Zoning Committee Votes to Support Tip Tap Room Proposal

The Beacon Hill Zoning and Licensing Committee gave the proposed Tip Tap Room its blessing after owner Gordon F. Wilcox, who also owns the Parish Café and Rattlesnake Bar and Grill in Back Bay, went before the committee to answer neighborhood questions about his proposed pub-style restaurant at 138 Cambridge St., the site of the former Shangri-La restaurant.

Wilcox was asking the committee not to oppose his application with the City of Boston Licensing Board to transfer Shangri-La's C.V. 7-day All Alcoholic Beverage License with 2:00 a.m. closing. The board voted unimously not to oppose the application.

Wilcox has leased the premises for a term of 15 years and proposes to substantially renovate the interior and façade of the property. The restaurant will be a "chef-driven" operation under Executive Chef Brian Poe.

To see the proposed floor plan, menu and a biography of Poe, click here. 

Wilcox, his lawyer James Byrne, Poe and architect David Rubino appeared before the committee and concerned neighbors. 

John A. Forger, owner of Forger Realty, said he and others had been looking for a while for a good tenant and had been approached by nightclubs, which he turned down. “We’ve got to great length to makes sure we have the right players.” Working since January to find the right tenant," Forger said. 

After listening to the discussion, George Gilpatrick, who lives between Ridgeway lane and Temple Street said he is in favor of The Tip Tap Room's proposal. “We choose to live in an urban environment – to be close to commerce,” he said. “We look forward to opening day, to having you guys as a neighbor.”

Below is an edited version of the questions put to Wilcox and others, and their responses. 

Q. Will there be take-out?

A. The Tip Tap Room is not applying for a take-out license.

Q. Many neighbors expressed the concern whether the new establishment will be more of a restaurant than a bar.  What is the percentage of alcohol to food that The Tip Tap Rooms plans to sell?  

A. 60/40 food-to-alcohol sales anticipated (James Byrnes)

Q. Might you agree to close the establishment at midnight instead of 2 a.m.?  If not every night, would you agree to do so during the week?

A: Byrnes: “We’re going to have to say no, respectfully. The license is being purchased as a 2 o’clock license.”

Q. Will you require customers to order food with drinks in order to get seating? 

A: Byrnes: “There’s really not a restaurant in the city that can require a customer to do that.”

Gordon F. Wilcox: "Everyone will be offered a menu. There won't be cocktail tables, only regular 24x30" tables that remain set for dinner. 

Zoning Committee Chairman Tom Clemens noted that the licensing board can make a stipulation that all alcohol has to be served with food.

Q. What entertainment, if any, do you plan to offer?  And will you confirm that the establishment will not seek an entertainment license?

A. There will be no live entertainment. There will be some background music and some TVs (usually with the sound completely off) but it won't be a sports bar. 

Wilcox: “This is totally chef-driven. This is totally about food ... Our feeling is the bars don’t last; restaurants last.”

Q. Will you agree to install lighting in the back and the side of the restaurant? Ridgeway Lane is particularly dark because there is no lighting currently on the back and side of the restaurant and it allows a dark space for people to cause trouble. Will you agree that any lighting installed use BHCA standards (that it be shielded and pointed down)?

A. Byrnes: "Absolutely."

Q. Will there be daily trash pick-up?  If not, what will be the pick-up schedule?  Where will trash be storage while waiting for pick up?

A. The trash will be collected by a private vendor between 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. It can be kept inside.

Q. Do you anticipate marketing to Suffolk students?  At the meeting, the representatives indicated that they thought the price point at which you will sell will discourage students.

A. Wilcox: “We aren’t gearing any of our business toward student. We don’t want that business.” The price point wouldn’t make for a college hangout. Hasn’t happened at [The Parish Cafe and Rattlesnake Bar and Grill].

Q. What are your plans to keep the sidewalks and back clean?  This was an issue with Shangri-La and continues to be an issue with Subway. What are your plans regarding snow removal in winter? This was an issue with Shangri-La.

A. Byrnes: We have a staff that sweeps multiple times daily. Same with shoveling. We don’t want to make the area comfortable out front. There will be no bench, in order to discourage smoking.

Q. Do you plan to have windows that open along Cambridge Street? 

A. --(Architect??)We are going to open up the facade and get some natural light, allowing some visibility into the restaurant. It will be done in a warm, gray stucco and some wood elements would be added. We would remove the awning but the overhang will remain. There will be shielded lighting and signage will be minimal. All of the existing infrastructure would be removed and replaced, including the exhaust system. The goal is to push the bar back into the restaurant, so that tables are by the windows.

Q. What is the plan to upgrade the HVAC and kitchen ventilation systems?  There were noise and smell issues with Shangri-La.

A. There will be all new, state-of-the-art equipment, including filters, installed. 

Wilcox: Most exhuast problems are caused by grease filters not being properly maintained. We wash and change our filters daily at our restaurants. 

Q. What is your waste disposal plan?  Shangri La apparently dumped waste down the sewer on Cambridge Street.

A. We will properly dispose of waste and won't run gray water down Cambridge Street. 

Q. Will you have a doorman as you do at your other establishments?

A. Yes.

Q. Do you have any plans for parking for customers? Will there be valet service?

A. No.

Q. What do you plan to use as the opening time each day?

A. 11 a.m. or 11:30 a.m.

Q. How will deliveries be made? What is your anticipated schedule for deliveries?

A. Wilcox: We don’t take them after 2 p.m. Mostly in the morning, around 8 a.m. or 9 a.m.

Q. What are your plans to discourage staff and customers from smoking immediately outside the front and rear (Ridgeway Lane) doors of your establishment?

A. Wilcox: Our employees are not allowed to smoke at work, inside or outside.

Q. Are you willing to sign a Good Neighbor Agreement memorializing any agreements you reach with the BHCA?

A. Byrnes: Conceptually, we don’t have a problem with it but we can’t be responsible for the location for 50 years (as stated in the contract), only for what we do there."