Representatives for a new, full-service restaurant poised to take over the street-level space at the Park Plaza Hotel last occupied by Strip by Strega came before the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay (NABB) Licensing and Building Use Committee at the committee’s Oct. 5 monthly meeting, which took place virtually.
Attorney Dennis Quilty said the proposed restaurant, called ‘Oblix,’ would sit at the corner of Park Plaza and face Arlington Street, and it would have a total occupancy of 328, including a 162-seat dining area, a smaller dining area, and an oyster bar (along with an open kitchen).
The space was home to at least two restaurants prior to Strip by Strega, which operated there for seven years before closing permanently in April 2025, added Quilty.
The new restaurant intends to mirror the hours of the previous establishment, said Quilty, and would seek a 2 a.m. closing time to accommodate weddings and other functions with late hours. Trash and deliveries would be handled internally by the hotel.
Oblix has its original location in London, England, and it’s an entity of London-based Zuma – an international chain of upscale, contemporary Japanese restaurant with a local presence at Four Seasons Hotel One Dalton Street, noted Quilty.
John Kolesar, senior legal consul for the U.S. operations of Oblix, said the proposed Boston outpost would serve dinner and brunch. The London location also serves afternoon tea, he said, although it’s unclear if the proposed Park Plaza Hotel location would do the same.
Oblix’s targeted opening date at the Park Plaza Hotel is the end of next July, added Kolesar.
In another matter, Central Perk, the coffee shop at 205 Newbury St., inspired by the hit 1990s sitcom ‘Friends,’ is seeking to upgrade its existing restricted liquor license (i.e. beer, wine, and cordials) to a full liquor license.
Attorney Quilty (who represented both of the meeting’s applicants) noted that the city has heard “scores” of similar requests from businesses in the past few months, and that to the best of his knowledge, “the city hasn’t refused one.”
Quilty also said if a restricted license is upgraded to a full liquor license, it can only be resold to another holder as a restricted liquor license.
And if Central Perk is ultimately granted a full liquor license, Quilty said no additional changes would be made to the business’s current operations, including its hours and occupancy.
Aaron Constable, director of operations, said Central Perk received its restricted liquor license June 24, and while the license allows for a 10 p.m. closing time, the establishment now closes at 9 p.m.
Central Perk is seeking a full liquor license in an effort to expand its craft-cocktail offerings, said Constable.
Constable added that Central Perk might also wish to add a bar at some future point, although it has yet to “initiate [any] plans”
Conrad Armstrong, the committee’s chair, told both applicants he would likely notify them of NABB’s position on their respective applications with the city (i.e. to oppose or not oppose it) later that week.
