By Dan Murphy
A recreational cannabis shop proposed for 297 Newbury St., which met with an unfavorable response when it first appeared before the NABB (Neighborhood of the Back Bay) Licensing and Building Use Committee three years ago, was back before the committee again at its Aug. 5 virtual meeting.
While the proposed Ember Gardens was approved conditionally by the Boston Cannabis Board in February 2021, its application was then denied by the city’s Zoning Board of Appeal that June. The applicant is now appealing the city’s zoning decision and set to go before the ZBA on Sept. 10, said Attorney Mike Ross.
The proposed Newbury Street dispensary would be owned and operated by Dan Gillan, Joey Hoffman, and Shane Hyde – the same trio behind Ember Garden’s original location, a recreational cannabis dispensary on Cape Cod in Orleans.
Hyde, who was on hand for this week’s meeting, said the proposed Newbury Street store wouldn’t offer any walk-in service; customers would instead only allowed to access the premises in 15-minute intervals by appointment only.
“That will be baked into the agreement with the Licensing Board,” said Hyde, who added that the proposed Newbury Street store also wouldn’t sell single pre-rolls.
Ember Garden’s proposed Newbury Street location would offer delivery, with that operation based out of its East Boston facility. “The plan is to do early morning deliveries,” said Hyde.
Conrad Armstrong, committee chair, noted that the committee had many concerns when the applicant first appeared before them three years ago, but since then, some of these fears had been alleviated, especially in regard to long lines potentially queuing outside cannabis dispensaries.
But Armstrong said the committee remains concerned that Ember Garden would be located within a half mile of another dispensary (and therefore requires a zoning variance), and that it would bring the number of dispensaries in the Back Bay to at least three.
Moreover, Armstrong noted that the proposed location is on a highly residential block of Newbury Street.
“It’s definitely a very residential block…so there are definitely some neighbors who are still concerned about this, so we’ll see,” added Armstrong.
In another matter, the committee heard from an applicant regarding its plan to add a beer-and-line license to Sarva Café, a full-scale Indian restaurant proposed for 279 Newbury St.
This location was previously home for 27 years to Kashmir – another Indian establishment with a bar – and is now home to PhoReal, a Pho establishment that doesn’t offer any alcoholic beverages.
Attorney Dennis Quilty said the applicant wouldn’t be seeking a live entertainment license for the establishment, which is seeking a midnight closing time, as well as a 10 p.m. closing time for its patio.
Trash removal and other services would continue under the current terms with the existing restaurant, said Quilty, while a rear alley would be used for deliveries.
The restaurant’s occupancy will remain the same, added Quility, and the only planned changes to the building would be minor cosmetic changes inside, with no major design changes proposed.
Quilty also noted that Bonus Varghese Thopurathu, the operator of the proposed restaurant, has extensive prior experience.