Eye to the Skybar
Already generating a lot of media buzz, a new Downtown restaurant from Alex George (formerly of Just Curry and Cinema Taco fame) is poised to be one of the most anticipated openings of 2011. In fact, he says, “This is the most exciting event [of my career].”
Last week, the city’s Board of Architectural Review approved plans for the Commonwealth Restaurant & Skybar—currently the home of JohnSarahJohn and owned by Allan Cadgene and Gabe Silverman—that gave George (and his design-build team, Marthe Rowen and Alloy Workshop) the go-ahead to knock through a few of the 100′-long building’s exterior walls to make room for pocket windows and to, uh, raise the roof. George has plans to include a 25′ bar atop the restaurant (in addition to the one on the main floor) for dining en plein air. As for the menu, expect “new American cuisine with a South American influence,” sourced as locally as possible.
He’s thought of everything, from the position of the bathroom doors in relation to patrons to the patio surface’s convenience for ladies in heels. “It’s all about customer service and making it comfortable,” he says. “Everybody will give you one shot, but will they come back?”
George says he hopes construction on the space will begin this month and that he’s “seriously shooting for” a mid- to late-June opening.
New old-fashioned
Attention, hungry Belmonters: The renovation of Gibson’s Grocery, at the corner of Hinton Avenue and Avon Street, is nearly complete. The store, which entered renovation mode November 2009, will re-open Saturday, February 26. Chris Gibson, whose dad started the shop in 1977, says, “It still has an old country store feeling, even though it’s been remodeled.”
Gibson’s will offer Lovingston-based Trager Brothers coffee, subs, deli meats, salads and ice cream. Hours are Monday-Saturday, 8am-8pm.
