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&D Deli site may become the town?s 16th sushi restaurant
By Jessica Scarpati
Brookline - Brookline was already in the double-digits as far as sushi joints go, but it?s about to reach the sweet 16 ? at a location where many locals had hoped for a casual, affordable breakfast nook.
Although no permits have been approved yet, applications for a posh and pricey Japanese restaurant called ?Bon? have been filed for 1653 Beacon St., the former site of the beloved and long-empty B&D Deli.
But its reps said Bon will not just be another sushi restaurant in the Brookline landscape.
?What it is is very high-end, contemporary Japanese cuisine ? so it?s not just sushi ? as it is explained to me,? said Carolyn Conway, the lawyer representing Bon. ?Although there are a lot of sushi restaurants out there, this will just be a cut above.?
Conway said the price range for entrees at Bon would be in the $31 to $40 range. If everything is approved, she said the restaurant would open late summer or early fall.
?They?re going to try to use as many local ingredients as possible,? she said. ?But you?re going to see a lot of exotic fish from Japan and see, the way as it?s explained to me, the nouveau Japanese cuisine as if you were to go to Tokyo.?
But has Brookline reached a sushi saturation point? One local expert said not necessarily.
?We have to be careful because even though the core product is maybe similar ? that we offer sushi in each of these restaurants ? the major difference is they target different markets,? said Peter Szende, a Linden Street resident and international restaurant and hotel marketing professional.
?The sushi restaurants go from fast food to mid-scale, family-style dining all the way up to fine dining,? said Szende, who teaches food and beverage management at Boston University.
Szende said sushi has grown into a ?huge trend? in the restaurant industry because it seen as healthy and customizable while allowing diners to sample and share. It also does well because it sees little competition from chains, he added.
Though Szende said he had other reasons to doubt Bon?s future.
?I don?t think they can become a neighborhood restaurant as an upscale Japanese [place],? he said. ?The average Brookline crowd needs ?casual upscale? and up to the lower end of upscale. Look a the huge success of Panera.?
According to paperwork filed with the town in early December, chef and manager Kazuhiro Aotani, who owns Shino Express Sushi on Newbury Street, would lead the restaurant with Yuka Cummings.
Conway said Cummings has ?a long history of being in the restaurant business? on the business-side, working with the local chain Jae?s Caf? & Grill.
?They?re two young up-and-comers,? Conway said.
Meanwhile, documents stated the restaurant will undergo a half-million dollars worth of renovations and is in a lease that lasts until March 31, 2022, signaling strong confidence in the project.
?Fifteen years is the outer end for a restaurant lease,? Conway said. ?But what it does is it gives the restaurant a good boost because it has the ability to stay there a long time. It?s something that lends value.?
Szende, the BU professor, said he couldn?t comment on whether the lease was unusual, he said new seafood restaurants tend to fare better than other cuisines.
?If you think about a sushi restaurant itself, my gut feeling says that the startup costs are lower than many other concepts,? he said. ?They don?t need a lot of equipment ? and can use more space for guests, which can also help them potentially survive.?
Application materials also indicated the restaurant would have 18 seats outdoors and plans to be a late-night wining-and-dining destination. Tenants applied for a full liquor license and to play music until 2 a.m.
Conway said the restaurant would have an array of sake wines and an in-house sommelier.
Although Aotani will serve as manager, the permits were filed under financial trust called Bon LLC, which names the property?s owner, Frank Taw, as one of its shareholders with one-third interest. Aotani and Cummings held the other two-thirds of the trust.
Taw, owner of the neighboring Golden Temple, who has long declined to say anything about plans for the site, referred questions about the restaurant to the trust?s lawyer, Conway.
By Jessica Scarpati
Brookline - Brookline was already in the double-digits as far as sushi joints go, but it?s about to reach the sweet 16 ? at a location where many locals had hoped for a casual, affordable breakfast nook.
Although no permits have been approved yet, applications for a posh and pricey Japanese restaurant called ?Bon? have been filed for 1653 Beacon St., the former site of the beloved and long-empty B&D Deli.
But its reps said Bon will not just be another sushi restaurant in the Brookline landscape.
?What it is is very high-end, contemporary Japanese cuisine ? so it?s not just sushi ? as it is explained to me,? said Carolyn Conway, the lawyer representing Bon. ?Although there are a lot of sushi restaurants out there, this will just be a cut above.?
Conway said the price range for entrees at Bon would be in the $31 to $40 range. If everything is approved, she said the restaurant would open late summer or early fall.
?They?re going to try to use as many local ingredients as possible,? she said. ?But you?re going to see a lot of exotic fish from Japan and see, the way as it?s explained to me, the nouveau Japanese cuisine as if you were to go to Tokyo.?
But has Brookline reached a sushi saturation point? One local expert said not necessarily.
?We have to be careful because even though the core product is maybe similar ? that we offer sushi in each of these restaurants ? the major difference is they target different markets,? said Peter Szende, a Linden Street resident and international restaurant and hotel marketing professional.
?The sushi restaurants go from fast food to mid-scale, family-style dining all the way up to fine dining,? said Szende, who teaches food and beverage management at Boston University.
Szende said sushi has grown into a ?huge trend? in the restaurant industry because it seen as healthy and customizable while allowing diners to sample and share. It also does well because it sees little competition from chains, he added.
Though Szende said he had other reasons to doubt Bon?s future.
?I don?t think they can become a neighborhood restaurant as an upscale Japanese [place],? he said. ?The average Brookline crowd needs ?casual upscale? and up to the lower end of upscale. Look a the huge success of Panera.?
According to paperwork filed with the town in early December, chef and manager Kazuhiro Aotani, who owns Shino Express Sushi on Newbury Street, would lead the restaurant with Yuka Cummings.
Conway said Cummings has ?a long history of being in the restaurant business? on the business-side, working with the local chain Jae?s Caf? & Grill.
?They?re two young up-and-comers,? Conway said.
Meanwhile, documents stated the restaurant will undergo a half-million dollars worth of renovations and is in a lease that lasts until March 31, 2022, signaling strong confidence in the project.
?Fifteen years is the outer end for a restaurant lease,? Conway said. ?But what it does is it gives the restaurant a good boost because it has the ability to stay there a long time. It?s something that lends value.?
Szende, the BU professor, said he couldn?t comment on whether the lease was unusual, he said new seafood restaurants tend to fare better than other cuisines.
?If you think about a sushi restaurant itself, my gut feeling says that the startup costs are lower than many other concepts,? he said. ?They don?t need a lot of equipment ? and can use more space for guests, which can also help them potentially survive.?
Application materials also indicated the restaurant would have 18 seats outdoors and plans to be a late-night wining-and-dining destination. Tenants applied for a full liquor license and to play music until 2 a.m.
Conway said the restaurant would have an array of sake wines and an in-house sommelier.
Although Aotani will serve as manager, the permits were filed under financial trust called Bon LLC, which names the property?s owner, Frank Taw, as one of its shareholders with one-third interest. Aotani and Cummings held the other two-thirds of the trust.
Taw, owner of the neighboring Golden Temple, who has long declined to say anything about plans for the site, referred questions about the restaurant to the trust?s lawyer, Conway.