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Back Bay could get a place for people who like indoor putts

The Zoning Board of Appeals today approved plans to replace the old Crate & Barrel on Boylston Street with a four-story restaurant with mini-golf.

Swingers, 761-793 Boylston St., would consist of a restaurant in the basement and on the ground floor, with mini-golf and "retro carnival games" on the upper two floors. Swingers had earlier tried to move into a space on St. James Street.

Jeremy Simmonds, of the London-based Swingers, said the entire facility would have 350 seats, with proposed hours of noon to midnight most nights and noon to 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Roughly 95% of the business would come through reservations, primarily from businesses looking for alternative meeting spaces and young professionals.

The Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay was in "non opposition" to the proposal, which is as close as it gets to support. Swingers attorney Rebecca Lee said the association was particularly concerned that the mini-golf stay mini-golf. "They wouldn't want this to switch over to a fight club or something like that," she said.

Through an aide, City Councilor Sharon Durkan (Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Mission Hill, Fenway) also voiced support, saying the Back Bay "is in need of more fun uses."

Nobody spoke in opposition.

The proposal will also need the approval of the Boston Licensing Board.

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Comments

Which neighborhood gets robbed of a full liquor license for this place?

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I don't keep track but the Max Brenner that was right near there had a liquor license - think that one is up for grabs?

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A little digging through licensing board minutes shows in 2021 Max Brenner sold the license to an investment company, keeping the same location, and last year Upland LLC sold the license to whatever is going to be built at 1 Congress.

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What is a "vintage" arcade machine? Pinball, one would hope.

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The guy actually referred to "retro carnival games," not video games at all. Based on their Web site, that might just mean fancy light-up windmills and stuff on the mini-golf courses.

The reference has been changed and the reporter has been sacked. Mynd you, møøse bites Kan be pretti nasti.

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They built this giant wooden badger??

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I hope they have a Cave of Caerbannog feature on the course.

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Ssh!

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Swingers attorney Rebecca Lee said the association was particularly concerned that the mini-golf stay mini-golf. "They wouldn't want this to switch over to a fight club or something like that,"

After all, there are those first two rules...

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Indoor mini golf, assuming they do a nice layout.

That would be a great use for a floor or two in one of the vacant office buildings downtown.

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Swingers is a name straight out of Austin Powers. Funny in a movie but Boylston Street? Bring back Paul's Mall, the Jazz Workshop and Cinema 733.

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The whole point of C&B leaving was they were goign to pretty much destroy the space to build a cantilever building above that and the 2 adjacent buildings. That new building had been approved.

https://www.bostonplans.org/projects/development-projects/761-793-boylst...

So how long will 'swing' be there and/or has said building been put on hold??

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That project made sense when interest rates were around 3%, but won't work when they're around 7% and banks already have too much commercial real estate exposure. So I'd guess the golf place will be in there for a while.

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Probably mostly the interest rates. They could easily convert two of the office floors to residential by copying the top three floors, making the office space portion significantly smaller.

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I've been to the Swingers in DC, and had an awesome time! I'm excited to have one locally.

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wait is "Swingers" somehow not a double entendre, is it *just* mini golf?

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