Monday, October 22, 2012

Mike's City Diner, British Beer Company Team Up to Plan New Restaurant for Locke-Ober Space

Two days ago we reported that a landmark Boston restaurant that has been in business for more than 100 years had shut its doors for good. Now we have learned that the owner of a South End diner and the principal owner of a group of British-themed restaurants and bars have teamed up with a developer to bring a new dining spot to the space.

Patrick Maguire of I'm Your Server Not Your Servant is reporting via Facebook that Jay Hajj of Mike's City Diner on Washington Street and Michael Fallman of the Plymouth-based British Beer Company are going to be working with James P. Robertson Jr. of Origen Property Management in Boston to buy the Locke-Ober property and open a restaurant in its space. Patrick states that the building will not be gutted (there had been rumors that this might happen), and that the new owners "fully intend to respect and preserve the rich, historic features and integrity of the first floor, and eventually open a new bar and restaurant in that space."

The new restaurant, as implied in an earlier article here, will not be called Locke-Ober, instead becoming a completely new dining spot (and it will not be a location of the British Beer Company, according to the post, nor will Mike's City Diner be moving there).

It appears that the deal could be completed in early to mid-November, though the new spot won't be open for at least a year.

[February 5, 2013 update: Eater Boston reports (via the City of Boston website) that a meeting is taking place tomorrow at Boston City Hall concerning the transfer of a liquor license from Locke-Ober to the new restaurant coming to the space, whose name could be "Winter Place" according to the post. (Please note that this may just be a working name and could certainly change.)]

The address for this upcoming restaurant is 3 Winter Place, Boston, MA, 02108.

[Earlier Article]
Locke-Ober in Boston Has Closed