Hey, there! Log in / Register
South End could get high-end steak place
By adamg on Wed, 02/08/2012 - 11:56am
The team behind Deuxave in the Back Bay is looking to transform the home of two failed South End restaurants into what their lawyer called "an urban, modern steakhouse concept."
Brian Piccini's proposed Boston Chops would move into the vacant space at 1375 Washington St. where Banq and Ginger Park both went out of business. Attorney Joseph Hanley said Piccini and his team - which includes executive chef Chris Coombs of Deuxave and dbar in Dorchester - are committed to the sort of "first class" operation the South End demands. Part of that would include an expanded bar to accommodate people who prefer bar dining - as well as a kitchen open right until a proposed 1 a.m. closing time.
However, at a hearing before the Boston Licensing Board today, attorney Joseph Hanley said they might have to wait until a liquor license frees up. Piccini has committed to extensive spending to soundproof the restaurant - which sits on the first floor of a residential building - and could not also afford the roughly $300,000 it would take to buy a liquor license on the open market.
Hanley said his clients have already hired engineers to design ways to minimize the impact on its upstairs neighbors - and they have lowered the ceilings and removed speakers that were attached to structural beams, which spread music throughout the building.
City officials, nearby residents and owners of some South End restaurants spoke in favor of the proposal. However, the resident whose unit sits directly atop the proposed bar said through his attorney he would want a memorandum of understanding to ensure he no longer has to endure the sort of late-night noise he suffered under the "sports bar" atmosphere of the earlier restaurants.
The licensing board votes on the request for a license and proposed 1 a.m. closing time tomorrow.
Neighborhoods:
Topics:
Free tagging:
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
The jerk who lives in the Penny Savings Building
That long term tenant seems like a pain in the ass.
Neither restaurant in that space had much of a late night crowd - they were mostly dead and deserted which is why they closed. Wonder why he would've ever bought a condo over a commercial space knowing the risk he would run.
This guy seems like quite a jerk.
It gets worse at Penny Savings
The story I heard was that the Banq / Ginger Park folks offered to move that d-bag owner into the penthouse of the building at their expense (basically buying him a condo and taking his over to sell), a considerable upgrade, and he refused. Some people just like complaining and making other people miserable, I guess.
Let me drag this one out (unnecessarily)
EDIT: BTW, apparently a tenant has been signed to (half) the proposed site of the Dunkin' Donuts. A sign is in the window for Au Gallery, a contemporary art gallery. http://au-gallery.com
Just so people understand, this is an example of when the restaurant is an acceptable use, whereas the Dunkin' Donuts wasn't. The Penny Savings Bank, when built, allowed for restaurant use (in fact, was built for it), so the owner's complaints should (mostly) fall on deaf ears. If there are legit sound issues, then, sure, why not fix them. Beyond that, there's little reason to listen to him.
The Dunkin' Donuts was in a space not zoned for a restaurant of that size. And, the condo docs didn't specify whether or not there could be a restaurant and, because the commercial space owner owned more than 25% of the condo association's voting rights, it was a special case.
Both restaurants are/would be on a busy street. But, Tremont has way more housing than Washington Street (Washington St has more units but they are in large buildings) so commercial uses are much more important than on Washington.
More importantly, Mr Piccini has proven himself to be a fine neighbor in the Back Bay and Dorchester. I hope this happens, and quickly!
Another thing about the Penny Savings condo
They got the City to move the Silver Line's outbound Union Park Street bus stop from in front of the building (where it was actually adjacent to Union Park Street) to a block and a half further south, beyond West Dedham Street. Even with that noise reduction, the jackass neighbor purportedly called the BPD with a steady stream of noise complaints about the restaurant.
Who is the resident in the Penny Savings building?
I assume it's public record - why not identify him?
Because A) angry mobs on the
Because A) angry mobs on the Internet don't solve zoning/resident issues and B) it'd give the guy an excuse to drag out the cross and wail. Let him be anonymous.
High End?
Is there anything in the South End that isn't "high end" these days? High end restaurants, high end boutiques, high end dog bakeries, high end organic markets, etc.
What if my end isn't so high?
I long for the day when the High End, er, South End had some medium-end or even low-end options for neighborhood residents who wanted an inexpensive bite to eat on a weeknight. Not much to offer these days.
Welcome to another high-priced, valet-parking-dependent venue for suburbanites, tourists and expense account holders.
High end is in the eye of the beholder
Well, did the lawyer use the term "high-end" or did Adam?
And, "high-end" is subjective. I've had $100 steak dinners in NYC at Ben Bovas, etc. Presumably, the South End steakhouse will be more in line with other, similar restaurants, perhaps $30 a plate?
Low Budget
Cheap is small and not too steep
But best of all cheap is cheap
Circumstance has forced my hand
To be a cut price person in a low budget land
In the steakhouse category, high-end...
usually means prime beef (though there's plenty of difference between boutique ranch beef and what the mega-producers raise), some aged steaks (wet-aging is cheaper and more common than dry-aging), an a la carte menu (separate charge for your giant baked potato, creamed spinach, etc.), an extensive wine list with some trophy bottles, a traditional approach to bartending (12-oz Martinis and Manhattans, no foo-foo craft business) and a certain formality in the service and finishes (white tablecloths, tuxedoed waiters, private-club furnishings in mahogany, brass and leather).
There's often a raw bar, but the options for non-beef-lovers tend to be limited: a lobster, lamb chops, a couple of fish options, maybe something in chicken. Boston only has one tier in the high end, where steaks run big and $30-$50. There's no ultra-luxe level as in some other cities.
My guess is that these owners are going to try to do something a little different from our 15 or so largely-interchangeable chain luxury steakhouses, as we appear to have reached a level of demand saturation: Del Frisco's opens, Morton's Back Bay closes. Maybe something more akin to Mooo...., which stands out as being prettier, more date-friendly, less testosterone-heavy than the run of the Abe & Louie's / Ruth's Chris / Grill 23 mill.
hear, hear
spot on, there.
truly a phenomenon here in Boston (as opposed to many--though clearly not all--neighborhoods in NY) is the desire to gut existing establishments and replace them with 25% more expensive ones with gleaming interiors. Even pricey neighborhoods in NY like Park Slope have places that have been there forever. The South End? Mike's/Charlie's, Foley's, Delux, Anchovies, and then it gets a little fuzzy.
//steps off of soapbox
Pine Street Inn
I hear the Pine Street Inn has very affordable rates.
Um...sports bar?
I'm scratching my head here--what were the "sports bar" elements that characterized either of those places? I don't remember a lot of mullets or Bruins jerseys. Not a Bud Light sign or big screen TV in sight, as far as I remember. And yeah--I do love these arriviste city dwellers who complain about the most moderate noise--he's lucky he missed the days when he'd have had the $@& elevated train right outside his front window.
Sports Bar behavior
While technically there aren't really that many sports bars in the South End, there is ample sports bar behavior.
Overgrown fratboys and Carrie Bradshaw wanna-be's clog the South End streets at night, thinking they are da bomb, "woo-hoo"-ing on sidewalks until the wee hours of the morning (right outside of residential windows) and in hallways of high end condo buildings.
Basically its Sports Bars for people with more money to spend.
That said, Sally is correct about the upstairs resident: He is absolutely a d-bag who bought into a building with a restaurant (or deeded space for a soon-to-be restaurant) right below him and should have known better.
True, true...
When I lived on Beacon Hill, the self-same d-bags used to knee-walk home at night past my windows,carousing, yodeling, yanking flowers out of window boxes, making slurred booty calls to whichever Muffy or Caroline they could find in their cellphone directory... Rich, preppy d-bags are no less considerate than their mulleted counterparts. But again--who moves to the South End, to an apartment above a restaurant, and expects to hear nothing at night but crickets and yawning livestock?
This is in Roxbury
Regardless of what the real estate developers and used car salesman real estate brokers say, the South End ends at Tremont Street. Simply because parts of Roxbury have become yuppified, they haven't moved. It's still lovely Roxbury. I don't own there, because I've never liked either part of town.
Indeed, I was at Union Bar just after New Year's, ONLY because a pal had a gift certificates. (I wouldn't have gone there otherwise, because, let's be honest, it's Roxbury.) It was sketchy, at best.
I love telling people people who tell me they own in the "South End," that they're in fact they're in Roxbury, although perhaps a nice part of it. Not coincidentally, I suspect, these people are NEVER people who grew up in/near Boston. NEVER.
Lets be honest, you are an
Lets be honest, you are an Asshole, with your bigotted view points. Where did you grow up?