Despite a management deal recently falling through for The Pour House, landlord Charles M. Talanian remains “100 percent committed” to reopening the longstanding Boylston Street bar, which closed in September of 2020 amid the pandemic after 34 years in business, according to Attorney Jon Aieta, who was on hand for the Feb. 7 virtual meeting of the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay License and Building Use Committee.
Talenanian, the principal owner of C. Talanian Realty, the real-estate firm that owned the Pour House, has purchased the bar at 907 Boylston St. and its liquor license out of bankruptcy. He intended to reopen the bar at 907 Boylston St. “A.S.A.P.,” with Steve Brooks as the manager of record, said Attorney Aieta. (Brooks will also serve as the manager of record when the now-shuttered Lir, next door at 903 Boylston St., a property also owned by Talenanian, reopens; that bar closed in September of 2020 after 17 years in business.)
“If down the road, we find a group to manage [the bar], we’ll let you know,” said Aieta, adding that any management group would need to be vetted and approved by the city, and that the applicant would come back before the LBU Committee at that time.
Previously, C and R Hospitality Managers, LLC, bought the Pour House’s assets in bankruptcy court and planned to re-open it under the same name and concept, while Talanian would have acquired its liquor license via his entity. Representatives for C and R Hospitality Managers came before the LBU Committee on Dec. 6 to make their pitch, which the committee voted not to oppose, said Aieta.
In another matter, Café Landwer, located at 665 Boylston St. in the former Ora Trattorizza space next to the Charlesmark Hotel, is seeking an agreement with the city for managing the food and beverages at the hotel.
Nir Caspi, CEO of Café Landwer, which he describes as a “Mediterranean diner café,” said they already operates in two other Boston locations – one at 900 Beacon St., and the other in Cleveland Circle – along with several additional outposts in Los Angeles and in Canada. “We really love Boston,” he said, adding that he has lived in the city for the past six years.
The Boylston Street location had opened about a week earlier, Caspi said on Feb. 7, and its operating hours are currently 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Beginning on Feb. 15, the closing time will be changed to 9 p.m., and it will eventually be extended to 10 p.m., he added. (The restaurant would remain open to 1 a.m. for guests of the Charlesmark Hotel only, serving a light menu and beverages)
Caspi indicated that the patio could be open as last as 11 p.m., but after the restaurant’s proposed 10 p.m. closing time for the general public, it would only be accessible to hotel guests.
Café Landwer serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, said Caspi, but they’re currently not serving alcohol.
Trash would be stored in a dumpster in the rear of the establishment and removed from the premises on a daily basis, said Caspi.
Attorney Aieta, who also represented Café Landwer, said the applicant had appeared before the city’s Licensing Board last week, although the board has yet to vote on their application.
Lastly, Attorney Dennis Quilty was on hand representing 39 Dalton License LLC – a joint venture between Värde Partners and Hawkins Way Capital that is reportedly purchasing the Sheraton Hotel for $233 million – to discuss their future plans for the property, which comprises two 29-story towers.
The south tower, whose fifth through 29th floors are temporarily occupied by 550 Northeastern University students and staff members across 427 hotel rooms via a special arrangement with the BPDA, is proposed to remain as dormitory space. But Quilty made assurances that only students from one university would be living there, and that Northeastern has already expressed interest in continuing its current arrangement.
The north tower, which has been vacant for nearly two years largely due to the pandemic, would remain a hotel, and Quilty said he believes it would likely stay a Sheraton.
“They want to renovate all the rooms and the common spaces, so it depends on how long that takes, but they want to occupy it as soon as possible,” said Quility, who added that the applicant, who also recently purchased the Copley Square Hotel. hasn’t filed anything with the city yet for this proposal.
An application would require a full process and review by the city, including by the BPDA, in the near future, so Quilty was merely providing the committee with an informational overview of the current proposal.
Conrad Armstrong, chair of the LBU Committee, told applicants he would get back to them after NABB’s Executive Committee’s scheduled meeting today, Feb. 10, to inform them of the determinations on their respective applications.