Two Newbury Street burger restaurants considering the addition of late-night hours were among the applicants to come before the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay (NABB) Licensing and Building Use Committee at its monthly public meeting held virtually on May 4.
The Back Bay outpost of the fast-growing, Manhattan, N.Y.-based 7th Street Burger, at 267 Newbury St., which currently operates daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., is requesting that its closing time be extended to 2 a.m., said Jon Aieta, an attorney for the applicant.
The 40-seat restaurant is now limited to counter and takeout service while offering no-third party delivery, added Aieta.
Since opening March 20, the Newbury Street fast-casual restaurant has “performed well” and now sees an opportunity to fulfill a demand for late-night food, after patrons have departed from nearby bars, said Frank Perez, the manager of record. If its request for expanded hours is allowed, the restaurant intends to hire additional staff to help manage the expected late-night clientele, added Perez.
The restaurant, which currently has two dumpsters in the alley, would also be seeking to add a third trash respectable on the premises, if its proposed extended closing hour is ultimately granted by the city, said Perez.
Conrad Armstrong, the committee chair, advised the restaurant’s representatives that while NABB typically has no objection to late-night food offerings on Boylston Street or Massachusetts Avenue, the Newbury Street location poses a potential conflict, especially since the north side of Newbury Street abuts some residences on Commonwealth Avenue.
“There’s nothing wrong with a late-night burger place…but this location is not ideal,” said Armstrong, who added that on the same block, an ice cream parlor is the only restaurant of any kind open until 11:30 p.m.
Armstrong also advised the applicant that “dumpsters in the alley are not in your favor.”
Elliott Laffer, former committee chair and a longtime NABB board member, reiterated Armstrong’s concerns regarding late-night food offerings on the side of Newbury Street that back up against residential Commonwealth Avenue. He said he believes this request, if granted, could set a dangerous precedent in the area.
“Nothing has been submitted at this point to the Licensing Board,” responded Aieta.
Armstrong told the applicant he would inform them of NABB’s position on its application with the city (i.e. to oppose or not oppose it) “by the end of next week.”
In another matter, representatives for the existing Back Bay outpost of another chain of fast-casual burger restaurants, Shake Shack at 236 Newbury St., also broached the idea of closing at a later hour.
Francico Palacios, the incoming manager of record, noted that the restaurant now closes at 11:30 p.m., and that like 7th Street Burger, Shake Shack intends to cater to patrons departing from nearby bars in the late-night hours.
Dawson Cooper, an attorney for the applicant, noted that Shake Shack’s CV (common victualler) license with the city currently allows for a 1 a.m. closing time.
“I’m not sure why they haven’t done that,” said Cooper, adding that the applicant doesn’t intend to seek extended hours for serving alcohol.
Laffer, who had noted the request for late-night food offerings on Newbury Street could be “kind of precedent setting,” suggested that Shake Shack adopt a 1 a.m. closing time, “since they’re allowed to do it,” as opposed to the requested 2 a.m. closing time.
Likewise, Armstrong added that no community process would be necessary for Shake Shack to extend its closing time to 1 a.m.
The committee heard from another restaurant applicant, Just Salads, which intends to open in an approximately 1,800 square-foot ground- floor retail space at 500 Boylston St., which was previously part of the old Talbot’s storefront.
The proposed restaurant, which wouldn’t offer alcohol, will be able to accommodate 12 patrons at stand-up counters, said Daniel Brennan, a permitting and licensing consultant for the applicant.
The applicant would like to have the option of changing these proposed standing accommodations for patrons to 12 seats in the future, added Brennan.
The proposed daily hours would be approximately 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., said Brennan, keeping in line with the closing times of both Just Salad’s Post Office Square and Fort Point locations.
All trash would be handled internally through the building, said Brennan.
Armstrong told this applicant he would inform them of NABB’s position on their application with the city within the following week.
In a separate matter, the owner of a building, which is home to two adjacent restaurants, Sabina Mezcaleria, located at 253 Newbury St., and La Neta at 255 Newbury St., respectively, is seeking the zoning relief needed to apply for city entertainment licenses.
As it now stands, the applicant must obtain a day license from the city’s Office of Consumer Affairs and Licensing for every event, said Attorney Derric Small.
Live music, which would be limited to no more than four performers and include perhaps a guitarist or horn player, is expected to go no later than 11 p.m., said Small.
Despite Small’s reassurances, Laffer still expressed concern, given the building’s location on what he described as the “most sensitive side of Newbury Street.”
Laffer noted one-day entertainment licenses are now issued by the city without any community input, but that if a live entertainment license were ultimately granted for the building, it would apply to the building itself, rather than to the current restaurant tenants.
“This is a very heavy lift,” said Laffer, recalling a time years ago, when a sudden proliferation of nightclubs along Boylston Street caused an outpouring of community concern in the neighborhood.