By Dan Murphy
A small, local chain of French pastry shops is poised to open its third location at 227 Newbury St., according to a representative for the applicant on hand for the monthly meeting of the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay (NABB) Licensing and Building Use Committee, which was held virtually on Monday, July 7.
Praliné French Patisserie, which also has locations in Belmont and in Cambridge’s Kendall Square, would offer croissants, macarons and eclairs, among other pastry items, as well as sandwiches, salads, and coffee, but no alcohol would be served at the proposed Back Bay shop, said Hichem Benyamina.
The business’s proposed hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week, said Benyamina, while the restaurant will offer seating for 20 patrons, including space at a small patio that will be created out front.
While the proposed Newbury Street shop would receive daily deliveries of food items prepared at the other two locations, only minor cooking tasks, like the reheating of croissants, will take place on the premises, which won’t be equipped with a kitchen hood, said Benyamina.
Although a dedicated dumpster will be located in the alley behind the business, Conrad Armstrong, committee chair, requested that trash be stored inside until the day of pickup.
“It’s going to be really tight, but I’ll see what we can do,” responded Benyamina, adding that the business is expected to generate much less trash than a traditional restaurant.
In another matter, the commission heard of plans to open a location of All’Antico Vinaio, a growing chain of Florentine-inspired sandwich shops, at 565 Boylston St.
This space was last home to Clover Food Lab and, it was previously home for more than a decade to Globe Bar & Café, before that now-shuttered business relocated to 384 Boylston St., the former Rattlesnake Bar & Grill space.
All’Antico Vinaio was launched about 30 years ago in Florence, Italy, and now has dozens of shops throughout Italy and in France, said Mark Coscia, and if the Back Bay shop is approved, it will be their 16th U.S. location.
The proposed Boylston Street restaurant will offer self-seating for 30 patrons inside and for another 12 patrons at a small, seasonal outdoor patio, as well as takeaway, according to the applicant.
Patrons will order at the counter, where they select from more than a dozen different sandwich-options, which are served on a bread not unlike focaccia, “but not as puffy,” said Coscia.
The restaurant would also serve breakfast items, as well as beer and wine by the glass.
The proposed hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Thursday, although the establishment would be seeking a 1 a.m. license from the city, said Margo Gillis, an attorney for the applicant.
Regarding trash disposal, the restaurant, which would have a dedicated dumpster in the alley, will arrange to have its trash picked up as often as possible said Gillis.
The restaurant will offer food delivery exclusively via Uber Eats, said Coscia, which prompted Armstrong to request that their delivery drivers not double-park in this already congested area.
The committee also heard about a proposal to expand Tao’s – a recently opened shop at 336 Newbury St. that sells Asian cosmetic and skincare products – into the adjoining storefront at 334 Newbury St., which is already part of the applicant’s property.
This expansion would allow the business to begin selling soju – a Korean, rice-based, clear and colorless alcoholic beverage, said Jason Blackburn, a business partner with Tao’s, which also has two other locations: on Harrison Avenue in Chinatown and in Allston.
“It’s not a large part of the store, we just want to add to what we’re doing,” said Blackburn, who added that soju would be sold only to go, with no on-site consumption allowed.
If the business is ultimately permitted by the city to sell soju, Tao’s would keep its existing hours of 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on weekdays, and11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends, said Blackburn.
Per another application, the committee heard about a petition by the owner of a residential building at 1 Gloucester St. to change its legal occupancy from 10 to 11.
The building has had an occupancy of 11 since the mid-1980s, in contrast to city paperwork, which lists the occupancy as 10, said Attorney Jay Walsh.
The city’s Inspectional Services Department has issued a refusal to the applicant’s requested change in occupancy, said Walsh, on the grounds of insufficient parking, as well as the not-included 11th unit – a 183 square-foot basement studio with a small kitchen and bathroom – falling just shy of the 193 square-foot minimum for a dwelling unit per the city’s zoning code.
Walsh also noted that despite ISD’s parking stipulation, no parking is provided for any of the building’s other 10 living units, including its two other basement units, as well as eight above-ground units.
Armstrong told all the applicants he would inform them of NABB’s position on their respective applications with the city (i.e. to oppose or not oppose them), following the Executive Committee meeting scheduled for the evening of Thursday, July 10.