic. And um, and you know, even um with Bill Middleton and his restaurants and opening up Jeremiah's downtown and Taco Ria and um is is another reason that uh people come on Diamo. And um and so what we see is what the way that the I think also the success of Mystic, definitely the chamber has uh a hand in it as well, that when I came here, um we were the greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce and we were you know focused on uh Groton and Stonington. And um we ended up positioning ourselves as Mesquamicet to Niantic as a chamber and realizing that we can help these businesses because Mystic is the number one tourist uh visitation place in the state, and maybe we can get people to stay seven days instead of two days. You know, we don't have a beach, so go to Ocean Beach or Mesquamicet. We don't have hit a lot of we have history, but there's more history. There are walking trails, there's all kinds of things to do, restaurants to see, places to go outside of Mystic, that um, you know, we can be that springboard um and home base for people to do that. And um, and so I think that uh the way that we promote and the way that we do our social and how much we've grown our social with rec with respect to Mystic in the area has had a great deal of influence on people coming here.

SPEAKER_01 11:00

Yeah, and in your time here as um President Chamber, is there any events in particular that you really uh you really enjoy putting on and you get to see the benefit of what it does for the community and it makes you you know really proud to uh have put these events together.

SPEAKER_00 11:17

Yeah, you know, I think that like every event that we've done since I've been here, some that we have had, like the art festival is going to be its 68th year, um, and um the lighted boat parade, which is about 22 years, um we've changed them. We've put our own spin on them. Not so much the the um lighted boat parade. There's not much to change there. But with respect to the art festival, when I came, we took it off of Route One where it was really dangerous. It was kind of a free-for-all, and we um and we put it on uh Home Street and Cottrell Street and had partnered with the um Seaport. Um uh but some of the events we've created, the Groton City Brew Run, which is in Eastern Point Beach that we do with Groton Utilities, is a great event and continues to grow. The Float Swella, which uh was originally Float Cella, but we got sued by Coachella and um we had to change. Um apparently they care about Little Old Mystic, but um um that that which is music on the water, and you bring your paddle craft up, and it's really a uh a locals event. Um I think the biggest joy uh that I had with regards to events was what, and Al, you were a part of it, was part of was the bridge anniversary. And so I took over the chamber in 21. In 2022, it was the 100th anniversary of the Mystic Bascule Bridge, and we planned an event for October that was the bridge celebration um that we had uh uh you know a stage on in Mystic River Park. We brought together uh a number of bridge tenders. It was like 150 years of bridge tenders on the stage. We had um all of the local leaders um and dignitaries, including the governor, and um it was just the greatest day I've ever had in Mystic. It was, you know, we we we had the presentation, we had um a celebration on the street with a chili festival, and we had um live bands playing, and then it was culminated with fireworks and the Mystic River, which were just incredible. And um and that was just one of the most satisfying days um that I I if not the most satisfying day in terms of professionally and you know what we put together and created and did. And um, and uh yeah, I just it's uh that so that that was like the really for me the the biggest one. Um but all of the events that we do, we try to uh be caring to the community and make sure that um it's they're safe. Um and so but we're always trying to create new ones. So we did um uh we do a pride event now, which is actually going to be June 27th. We do a celebration of Black History Month that we created that's in its sixth year. And they just continue to like I don't one of my principles is not to stand still and to continually try to improve. So even if it was a 10, you know, they look at the fireworks, it was a 10, we try to make it better for the for the next year. And we do that with all of the events that we have.

SPEAKER_01 14:33

With what you've seen happen, especially lately, um, the growth that we've had here uh in this region, you know, it's always kind of like that old Yankee mentality of like, oh, here come the tourists and here come the you know the newbies moving into town and everything. There's like sometimes there's grudges held against it. But I, for one, as I'm sure you've seen, there's such a benefit when people from other places, other countrymen that's going to come here and what they bring to the area, what they bring to the region change, whether it's a new shop or whether it's just something else that they help influence the area. Anything off that you want to touch on where you've seen it personally, how it's maybe helped change our area in ways people have never even thought of?

SPEAKER_00 15:16

Yeah, well, I think first off, there's a big balance between the community that you live in as a chamber and especially a tourism chamber and bringing people in and being respectful to um that balance. And I think that there's some people who feel we'll never be balanced and they don't want people and you know they talk about traffic and um and wanting their town back, but you know, in reality, um the the town and the sm businesses, they they need people to visit, they need that tourism arm, you know, that that um you know, when when there's uh the whalers in and um you know there's a plumbing problem, they call a plumber. And the plumber lives locally, and that's what keeps the plumber in business. And uh, you know, there's this there's all of those things that connect that keep it going, like from the gasoline to CVS to the small business owners who are doing business, like it it just all is connected. So for the people who say, uh you can can you drive a few less people here, I would say no, man. Our foot is always on is always on the gas because you don't want it, the you don't want it to look like 2008 again. So um, so from that standpoint, but then I think that you know, when you're looking at the businesses that are coming in and what they see and what it means to the town, it is sad that like uh Bank Square Books moved from downtown to but they stayed in town and didn't close. And now they're across from Big Y. And Lux Bond and Green is looking at uh, you know, they're a large jewelry store that is looking at that bought that property that's looking to open there. And I think that that says something about what you know, the development of Mystic and whether it, where it's gonna go from here. And clearly, John Green and his family see potential in Mystic that's not tapped yet. Because when you're bringing a jewelry store of that magnitude down here, um, it says you you feel that there's gonna be more growth in in Mystic. And um, and I would say, and you know, we we talked about what about the small jewelry owners, the small jewelry stores. Yeah, I think I and I've talked to one, a very small one, the other day, and they're like the more jewelry, the better. That um having having more jewelry stores will mean more business for everybody. That people who are gonna come are not just gonna go to one, they're gonna go to all of them. All good stuff, all good stuff, and kind of kind of contribute to the the um je ne sais quoi of of Mystic.

SPEAKER_01 17:43

Yeah, great. And and you know, it's something I I'd love for you to touch on because it's always been kind of uh to me, I'm gonna use the word, it's been the magic of Mystic. And the fact is, is that Mystic is always known as a destination. But the truth is Mystic is more of an I had someone someone say it to me once, and I just I never forgot because I I thought it was it was wonderful. Is because uh there is not really the town of Mystic, there's not the town of Mystic, there is the town of Rotten and there's the town of Stonecha separated by a river. And so he put it to me that Mystic is a state of mind. But I want to ask you about the fact that Mystic really is these two separate towns that are, you know, at some times in history they did not work together, but they do see the benefit of having each other.

SPEAKER_00 18:30

Yeah, so um, you know, I made the mistake of saying on a radio show once that Mystic was just a zip code. And I had people coming going, what do you mean it's more than just I'm like, I'm so I was just saying that it's not it's not a it doesn't have a town, it's not a town with a government. You know, if you're on one side of the bridge, you're in Stonington, if you're on the other, you're in Groton. And um, and uh yeah, so but I love that that Mystic is a state of mind. That's a great uh great tagline. Um and and Mystic is so many different things to so many different people, you know that you know I th you know you you can't argue that Mystic Pizza didn't have something to do with um the um success of of Mystic, you know, and it's still there, still iconic, and people still take their picture every day in front of the sign. And but Mystic is uh it for the people who they they they don't know that it's not a town. And we that's fine. You know, Mystic is the pro the the the um the the population of Mystic is like 4,000 you know in that zip code um on both sides of the bridge. And uh and I'm gonna keep going back to it is a state of mind, like it is a uh a thing, but it it uh but you're right, the towns do work better together.

SPEAKER_01 19:43

Yeah, you know, and and the thing is it's like your to me, your job has changed in a way that it it serves the small businesses, but it also serves the people that come here from other places because to me you're actually creating memories for them, you're actually helping you know them, you know, remember Mystic and the adventures that they have here through all these beautiful businesses that we have locally in I mean in our industry, in the film industry, you know, we see a lot of um the potential when the production comes into the town, and certainly you know, Mystic has had its realm of local filmmakers as well as studio pictures that have come here. And I guess I well, I would like to ask you is as far as how you've seen that change the town in positive or even I if there's even negative to it.

SPEAKER_00 20:36

Yeah, well, I um in my tenure here, well, certainly, uh as we said, Mystic Pizza changed it dramatically uh for the better. In 2022, I think it was maybe twenty-three. I lose track of years, um, Hallmark um and Andrew Gerhardt, um, who is producers of films, um, got the green light on uh Mystic Christmas. And they had done a number of Christmas movies here in Mystic before, but they didn't take place in Mystic. It was any any town USA. And this movie was taking place in Mystic with real Mystic places. So um when they went into Bank Square Books, it was Bank Square Books. When they went into Friar Tux, it was Friar Tux. When they went to the aquarium where the story was centered around, they were in the Mystic Aquarium. That was dramatic, dramatic helping the area. So in the in the movie, they have a scene where they have the lighted bow parade. They're they the the characters go to the lighted bow parade. And so um when uh when the film premiered on Hallmark Channel in November, there are all these uh, I was gonna say crazies, but you know, the people who love Hallmark movies are gaga over Hallmark. And um, and they have these threads of people talking about the movies as they're going on. Did you see this? And when the Lighte Boat Parade showed. Up on the movie, I went into the the chat and said the lighted boat parade is real and linked it to the event on our Facebook and we picked up 7,000 followers that night. And so to my point is that all of that stuff has influence and people watch what's going on. And when when there's a movie that's filmed in Mystic, whether it's about Mystic or it's a Hallmark movie that takes place somewhere else but filmed in Mystic, there are people who come here and want to see those places. And the Connecticut is ripe for that because there's a number of Hallmark movies and movies that were filmed in Connecticut. And there's Connecticut Movie Trail and Mystic Movie Trail. And there's a Mystic Pizza movie trail. You can go around, you know, we have a flyer that you can go around and and um and see all the places that were in the movie. Um and so anytime I think we always want those movies to be filmed here, we always want that that um focus on us, you know. Like when Hell's Kitchen uh was filmed at Foxwoods the last couple of years and did two seasons, all of the things they did for the um like the special things that the Chefs One were all centered around Mystic. You know, at um at uh um at Jeff Jadones, at Adventure Mystic on they went on the Argia, like they all did stuff around here that would feature the area. People watch it and they're like, oh my God, I want to do that. So and there's more of that stuff popping up. There's actually this year, there are two Mystic Tour companies that have opened up. There's just recently, like in the last week, a Mystic Food adventure where you can go to taste food at several different restaurants. So people, people local here are seeing the um the benefits and what's lacking in creating stuff to go along with what we've created and what's being created. It all has to do with the movies.

SPEAKER_01 23:45

You know, since the Mystic Film Festival has been here for nine years, will be it'll be our ninth year this year. Is have you seen benefits from us being able to bring films from various places here to share those stories with the locals that live in in the community?

SPEAKER_00 24:02

So uh my this is my six years of being involved with the film fest and um and um you know helping to promote it, and Shireen came. Um we've we've met several times and and spoken, and the film festival, in terms of what it brings to Mystic, is it compliments when you look at the film that we you know we even go back to Mystic Pizza. Um there was a movie that's that drives people here. And to have the film festival, the Mystic Film Festival here is um it it uh beneficial and special in so many different ways. Like one is um it it uh it it has become a um a several day event. And so people come and land here for the film festival and um and stay and um get to take advantage of all the different things that are happening in Mystic. It's a great backdrop. Um, plus it gets to feature um all of the different venues, the unique venues in Mystic and the surrounding areas. Um and then bringing in um, like I was so excited a couple years ago, Karen Allen was coming in as a speaker. And um, and it's like, oh my God, like to have that level of um from the films um in Mystic staying at the places that you know we call home is really special. Um and so uh, and I know that like um friends of the family like um have have um who have gone through film school have come back full circle, it it it adds to the um creating and building up Mystic to continue to grow and be bigger than it was. And the film festival is certainly one of the things I think that has um contributed to that in a in a really big way. We're very fortunate to have it.

SPEAKER_01 25:43

Is there anything else that you want to kind of address or bring up, you know, through your your time as mayor now as chamber, or if there's anything you want to talk about that's coming up? Um yeah, I'm just gonna leave the the I'm gonna shut up and just leave the mic open. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 25:59

No, uh, you know, I think that uh leave you on the fact that um Mystic and the region that we live in is a really special region. And as special as it is, we are the people who live here, and I'll say myself and my family are so fortunate. I'm so fortunate to have landed here that you know we pinch ourselves. You know, we we live a mile from town, we've raised uh five kids. Um we are ensconced in this community. I grew up in Framingham, Massachusetts, and this is my home now. You know, this is this is where all of our kids were raised, and um Framingham is just a blip now. I mean, that's where I spent my childhood, but now I've had more years here by far than anywhere else. And um the this Mystic is a beautiful place, um, a special place. It has so many unique qualities that come together to make it what it is, and you know, from the from the two towns that make it Mystic to the area that we live in, to even the casinos and and and how you land here, you know, where everything together um uh makes it just um a uh a really, really special place to live and call home. And that's that for me is the big takeaway, you know, that that that for people should be come here, um see how special it is, and uh, and maybe you'll stay longer than you think, you know, maybe you'll land here.

SPEAKER_01 27:32

Well, Bruce, uh this has been an incredible time talking with you and hearing more about your story. And we appreciate you sharing it with us as well as our listeners. And um we hope to have you back again. So thank you.

SPEAKER_00 27:46

Alex, thanks for having me. It was uh it was always it's uh it's hard to shut me up about Mystic. So um happy to come back anytime. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 27:55

And for all of you out there that joined us today, thank you for sharing your time with us, and we look forward to sharing more stories with you. If you'd like to hear more, please like, subscribe. You can find us at info at mysticmash podcast.com. Take care and we wish you a wonderful day.