🎄 Christmas trees on two wheels

It's Thursday, Boston.

🎨 BREAKING: The Pantone Color Institute has declared “Viva Magenta” as the color of 2023. Apparently they chose this color because it perfectly straddles the physical and virtual and is evocative of our multidimensional world. Whatever that means.

👀 What’s on tap today:

• Winters are getting warmer

• Your favorite rolls go bankrupt

• Toplessness for all

Up first…

BUSINESS

Holiday cheer on two wheels

No, you’re not seeing things. Santa did just bike down the street hauling a Christmas tree. Or really, it was probably someone from EverGreen Delivery, a local company selling and transporting Christmas trees via bicycle.

It started in 2012, when founder Jimmy Rider (yes, that’s his real last name) was doing bike delivery for farmers markets. He thought it would be an environmentally friendly way to bring trees around the city while efficiently navigating the traffic, so he partnered with Ricky's Flower Market in Somerville to start the deliveries.

“And it’s cool,” Rider added. “It’s just straight up cool.”

This season, EverGreen has delivered around 850 trees and sold around 1,700 in total, according to Andy Pyman, who manages their web services. The company now operates out of a lot in the Snowport. And while they offer online ordering, Rider encourages people to come to the lot — Christmas tree shopping is one of the most “cherished shopping experiences,” after all. You can still get your pine delivered via bike even if you pick it out in person.

While you’ll occasionally catch EverGreen bike couriers transporting trees in a classic Santa suit, Rider says they can be hard to bike in, especially the beards, so don’t be surprised if they arrive in other attire.

The company will help you bring your tree up to your apartment and set it up, but the decorating is on you. According to Rider, hauling a big tree up several flights of stairs in a Beacon Hill or Back Bay walk-up is one of the toughest parts of the gig (along with biking in the snow).

Need a reference? Rider said he once delivered a tree to Julian Edelman at his Back Bay abode. If it’s good enough for Edelman, it’s good enough for me. — Katie Cole

CITY

Quick & Dirty Headlines

🥵 Winters are getting warmer across the country, especially in New England. Since 1970, winters in Burlington, Vermont, have warmed by a stunning 7.1 degrees Fahrenheit; Concord, N.H., by 6 degrees; and Portland, Maine, by 5 degrees, according to a new analysis of federal temperature data. For context, the average winter warming nationally was 3.3 degrees. Boston came in slightly below the national average, with 3 degrees of warming.

🍝 The home of your favorite dinner rolls filed for bankruptcy … again. Bertuccci’s filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week, blaming the pandemic and inflation. The chain suffered a $14 million operating loss and a $7.2 million net loss in 2021. As a result, the company has closed several Mass. and New Hampshire locations.

🏢 Boston University finished its Jenga building. If you’ve been driving along Soldiers Field Road wondering what the heck that zigzagging building is, it’s BU’s new Center for Computer & Data Sciences. And its insides are just as cool as its outsides. The 19-story tower is heated and cooled by 31 geothermal wells dug about 1,500 feet below the ground, and its electricity is sourced from a wind farm in South Dakota. The tower will be by far the largest net-zero carbon building in Boston, and probably all of New England.

12 DAYS OF THE B-SIDE

Santa suits & ugly sweaters required

🤮 Throwdown in your fugliest frock at Hava’s Ugly Sweater Party. It’s clubbing, but make it comfy. Tickets start at $20 | Friday, Dec. 9 from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.

🎅🏻 Dust off your Santa suit for this year’s Santa Con Bar Crawl. Admission is FREE, but drinks are on you. Starts at Government Center and ends in the Fenway. | Saturday, Dec. 10, 12 to 9 p.m.

🍪 Try to one-up Joanna Chang at Flour Bakery’s Holiday Cookie Swap. Dress up in your most festive outfit for a chance to win a $25 Flour gift card. Tickets are $35, and all ticket sales will be donated to the Greater Boston Food Bank. | Sunday, Dec. 11, 3 to 5 p.m.

💃 Play Drag bingo in your favorite Christmas garb at Time Out Market. The games will begin with a drag performance to kick off the hour-long bingo bonanza. And it’s FREE. | Sunday, Dec. 11, 6 to 8 p.m.

🥃 Sip on some spirits at The Smoke Shop’s Ugly Sweater and Whiskey Party. For $50, you get a buffet style feast, whiskey tasting, a cocktail, and more. The ugliest sweater-wearer will win a $50 Smoke Shop gift card. | Monday, Dec. 19, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.

ONE LAST THING

Nantucket goes topless

Coming soon to Nantucket: topless beaches. Attorney General Maura Healey approved a town bylaw amendment that will allow anyone to go topless on the island’s beaches, regardless of gender.

Currently, Mass. law states that women who forgo chest coverings on beaches are subject to a penalty of up to three years in prison and a $300 fine.

In Healey’s authorization of the “Gender Equality on Beaches” amendment, she writes that the bylaw will take effect once the town meets posting and publishing requirements, but there’s no set date yet for when the toplessness will be allowed on Nantucket beaches.

🤒 Thanks for reading! Shout out to Katie for writing today’s lead story while I battled a 102 fever. She’s a real one.

💃 Keep up with other B-Side tomfoolery on IG, TikTok, and Twitter @BostonBSide. Send comments and suggestions to [email protected].