Crane River Cheese Club Is Opening Storefront in Boston's Beacon Hill Neighborhood

A delivery service on the North Shore that offers specialty groceries is expanding to a storefront in downtown Boston.

According to a Facebook post from Nick Giannotti of The Tip Tap Room on Cambridge Street in Beacon Hill, Crane River Cheese Club is planning to open a provisions shop next to the restaurant in the former Subway space, and based on the offerings from the Danvers-based delivery business, expect to find such items as bread, cheese, eggs, meats, poultry, seafood, vegetables, specialty oils, and more. Crane River Cheese Club was started by The Tip Tap Room's Brian Poe during the pandemic, offering the delivery of goods to communities mostly north of Boston.

The address for Crane River Cheese Club is 138 Cambridge Street, Boston, MA, 02114. Its website is at https://cranerivercheeseclub.com/

[August 2 update: A Facebook post from the place indicates that Crane River Cheese Club is now open in Beacon Hill.]

by Marc Hurwitz (Also follow us on Twitter at @hiddenboston)

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[A related post from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): List of Restaurant Closings and Openings in the Boston Area]

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NOTE: Leslie Hurwitz, who is the father of Marc (the founder of this site) is currently dealing with health issues and needs your help. Please donate if you can at https://gofund.me/76d8ba28, thanks!

Boon Noon Market Is Opening in the Former Thailand Cafe Space in East Arlington

A new Asian restaurant is on its way to East Arlington, taking over the space that had been home to another Thai spot.

According to a poster within The Arlington List Facebook group page, Boon Noon Market is opening in the former Thailand Cafe space in East Arlington, with an article in Your Arlington confirming this. The article mentions that the new spot will focus on Asian Thai fusion fare, while a picture posted on The Arlington List shows that the restaurant will also apparently include a Thai grocery within the space.

The address for Boon Noon Market is 161 Massachusetts Avenue, Arlington, MA, 02474.

[April 26, 2022 update: A poster within the Friends of Boston's Hidden Restaurants Facebook group page mentions that Boon Noon Market is now open.]

by Marc Hurwitz (Also follow us on Twitter at @hiddenboston)

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[A related post from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): List of Restaurant Closings and Openings in the Boston Area]

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The City of Boston to Allow Restaurants to Sell Grocery Items

Early last week, it was reported that the Boston Inspectional Services had told at least one restaurant to stop selling groceries because it did not have the needed permitting to do so. Now we have learned that the rules are apparently being relaxed, though the exact details are still on the way.

According to WBZ 1030, the office of Mayor Marty Walsh is saying that dining spots in Boston will be able to sell grocery items, with specific information coming from the mayor in his press conference later today. This jibes with one of our sources telling us that there will be some kind of change of wording that allows restaurants to be able to do so, though we probably won't know more until the press conference.

A couple of weeks ago, it appeared that at least a handful of Boston dining spots were offering groceries along with takeout/delivery options in order to help stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic, but a few days later the city apparently started to crack down on this if the places didn't have what would appear to be a Food Service Health Permit. Other cities and towns in the Boston area are now allowing restaurants to be able to sell grocery items at least until the restaurant restrictions are lifted, including Arlington and Somerville.

[April 24 update: Mayor Marty Walsh said in his press conference this afternoon that restaurants are indeed now being allowed to sell groceries, including produce, paper products, and more. The dining spots will need to follow safety, packaging, and labeling guidelines, and they should sent a health safety operations plan to the licensing board. (Walsh also thanked the city of Somerville and Mayor Curtatone for helping Boston hash out its plans.)]

[Earlier Articles]
More and More Boston-Area Dining Spots Offering Groceries to the Public
City of Boston Cracking Down on Restaurants Selling Grocery Items

by Marc Hurwitz (Also follow us on Twitter at @hiddenboston)

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[A related post from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): List of Restaurant Closings and Openings in the Boston Area]

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Could "Restaurmarts" Become a Hot New Concept in a Post-Pandemic World?

An article that was posted here last week looked at one dining concept that could take off once the coronavirus crisis lessens--the ghost kitchen--and now another concept is being looked at as a possible booming subcategory within the restaurant industry.

Based on an article in Forbes, it appears that the "restaurmart" could be a big player in the future, especially considering that cities and towns across the country, including Arlington and Somerville, are currently allowing restaurants to sell grocery items until restrictions are lifted on dining and drinking spots. The question is, will at least some restaurants decide to continue to sell groceries once things get better, either by applying for the required permits that will be going back into place, and/or perhaps seeing cities and towns make it easier for dining spots to acquire the needed permits? This remains to be seen, but as Forbes says, Sysco (which is a food distributor) has already begun something called a "Sysco Pop Up Shop" which helps restaurants sell "essential" products in addition to its usual food/drink items, while chains such as Panera are now offering an array of grocery items to customers.

Forbes also notes that one chain has actually done very well with their own version of the "restaurmart" concept over the years--Cracker Barrel, a Southern-style chain of eateries that features combination restaurants/country stores and which also sells some of its products in a variety of supermarkets.

by Marc Hurwitz (Also follow us on Twitter at @hiddenboston)

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[A related post from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): List of Restaurant Closings and Openings in the Boston Area]

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City of Somerville Allowing Restaurants to Sell Groceries

Late last week, it was reported that a Boston suburb would be allowing restaurants to sell grocery items. Now we have learned that one of its neighbors is now doing this as well.

According to an emergency order page, the city of Somerville is letting restaurants offer groceries along with takeout and/or delivery, with Mayor Curtatone and the Board of Health saying that zoning and/or licensing requirements allowing groceries to be sold are being waived until the restrictions on restaurants are lifted. The note does say, however, that dining spots that have not sold groceries in the past need to give the Director of Inspectional Services a detailed operations and safety plan for storing and distributing goods. Currently, only one restaurant listed on the somervilledelivers.com site is offering groceries--Earls at Assembly Row.

Early last week, the town of Arlington had reportedly told a restaurant and bar to stop selling grocery items, though the situation was quickly resolved where approved restaurants would be able to sell groceries directly to residents until restrictions were lifted, waiving the $150 permit fee and having a special notice put up in the windows of eateries doing it in order to let people know.

Last month, Somerville, Arlington, and all other communities in Massachusetts were required to have their dining rooms and bar areas shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, instead allowing only takeout and/or delivery.

[Earlier Articles]
Arlington Tells Dining/Drinking Spot to Stop Selling Grocery Items Without Correct Permitting
Town of Arlington to Allow Restaurants to Sell Groceries

by Marc Hurwitz (Also follow us on Twitter at @hiddenboston)

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[A related post from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): List of Restaurant Closings and Openings in the Boston Area]

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Town of Arlington to Allow Restaurants to Sell Groceries

Earlier this week, it was reported that a Boston suburb had told a restaurant and bar to stop selling grocery items. Now we have learned that the town will be easing the restrictions in light of the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

According to a source, the town of Arlington is setting up a process that will allow dining and drinking spots to sell groceries, with a Facebook post from Select Board member Diane Snell Mahon confirming this, saying that "In an effort to make sure residents can get the essentials they need and to help local businesses stay in business, Arlington is to allow our restaurants to start selling groceries. Approved restaurants will be able to sell their inventory, including meat, eggs and milk directly to residents in Arlington." In addition, the town is waiving the $150 permit fee for the selling of grocery items, while a special notice will be put up in the windows of places that are doing this in order to let people know. An article in Your Arlington mentions that Town Manager Adam Chapdelaine gives praise to the Health Department for such a quick solution to this problem, saying that "These are extraordinary circumstances, and with everything going on surrounding Covid-19, I am very proud of our Health Department for quickly developing a process that will help businesses and keep residents safe at the same time." The post does indicate that the easing of restrictions will end once the restaurant shutdown is lifted.

It is not yet known if the city of Boston will be working out a similar compromise with restaurants and bars that are located there; earlier, it was reported that the Boston Inspectional Services had notified at least one dining spot that it could not sell groceries unless it had what appeared to be a Food Service Health Permit.

[Earlier Article]
Arlington Tells Dining/Drinking Spot to Stop Selling Grocery Items Without Correct Permitting

by Marc Hurwitz (Also follow us on Twitter at @hiddenboston)

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[A related post from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): List of Restaurant Closings and Openings in the Boston Area]

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Update: Arlington Tells Dining/Drinking Spot to Stop Selling Grocery Items Without Correct Permitting

[Ed note: This article was edited on April 15 to reflect new information given, including the fact that only one spot was apparently warned, and that it isn't necessarily a townwide ban.]

Yesterday, it was reported that the city of Boston has been telling restaurants to stop selling grocery items if they don't have the correct permit, and now we have learned that another community in the local area has gone a similar route with a place in town as well.

According to a source, the Arlington Health Department has told a dining and drinking spot that it cannot sell groceries without the correct permitting and that it would need to apply for such a permit (which would apparently be some sort of food retail permit) in order to be able to do so. This is somewhat similar to what Boston is doing, as the Boston Inspectional Services is notifying restaurants that they cannot sell groceries unless they have what appears to be a Food Service Health Permit. It is not yet known if other restaurants and bars in Arlington have been warned about this, and it is also not known if the business in Arlington (or the ones affected in Boston) will try to appeal, especially considering that it would just be a temporary situation; if we hear of any developments on this front, we will post an update here.

According to a source within the town government in Arlington, this is not a townwide ban on restaurants being able to sell groceries, but it does appear that a restaurant can only do so if it has the correct permitting.

Some restaurants in the Boston area recently started to offer grocery items along with takeout/delivery options as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the local and national restaurant industry.

Thanks to Drew Starr for initially bringing this to our attention via the Friends of Boston's Hidden Restaurants Facebook group page.

[Earlier Article]
City of Boston Cracking Down on Restaurants Selling Grocery Items

by Marc Hurwitz (Also follow us on Twitter at @hiddenboston)

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[A related post from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): List of Restaurant Closings and Openings in the Boston Area]

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City of Boston Cracking Down on Restaurants Selling Grocery Items

Late last week, it was reported that some restaurants in the Greater Boston area were starting to sell grocery items while also offering takeout and/or delivery, and now we have learned that those dining spots within the city itself are apparently going to have to stop doing this.

According to a source, the Boston Inspectional Services is notifying restaurants that they can no longer sell groceries because they do not have a permit to sell them, so they would need to get approval by regulators to be able to act as a retail grocery store (it appears that they would need what is called a Food Service Health Permit). As mentioned earlier, a similar setup was being done by dining spots in Los Angeles, with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health ultimately allowing them to sell grocery items even without grocery permits, as long as some restrictions were followed including listing grocery items on menus and not allowing popup-style markets to be set up within interior dining rooms.

It isn't yet known if other communities in the Boston area are not allowing dining spots to sell grocery items, either, though a handful of restaurants in cities and towns around Boston were either doing this or planning on doing so.

[Earlier Article]
More and More Boston-Area Dining Spots Offering Groceries to the Public

by Marc Hurwitz (Also follow us on Twitter at @hiddenboston)

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[A related post from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): List of Restaurant Closings and Openings in the Boston Area]

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More and More Boston-Area Dining Spots Offering Groceries to the Public

Last week, it was reported that restaurants in Los Angeles were given approval to sell grocery items, and now we have learned that this rather novel concept has come to the local area as well.

According to multiple posts on social media including a tweet from @BOSFoodTours and a post within the Friends of Boston's Hidden Restaurants Facebook group page, dining spots in and around Boston are now offering groceries, with some examples including Adventure Pub in Arlington selling eggs, milk, flour, meats, produce, and more; Mei Mei in the Fenway area of Boston offering grocery boxes; Forge Baking Company in Somerville having some groceries as well; Panera setting up something called "Panera Grocery" which includes dairy products and produce; and Hi-Rise Bread in Cambridge, which is apparently having "something in the works, too, including milk" according to @BOSFoodTours.

As reported earlier, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health decided to allow restaurants to sell grocery items in addition to the usual takeout, pickup, and delivery that so many restaurants are restricted to during the pandemic, with suggested guidelines including listing grocery items on menus and not allowing popup-style markets to be set up within dining rooms inside.

[Earlier Article]
News Elsewhere: Los Angeles Restaurants Given Approval to Sell Grocery Items

by Marc Hurwitz (Also follow us on Twitter at @hiddenboston)

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[A related post from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): List of Restaurant Closings and Openings in the Boston Area]

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News Elsewhere: Los Angeles Restaurants Given Approval to Sell Grocery Items

One of the largest cities in America is allowing restaurants to do something rather creative to help them stay in business as the coronavirus crisis continues.

According to an article in the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is letting restaurants sell grocery items, with dining spots offering such items as produce, milk,  meats, flour, grains, canned goods, prepared foods, and more while also being allowed to do the usual takeout, pickup, and delivery that many of the country's restaurants are currently offering. There has been some confusion as to whether this could actually be done without grocery permits, though the rules have been relaxed a bit with suggested guidelines including listing grocery items on menus and not setting up popup-style markets within dining rooms, as the dining areas are supposed to be shut down to the public.

It is not known if this type of model might end up being looked at by Boston or other cities, or if it would even be allowed, for that matter.

by Marc Hurwitz (Also follow us on Twitter at @hiddenboston)

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[A related post from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): List of Restaurant Closings and Openings in the Boston Area]

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