By day and often by night, Michael Lembo is a restaurant industry fixture. He used to be a manager at slinky Back Bay cavern the Brahmin; now the 32-year-old is food and beverage manager at Precinct Kitchen + Bar at the Loews Hotel nearby.
But the Waltham native harbors a singular passion for something else when he clocks out: watches. It’s high time they made a comeback, he says.
“Waltham is Watch City and home to the first watch factory. I had this love for watches for so long growing up, even if they weren’t cool for an 18-year-old. I loved them,’’ he says.
As a teen, he bought many lower-priced watches and sported a different one each day.
“Every day, it was, ‘Mike has a new watch,’ ’’ he says with a laugh.
As a working adult in the Back Bay, he noticed which watches his youngish clientele wore (or didn’t wear). He realized that there wasn’t much of a market for “modern, classic’’ timepieces, and so Back Bay Watch Company was born in July.
“Watches are conversation pieces. So I started drawing them. I thought it was far-fetched, to have my own watch company. But it had been in my head for years,’’ he says.
Eventually, with the help of a friend well-versed in 3-D design and a willing manufacturer, he launched the brand.
The timepieces are moderately priced (most are in the $110-$125 range) and named after Back Bay streets. The tan version of the Arlington, with 316L stainless steel, domed crystal, and leather, is a top seller. Another upcoming design, name to be determined, has a brown band and a black matte face to mimic the classic Back Bay brownstone color scheme. The “8’’ on each face is actually a reverse and forward “B’’ — a cheeky nod to “Back Bay,’’ of course.
Lembo says the brand is catching on with young professionals who want to identify with a Boston label.
“It grabs people. I’ve been getting orders from San Diego, Florida, Indiana. People purchase them because they lived or grew up here, and they want that Boston piece,’’ he says. “Plus, they’re affordable.’’
And the business has afforded him a level of fame on the food scene.
“People are amazed. They ask, ‘Wait: Back Bay Watch Company is you?’ People love it.’’
Kara Baskin can be reached at kcbaskin@gmail.com.
