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The city that always sleeps: North End to get Middle Eastern food, just not past midnight
By adamg on Wed, 03/27/2024 - 11:59am
The Boston Licensing Board decides tomorrow whether to grant a food-serving license to Fatima and Mahmood Ibrahim to open a 40-seat Middle-Eastern fusion restaurant at 115 Salem St. in the North End.
The husband-and-wife team had originally sought hours of 7 a.m. to 3 a.m. on weekends for Mood, but agreed to limit their closing time to 11 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and midnight Thursday through Saturday after vociferous objections from members of the North End/Waterfront Residents Association last night
NEWRA's David Kubiak praised the Ibrahims for agreeing to the change in what he called "a very productive, very helpful meeting" at which they couple realized that while residents would offer "significant support" for the restaurant, they were "rightly in opposition" to food service in the wee hours of the morning.
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Comments
Late night falafel is the best falafel
I lived in London in the mid 90s. There was a Middle Eastern takeout window near the Notting Hill tube stop called FALAFEL MACHINE! It was open after the tube closed and you had to take the night buses to get home. Good times were had with late night falafel snacks.
Well, Boston is the New
Well, Boston is the New London.
No, that would be New London.
No, that would be New London. Maybe 90 minutes to 2 hours from South Station by train.
Unless the restaurant serves alcohol ...
... how can it have any negative impact on the neighborhood, no matter how late it is open?
There should be no regulations on business hours.
Evidently someone has not
Evidently someone has not been near Bova's (which does not serve alcohol and is close to this location) when the late-night drunks start showing up. People actually live on Salem Street and they like to get some sleep occasionally. For some reason, it is hard for certain people to understand that the North End is primarily a residential neighborhood. Also, it is full of people who like to patronize local establishments. The owners of this restaurant made a good business decision by accommodating their neighbors and I predict that they will get lots of business from locals.
Everyone is drunk past 2 am
While I generally support places being able to stay open later, having people arriving and leaving (with the accompanying conversations that hungry drunk people generally have) could be a challenge in the very dense North End. 11pm seems OK as a starting point and, if they prove to be good neighbors, let it slide to 1 or 2 am.
Tight quarters
Been to that neighborhood?
Someone’s bed is about 20 feet from the front door of the restaurant. Someone else’s bed is about 15 feet from the kitchen exhaust fans.
Living in tight quarters means you don’t get to do whatever you want to do whenever you want to do it, when your neighbors are trying to sleep.
City that always sleeps?
Ever lived in Los Angeles? Much more similar to Boston closing times vs NYC. Boston is not particularly unique in this respect. NYC is fairly unique. But even that is changing.
I've lived in LA
or more specifically Santa Monica. I recall the area having many 24-hour restaurants, usually similar to a Denny's in style and menu.
I concur
Also lived in LA and my husband was raised there. There were/are 24 hour coffee shops (an not just Denny's) and lots of restaurants of all kinds open until the wee hours, even in the residential parts of LA and surrounding cities.
Boston is not anything like LA in terms of the restaurant scene.
Supported by the Neighborhood Council
It's worth noting that this proposal was unanimously supported by the North End Waterfront Neighborhood Council back in October. It's kind of frustrating that the Residents Association can unilaterally block this.
Edit: I should note that the Residents Association is full of very knowledgeable volunteers who contribute a great deal to the neighborhood. But it's frustrating to see this one-sided pseudo-representation have such an overwhelming sway in such matters.
This wasn't blocked by the
This wasn't blocked by the Residents Association. The City held an abutters meeting which was filled with angry neighbors who like to get some sleep occasionally. As a result, the operators changed their proposal. This gets them off to a good start with their neighbors who are most likely to be their regular customers. Tourists don't come to the North End to eat Middle Eastern food. One wonders what the Neighborhood Council was thinking of when they unanimously approved a 3:00 am closing. It is unlikely that any abutters were present - the group is not really on anyone's radar. It is worth noting that the members are not actually "elected." For years they have failed to get enough candidates to have a contested election. If you submit your name, you are automatically on the board. A "unanimous vote" usually involves 5 or 6 unelected people.
Abutters meeting is held by the Mayor's ONS?
You make some interesting points.
But the abutters meeting is run by the Mayors Office of Neighborhood Services, right? ONS didn't speak at the licensing hearing.
All fucking NIMBY liars
Bova's is 24 hours and 300 feet away...and not a damn thing would change if a falafel joint was open until 2 AM as well.