Boston Common - Niche Media - A side of Boston that's anything but common.
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/327657
If you don't know Kristina and Patrick, you really ought to figure out a way to get on their good side. Seriously, this couple can party in an epic way. Part of it comes with the package that is Patrick Lyons, the king of Boston nightlife, whose company, The Lyons Group, has dominated Lansdowne Street for decades as well as spawning national chains such as Summer Shack, Kings Bowling, and most recently, Blazing Paddles, a ping-pong club in Fenway Park. Kristina holds court as the co-owner of Portobello Road, a hip women's boutique in Chestnut Hill, as well as being an aspiring film- maker. No surprise, then, that their summer house on Martha's Vineyard routinely bursts at the seams with uproarious dinner parties, Hollywood guests, and just-one-more-swim energy. It's in their DNA. HOW DID YOU COME TO SUMMER IN MARTHA'S VINEYARD? KL: Patrick had a little place in Oak Bluffs and invited me for a long weekend when we started dating. It was my first time to the Vineyard, and I just fell in love. PL: I love the diversity. It's rural and farmlike in Chilmark, bordering on honky- tonk in Oak Bluffs, and everything in between. WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT YOUR HOUSE? KL: Our location! It's so wild to be on a cliff overlooking the Atlantic. PL: Sometimes a house owns you, but we built our house so it was simple and functional. We definitely own it. WHAT ATMOSPHERE HAVE YOU CREATED? KL: Very relaxed. Very inclusive. So many kids running around it's like summer camp. Lots of grilling fresh fish that we pick up in Menemsha and pizza-making in our outdoor pizza oven. PL: It's beach by day, tennis in the afternoon, and fish caught that day by a friend for dinner. AND WHEN IT'S JUST THE FOUR OF YOU… KL: The kids are in the pool, or we're piled together watching movies, playing poker games, or lying around on the window seats on a lazy day reading The Vineyard Gazette. DO YOU HAVE ANY TRADITIONS? KL: We have a big come-one-come-all potluck dinner at the end of the summer. Patrick makes paella outside on the fire pit. For the Fourth of July, we go to the Edgartown parade and throw candy to the crowd. PL: We throw one big bash every summer. We invite all of our regular Vineyard crew: Larry David, Jim Belushi, the Farrelly brothers, Dick Friedman, and all of their families, and everyone else we know. WHAT WILL FUTURE SUMMERS BRING? KL: I hope it will continue to be a place where friends and family come together. The cliff has very special mystical energy. Everybody says that. THE HAUTE HOSTS KRISTINA and PATRICK LYONS LEFT: Lucy, Wyatt, Patrick, and Kristina Lyons on the oceanside cliff. ABOVE: Kristina Lyons cooks for a house full of guests like Linda Greenberg. 98 BOSTONCOMMON-MAGAZINE.COM