The Pour House could reopen at its former home of 34 years at 907 Boylston St. under new management “hopefully within the month of January,” representatives for the applicant told the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay License and Building Use Committee at its Monday, Dec. 6, meeting, which was held virtually.
C and R Hospitality Managers, LLC, purchased the assets of the former establishment in bankruptcy court and wants to re-open the restaurant under the same concept, while Charles M. Talanian, the principal owner of C. Talanian Realty, the real-estate firm that owned the Pour House, will acquire the liquor license for the new establishment via his entity.
Chuck Hitchcock, who has 17 years in the restaurant industry, having previously worked at the erstwhile McGreevy’s on Boylston Street, as well as the House of Blues, and Two Saints Tavern on the Northeastern University campus, which he described as his first foray as a bar owner, will serve as the general manager of the new Pour House.
“We’re not reinventing the wheel here,” said Hitchcock, who added that the establishment would be run “just as it was” prior to its closure in March of 2020.
The establishment would open at 8 a.m. daily and serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, seven days a week, said Hitchcock, while the menu would bring back many previously popular items. The closing time would also remain 2 a.m., he said.
Trash would be stored on the premises and emptied six days a week, added Hitchcock.
In another matter, an applicant (Stark Hospitality LLC) discussed their plans to bring an “elevated dining experience” to the former Storyville space while introducing an “upscale diner-type bar” upstairs in the former Minibar space in the Copley Square Hotel.
Tyronee Di Stasi, the proposed manager of both Tribute and Glory Days, said the space downstairs would be “like a supper club with dining and entertainment” with a deejay, similar to concepts found in Miami in New York.
Besides a deejay, Di Stasi said they also intend to have local musicians from Berklee College of Music performing in the downstairs space after work and in the early evening. Entertainment would likely begin there at 4 or 5 p.m. each day and last until just before the 2 a.m. closing, he added.
The upstairs establishment would have 72 seats, said Di Stasi, while downstairs would have a 177-person capacity, with room for 115 seats, including 20 seats at the bar, in the main dining area, as well as 62 seats, with 15 at the bar, in the side room. (There will be no designated dancing are downstairs, he added).
The menu at the upstairs establishment would have lighter fare items, such as a burger and club sandwich, and be different from the downstairs menu, said Di Stasi,
The downstairs menu would include many shared items with mid-level price points, he added.
Also, Allan Rodriquez outlined his plan to expand his La Neta taco shop at 255 Newbury St. into the adjacent retail space at 253 Newbury St. now occupied by the Boston Olive Oil Company.
Rodriquez said he intends to add a bar in the new space, as well as create a new Mexican tapas concept with cocktails.
The capacity would be around 23 seats, which is the same as the existing capacity, he said, adding that while the hours of operation are currently 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, he would be seeking a 1 a.m. closing time “if possible.” (LBU members advised him that a midnight closing time instead would be “helpful.”)
The expansion would also likely have a new name, as well as a new menu, said Rodriquez, “to attract a different crowd,” but they would still serve their signature tacos.
“We don’t want to make it fine dining, but would keep the same prices,” he said.
Boston Olive Oil Company’s lease is set to expire in February, said Rodriquez, so the expansion likely wouldn’t happen until March.
As is the case now, trash would be stored inside until its collection, seven days a week, he added, while the business’s car would continue to make deliveries in the rear of the establishment.
Six tables on the outside patio, which measures approximately 13-by-16 feet, would likely continue to accommodate mostly waiting patrons, said Rodriquez, while the overall capacity inside would be between 23 and 30 and wouldn’t exceed 45.
Elliott Laffer, chair of the NABB board of directors, advised Rodriguez his plan would likely require a zoning variance from the city.
In another matter, Antione Lambert, the owner of Café Sauvage, a Parisian-style bistro with American and other influences that opened with a common victualler license at 25 Massachusetts Ave. on Oct. 20,. detailed his plan for the commission to add a beer-and-wine license, as well as an entertainment license in order to provide background music, to the existing operation.
The restaurant’s capacity is now 38 seats in the main dining area, with six at the bar, and five staff members at the front of the house, as well as additional staff in the kitchen, said Lambert, and the beer-and wine license would have hours of 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. daily. (NABB LBU Chair Conrad Armstrong asked Lambert if he would consider a 9 p.m. closing time, but Lambert instead said he hoped to close at 10 or 11 p.m.)
Lambert said he doesn’t have a beer-and-wine license lined up for his establishment from another restaurant and would instead seek one of the city’s new “quota” licenses. (Otherwise, he said he would seek to acquire an existing license.)
Meanwhile, Armstrong told all of the applicants he would inform them of the committee’s determinations on their respective applications by Friday (Dec. 10) morning.