Barker moved to Massachusetts from Italy in the 1950s. Her family became heavily involved in the North End, opening a deli just around the corner from where her restaurant Nicole’s, would be for the next 15 years. Barker, throughout her career, would serve a myriad of influential figures, including the President of Japan in 1989 and the Archbishop of Boston. Members of the Archdiocese of Boston would affectionately call her restaurant “The Vatican of the North End.” Her work as a chef extended past the walls of her restaurant; she donated her time and kindness to various feeding programs in the South End. Nicole’s closed in the early 2000s. However, her family has continued their tradition of feeding Boston, with Pauli’s, her son’s restaurant at 65 Salem Street.
