New owner of Brighton steakhouse plans only 'cosmetic' changes

The Boston Licensing Board yesterday gave the owners of the closed Stockyard restaurant permission to sell the place to Michael Conlon, who already owns several restaurants in other parts of the city.

The Manning family needed the board's permission to sell the restaurant's liquor license, as part of an overall $5 million deal.

At a hearing on Wednesday, Conlon's attorney, Joseph Hanley, said Conlon, who owns restaurants such as West on Centre in West Roxbury and the Paramount on Beacon Hill, would bring "a great improvement in management," but was not planning major changes in the restaurant or its offerings. "It's really just a turnkey transfer," he said.

Two nearby residents said they were concerned about the restaurant's legal 2 a.m. closing time. Although they said they were not concerned about noise from the restaurant itself, they were worried about patrons standing outside their cars, smoking and making noise, just feet from their homes.

They added that not all nearby residents may have been notified about the proposed license transfer. Hanley and board Chairwoman Nicole Murati Ferrer, however, said Conlon met all the legal requirements for whom to notify - and noted the Brighton Allston Improvement Association had approved the proposal, even if not unanimously.

Ferrer acknowledged that this means some people living right next to the parking lot might not have gotten notice, because the parking lot is owned by a separate Manning-family corporation, meaning it is considered a direct abutter, and not residents on the other side of the parking lot. However, she said residents who have a problem with that should try to work through the legislature to change state law.