August 21, 2014
North Cambridge Senior Center 2050 Massachusetts Avenue
Agenda
- Bagelsaurus
- Akai Ryu Shabu & Sushi
- Slate Building
Bagelsaurus
Bagelsaurus is a hand-made bagel shop moving from a pop-up store open two days a week in Brookline Village to a permanent location in Porter Square, at the former Rosie's Bakery at 1797 Massachusetts Avenue. Owner and Cambridge resident Mary Ting Hyatt introduced herself and the shop. She plans to open 7AM to 3PM, selling 12 varieties of hand-made bagels at around $2.50. Planned opening date is mid-October.
Akai Ryu Shabu & Sushi
Aku Ryu Shabu & Sushi opened June 19 in the Porter Square Galleria building (the upstairs portion of the previous Uno space.) Owner Wen Biao “Bill” Zou, general manager Allan Yee, and attorney John Shinn introduced themselves. Their menu is varied and attractive, but their business has been poor because they don’t have a liquor license even for beer and wine. People have walked out when they get the bad news, which one attendee confirmed as her likely response to this unpleasant discovery. They are applying to re-activate the “no value, no transfer” license previously held by Uno’s; the hearing is September 9. The consensus in the room is that we would like to see them succeed and have no problem with their having a liquor license.
Slate Building
George Katis and Jeff Hirsh of StoneRiver Properties showed us the latest image of their planned replacement for the Bob Slate building. It is a four-story combined retail and residential building with space for three ground floor shops and 19 residential apartments plus one attached single family in back. The residential parking is a surface lot in the back that is masked by the building and a curb cut on Allen Street. The loading zone on Allen Street is the only vehicle accommodation available for the retail tenants. We liked the way the building looked in the picture. Some were particularly happy that it blocks out the lamentable development next door and found poetic justice in that the large south-facing windows of its penthouse would soon offer a commanding view of a brick wall. StoneRiver is in the process of applying for a building permit and negotiating with contractors, and hope to start in late September, with a 10-12 month building schedule and opening on August 1, 2015.