Nubian Square jazz cafe could open by mid-2024

Update: Approved.

The Boston Licensing Board decides tomorrow whether to grant a liquor license to the operators of the proposed Jazz Urbane Cafe in the Bolling Building in Nubian Square.

Last year, then Gov. Baker signed legislation granting Boston five new liquor licenses - four specifically for use in the Bolling Building and one at the Strand Theater. City officials, who first signed an agreement with Berklee Professor Bill Banfield, restaurateur Nia Grace and entrepreneur Turahn Dorsey (in photo on right) to open the cafe, have said one of those licenses was meant for the cafe.

Their plans call for 187 indoor seats for both dining and listening to live music, and a 32-seat seasonal patio, with indoor hours until 2 a.m.

At a hearing today, their attorney, Lesley Delaney Hawkins, said the cafe would not only prove a gathering spot for local residents but would become a new destination for people outside the neighborhood.

The three first began speaking to the city in 2018 about the space, and they won a lease for it. Planning slowed during the pandemic, but actual construction of the cafe and music venue has now started, she said.

The Zoning Board of Appeal approved the project last December.

Along with approving a liquor license, the licensing board will vote on designating Dorsey as the cafe's manager. Hawkins said that Dorsey and the other owners, however, are currently looking for somebody to work as a full-time manager.