Businesses still have time to join Boston’s FIFA World Cup Neighborhood Business Guide before Sunday’s deadline.
City officials are urging local shops, restaurants and bars to sign up for a guide meant to steer soccer fans into Boston’s neighborhoods.
The FIFA World Cup 2026 runs from June 11 to July 19 across the United States, Canada and Mexico. Seven matches are scheduled to be held at Boston Stadium(Gillette Stadium) in Foxborough from June 13 to July 9.
The guide, launched in late April by the city’s Office of Small Business, features businesses from across Boston that filled out a city survey. But Dorchester, one of Boston’s largest and most diverse neighborhoods, so far has a limited presence in parts of the guide, especially the “Eat, Sip, and Watch Soccer” section.
Aliesha Porcena, Boston’s director of small business, said there is no vetting process to be listed in the guide.
“The businesses self-select,” Porcena said. “The businesses have to fill out a survey, and then they will be added to the guide.”
The survey deadline is Sunday, June 7. The city has received responses from more than 320 businesses, though the number of businesses in the guide changes as new entries are added.
Businesses can find the survey on the city’s Neighborhood Business Guide page under the heading, “Want to be in this guide?”
The city promoted the survey through emails, flyers, social media, newsletters, in-person events, Main Streets organizations, and neighborhood business managers, Porcena said. In March, the office also sent a survey to thousands of small businesses using lists from the Licensing Board, the City Clerk’s office and the Office of Small Business.
Asked about Dorchester’s limited presence in the guide so far, Porcena, who said she is a Dorchester native, said she would like to see more local businesses take advantage of the guide.
“Dorchester is such an amazing neighborhood,” Porcena said. “It is full of culture, people, and businesses that are amazing… Fill out the survey. It does not take a long time.”
At Lazy Bear Creamery in Dorchester, owner Matty Galvin said he believes he learned about the guide through an email from the city. His shop is listed in the guide’s “Eat, Sip & Unwind” section.
“I knew that there was going to be a big event, and I figured with a lot of tourists coming in, it would be good to just get our name out there,” Galvin said.
Galvin said filling out the survey was simple.
“It only took me five minutes, so I didn’t consider how well or not well it would work,” he said. “I just figured there was no risk to it.”
For Galvin, the purpose of bringing visitors into Dorchester goes beyond a business listing. He said Lazy Bear sits in the middle of the neighborhood where he grew up, and many of its customers walk to the shop.
“If you were a tourist coming into Boston, you would get a real good sense of who we are as a people,” Galvin said.
At Cool Shade Jamaican Restaurant, owner Andre Williams said he received the survey and filled it out last week. As of June 1, the restaurant had not appeared in the guide.
Williams said he wants Cool Shade to be included and plans to show World Cup matches this summer.
“I’m going to show every game that’s available,” Williams said.
Williams said he plays soccer and follows the sport. He “most definitely” expects the World Cup to bring new customers into Dorchester.
“Dorchester is a big, diverse community,” Williams said. “A lot of people here would like to watch, you know, even if their team is not in the World Cup.”
Porcena said the stakes are significant for Boston’s neighborhood economy. The city’s more than 19,000 small businesses employ more than 127,000 people and generate more than $28 billion for the local economy.
The guide is meant to encourage tourists to “shop local, shop small,” Porcena said, while also encouraging Boston residents to visit businesses in other neighborhoods.
“We’re really proud of the vibrancy of our local retailers and restaurants,” Porcena said. “We really want to celebrate local gems in every neighborhood of Boston.”