About Time: Belmont’s Craft Beer Cellar Named ‘Best of Boston’

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Each August, Boston magazine publishes its annual list of what’s “best” around Boston; the “best” new restaurant, sticky bun, bikini wax (?!) and what not.

There is a lot to quibble about the concept and how and who the magazine selects as the “best” – the magazine’s universe appears to be limited to a few miles emanating from its “axis mundi” at the border of Boston’s South End and Back Bay neighborhoods – the 2014 edition will be known for one selection Belmont residents have known since 2011: the Craft Beer Cellar is the “best” beer store in Boston.

“Much to the delight of local hopheads, this shop – opened in Belmont four years ago by Cambridge Common alums Suzanne Schalow and Kate Baker – is now spreading its sudsy gospel to new locations in Newton, Winchester, Braintree(,) and Westford,” says the magazine of the business that opened its doors on a cool November day at 51 Leonard St.

“In addition to offering tastings and classes, staffers take their inventory of ales and lagers quite seriously, regularly updating the varieties available at each store online (the newly open Newton Centre outpost alone carries more than 1,000 beers) and cataloging them by brewery, provenance(,) and style.”

And what Boston magazine acknowledges for eastern Massachusetts will soon be known around the US: the Cellar is opening stores in two new states – Maine (Portland) and New York (Warwick in Westchester county) – and is looking to Long Island and Los Angeles for possible locations.

Maybe we will see this headline in a few years: Best Beer Store in the US.

Belmont Savings Reports Solid Second Quarter

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The money keeps funneling into the vault of the Belmont Savings Bank as BSB Bancorp, Inc., the bank’s holding company, reported on Thursday, July 24, net income of $1 million, or 12 cents per basic and diluted share, for the quarter ended June 30, compared to net income of $361,000, or 4 cents per basic and diluted share, in the second quarter of 2013.

At June 30, the bank’s total assets topped $1.2 billion, an increase of $167.2 million or nearly 16 percent from $1.1 billion at December 31, 2013. The asset growth was funded by customer deposits and borrowings from the Federal Home Loan Bank, according to the bank’s press release.

“The bank is benefiting from positive operating leverage as revenue growth outstrips expense growth. Credit quality remains good,” said Robert M. Mahoney, the bank’s president and CEO. The bank is headquartered on Leonard Street in Belmont Center.

The bank experienced net loan growth of $148.3 million, or 18 percent, from December 31. Commercial real estate loans, residential mortgage loans, home equity loans and indirect auto loans increased by $38.7 million, $61.2 million, $18.4 million and $16.4 million, respectively.

On June 30, deposits totaled $891.9 million, an increase of $127.1 million or 17 percent from $764.8 million at December 31, 2013 with core deposits – which include all deposits other than CD’s and brokered CD’s – increased by $92.1 million.

“Q2 was another good quarter for deposit growth. The maturing of our three InStore branches and the ongoing growth of our municipal banking program drove both checking and savings deposits. In addition, new and expanding small business banking and commercial real estate customer relationships continue to be important contributors to this strong performance,” said Hal Tovin, executive vice president and COO.

Three of the bank’s six branches are located in Shaw’s or Star supermarkets in Waltham, Newton and Cambridge.

As of Monday, July 28, the bank’s stock – which is traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol BLMT – is about a dollar off its 52-week high of $18.20.

Espresso Lane: Starbucks is Coming to Belmont’s Star Market

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In the next six weeks, customers at Belmont’s Star Market at 535 Trapelo Rd. will not only be able to purchase their favorite package of Starbucks-brand coffee beans, they can get an iced vanilla latte on their way out.

According to staff at Star, a small Starbucks Coffee cafe will open in early September in a location near the flower department in the front of the store.

Those in the know said the Starbucks will be a licensed store owned and operated by an approved licensee, the Shaw’s Supermarket group, a 155-store group based in West Bridgewater.

A nearby example of such an arrangement is the Starbucks in the Target store in the Watertown Mall. Other familiar locations include inside airports, shopping food courts, college campuses, hospitals and even cruise ships. Eight years ago, Quincy-based Stop & Shop signed a contract with Starbucks, placing the chain’s licensed stores inside a limited number of supermarkets. 

While several licensed locations are fully operational stores, many are kiosks with a limited number of retail items such pastries or coffee selections.

According to the Starbuck’s website, “[t]hese retail locations are staffed by the licensee’s employees and they follow Starbucks training guidelines including beverage quality, store cleanliness, and creating the Starbucks Experience for our customers.”

“Through these locations, we are able to significantly increase customer accessibility to our products and brand, which, from a shareholder perspective, is also valuable because of the profit it contributes to the organization,” states Starbucks.

Making Belmont Shine for the Past 50 Years

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In 1964, the newly-opened Belmont Car Wash & Detailing on Trapelo Road was a small operation both is size and the number of people when Paul Tocci Sr. waved in the first car to be cleaned.

“We were in a much smaller site with 11 employees. That year we did 15,000 cars,” said Paul Tocci Jr. who owns the car wash with his brother, Adam.

“Last year, we did a 100,000 cars with 50 employees,” said Paul Jr. after he and Adam were joined by town dignitaries to cut a red ribbon to begin the celebration of the businesses half-century in the community.

During the day-long event, held on Saturday, June 21, the cost of a wash reverted back to 1964-era prices of $1 and $2, barbecue was served to customers, there were tours of the newly-renovated  building and popular radio celebs came by.

For the brothers, Saturday was a great day not just for their business but also for their father, who died a few years back.

“Everything we’ve done here is with our dad in mind. He was prominent in all of our planning,” said Adam.

“We hope he sees us and what we’ve done and he’s happy,” said Paul Jr.

And while the car wash is a business, Belmont Car Wash has become much more of a community resource.

“We call Belmont our hometown. We grew up here so giving back to the community is very important to us,” said Adam, who is the general manager.

Much of that outreach comes in terms of fundraising events that takes place at the site.

“We try to be as proactive as we can with all the community groups,” said Paul Jr. Adam said there are usually six large fundraisers a year with nearly weekly in raffles, charity auctions and sponsoring events.

“That’s part of being a good business neighbor,” said Paul Jr.

“Belmont Car Wash has been in Belmont five years more than I have,” said lifelong resident and Selectman Sami Baghdady. “So it is a staple to the Waverley Square area and to Belmont being a valuable service and it has employed many of our kids.

Will the brothers be around for the next 50 years?

“We won’t but our children will be around. It’s a generational thing. One of them will be here in 2064,” said Adam.

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Belmont Car Wash Celebrates 50th Anniversary with 1964 Prices

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It’s like “Hot Tub Time Machine” but for your car.

Belmont Car Wash & Detailing in Waverley Square will be marking a half century in business today, Saturday, June 21, by returning to 1964 prices; a buck for a Soft Touch wash (regularly $9.99) and $2 for the Super Shine wash (a $13.99 value) from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The ribbon cutting at the renovated facility at 521 Trapelo Rd. – adjacent Shaw’s Supermarket and the MBTA commuter rail line – will occur at 10 a.m. kicking off a full day of activities including food, entertainment, music, giveaways and a display of 1964-vintage autos.

One of Belmont’s longest running family-owned businesses – run today by Paul and Adam Tocci – recently finished a massive renovation to both the interior and exterior of the facility, making improvements to the wash-tunnel equipment as well as the customer waiting area. It is also known for activity supporting school and charitable causes by allowing them to fundraise at the site.

“This is an exciting time, and we are thrilled to be able to celebrate our anniversary with our community,” said General Manager Adam Tocci in a press release.

“Our father established this wash in 1964, and my brother and I continue to do everything we can to make sure Belmont Car Wash and the Tocci name are synonymous with good neighbors and strong business partners for the town.”

Final Cut: Frank’s Barber Shop Closes as Commercial Market Shifts

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Frank Cannalonga has been a Belmont barber for the past half century.
And if you count the first ten years spent with his brother-in-law’s shop in Watertown, it’s been 60 years “cutting hair,” Cannalonga said.
“I have been here 50 years at this barber chair. That’s a lot of standing,” said the 84-year-old Robinwood Road resident.
As satirist Fran Lebowitz observed that “you’re only as good as your last haircut,” then you couldn’t come to a better place than Frank’s Barber Shop at 113 Trapelo Rd. across the busy street from Starbucks and the town’s municipal parking lot.
Frank or his long-time partner, Fred Sacco, sits you down and gets to work, with a razor and scissors, sometimes both in the same hand. They show the efficiency of more than a century as barbers, cleanly making the unruly presentable with a preference to the “high and tight” style that has become fashionable again.
On one recent Saturday, a Watertown kid’s thatched thick hair is buzz cut into shape.
“He’s one big cow lick,” said the pre-teen’s mother to Frank as Fred puts the finishing touches on a regular, explaining he can now go home to his wife.
“I don’t know if I want to now,” he said laughing.
Not a “hipster” barber salons with names such as Gentlemens Choice or The Barbershop Lounge where cuts run up to $50, Frank’s doesn’t have on-line appointment scheduling (“Oh no,” said Frank when asked if the store has a Web page. “They know when we are open.”), leather couches or alternative music booming in the background.
Just a couple of threadbare chairs where customers or an appreciative parent can sit and talk in the two-chair establishment. A television is in the back “when the game is on,” lollipops nestled adjacent to the cash register at the ready for anyone who needs one, a plaque of appreciation from the Lions Club and a family photo on the shelf.
And the prices: $16 for the “regular”, three more of the “razor” cut. You can get your hair styled but “most come in for the regular,” said Cannalonga.
This coming Saturday, June 21, Frank’s will close like it always does around 4:30 p.m. but only after the last customer has been dusted with talcum powder and Frank rings in the sale.
It will also be the final Saturday for Frank’s, as the traditional barbershop shuts its door for the last time.
“And that will be it. I’ll come by a few days later to clean up the place and that will be it,” said Cannalonga.
In a trend that is becoming more familiar in Belmont this spring, as the state economy has recovered and the town awaits major development and infrastructure projects to start, commercial leases are either shooting skyward or existing businesses are not given the opportunity to renew their leases as landlords sights have turned to more lucrative enterprises.
Customers still park in the lot at what was once One Stop Market at the corner of Pleasant Street and Brighton Street only to be surprised to find the long-time convenience store locked and empty.
“Thanks for everything!” reads the sign at the front door.
Others are feeling the pinch. Gustazo Cuban Restaurant & Cafe at School and Trapelo is leaving for Waltham while other mom and pop shops wait to see what their owners are thinking.
Frank’s is one of those casualty of Belmont’s changing commercial scene.

“Well, I wasn’t quite ready. I could have worked another year or two before getting out. But I wasn’t even offered the chance so that’s where it is,” said Cannalonga. 

Frank’s landlord, Harry Misakian of Misakian Belmont LLC, which owns the commercial block that runs along Trapelo onto Common Street, could not be contacted.

Frank’s and his neighbors including the Christian Science Reading Room and  are leaving months before the first shovels are anticipated to hit the ground for the construction of Cushing Village, the 186,000 square foot development that will bring nearly 35,000 square feet of new retail and more than 110 high-end residential units to Cushing Square, across the street from Frank’s.
Rumors have an up-scale man’s salon occupying Frank’s spot.

What he will miss the most is the customers, “because after 50 years you build up quite a few friends,” said Cannalonga.
Sacco will soon be working for “our competitor across the way, a nice kid,” he said.
But there is no bitterness from Frank on leaving before he had hoped.
“It’s been a good run,” said Cannalonga.

Starbucks Trapelo Road Store Moving As Cushing Square Development Starts

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In the first-clear evidence the proposed 186,000 square foot-Cushing Village project in the heart of Belmont’s Cushing Square is set to get underway, the developer of the three-building residential, retail and parking complex will seek town approval to relocate for a year the Starbucks Coffee store at 112 Trapelo Road adjacent to the municipal parking lot to a currently occupied store front near the intersection of Belmont Street and Trapelo Road.

In a public filing with the town’s Community Development department, Chris Starr of Smith Legacy Partners is requesting two variances from the Zoning Board of Appeals to alter the entrance to 6-8 Trapelo Rd. and allow a temporary restaurant with 30 seats to be located at the site.

Starr states that the plan “is to have Starbucks return to Cushing Village” in 2015 when building is completed on the first structure of the complex which will occupy the municipal parking lot.

When Starbucks decamps back to Cushing Village, Starr said in statement that the improved site “will then continue to be used for the new use granted under the Special Permit.” It is not known what eatery that will replace the national coffee shop in 2015.

The meeting will take place on Monday, May 19 at 7 p.m. in the Belmont Art Gallery on the third floor of the Homer Building in the Town Hall complex.

There is no date in the documents when the move will take place.

The relocated Starbucks will occupy just under 800 square feet with occupancy for up to 52 people. It will be located just two store fronts from Moozy’s Ice Cream & Yogurt Emporium which is located at the corner of Belmont and Trapelo. 

The new location will not provide off street parking which Starbucks has at its current location

The relocation site houses a tailors store and a jewelers.

“It’s so exciting,” said Yun Cao, who owns the small Herb Spa located next to the site. “I am a small business so this will bring customers,” she said.

Located at the corner of Common Street and Trapelo, Cushing Village – which will also provide 245 parking spaces, 37,500 square feet of stores, a small grocery store, a fitness and health spa and a restaurant – was approved by the Planning Board in July 2013 after an 18-month hearing process. To date, the only activity to have taken place on the proposed development site has been remedial environment clearing.

Saturday’s Belmont Town Day Postponed As Rain Heads This Way

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With heavy rain anticipated to settle over the region this Saturday, the sponsors of Belmont’s Town Day have decided to put the annual day-long celebration on hold for a couple of weeks.

The Belmont Center Business Association made the decision to postpone the yearly event . Town Day will now be held on Saturday, May 31 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“I’m Mr. Positive,” said John Gallagher, a manager at Champions Sporting Goods who has spent the better part of the year setting up the annual event where Leonard Street is closed to traffic and businesses and organizations set up booths along side music, food and entertainment for kids.

While Belmont Town Day has been cancelled, it has never been postponed to a latter date.

“We spent three months planning this and we don’t want to kick it to the side,” said Gallagher, calling the vendors and participants to see if they would be around on the 31st which they were.

“Let’s keep our fingers crossed,” said Gallagher.

More information on Town Day can be found by visiting the Belmont Center Business Association’s website.

Brighton Street’s Loading Dock Lands Full-Liqour License … with Conditions

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Citing a chance to bring economic development to Brighton Street, the Belmont Board of Selectmen unanimously approved a full liquor license to The Loading Dock at 11 Brighton St. during a public meeting held before 90 residents and applicants at the Beech Street Center last night, Thursday, May 1.

“This is what I wanted for the store since I [first] arrived seven years ago,” said The Loading Dock’s owner and Belmont resident Faud Nicolas Mukarker after the vote.

Mukarker beat out applications from Waltham-based D&L Liquors and the Craft Beer Cellar of Belmont Center for the coveted full-liqour license, the only one to be presented.

The Belmont Board of Selectmen; (from left) Mark Paolillo, Andy Rojas and Sami Baghdady.

The Belmont Board of Selectmen; (from left) Mark Paolillo, Andy Rojas and Sami Baghdady.

While granting the license, the Selectmen placed a number of conditions on their approval, the most significant is that Mukarker must end the sale of tobacco and lottery tickets at the location as he transforms it into an “international bistro and cafeteria,” according to the Park Road resident.

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Drawings of the proposed beer, wine and liquor area in an anticipated renovated The Loading Dock on Brighton Street.

In addition, the store can not sell individual cans of beer or “nips” – a tiny taster bottle of liquor usually 50 milliliters which is about a shot of liquor – employees must under go training on controlling sales to minors, the portion of the store reserved for liquor can not exceed 750 square feet and the business must hold a certification of occupancy from the town when the long-anticipated renovation of the site is completed. 

Mukarker said he will complete renovations at the site – which is another condition the Board is requiring of the owner before he can operate with the license – by August, dedicating between 500- to 750-square feet (about a third of the store’s footprint) to beer, wine and liquor.

In a separate vote, the Board declined an application for a wine and beer license to LC Variety on Trapelo Road due to space, cleanliness and management issues.

The native of Jerusalem left a position at Fleet Bank to become the manager of the then-White Hen Pantry at the location in 2006 before buying the location in 2011.

Liquor, Beer & Wine Licenses to be Heard Thursday, Beech Street Center

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The Belmont Board of Selectmen will hold a public meeting on Thursday, May 1, at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St., at 6:30 p.m. to discuss the four applicants for the full-liquor and beer and wine retail licenses.

These are the first new permits to be made public after the State Legislature voted to approve a 2013 town meeting bylaw increasing the number of licenses.

The meeting is a continuation of the hearings held at 8 a.m. on April 22 that brought more than 50 residents to show their interest in the four applicants.

There are three applicants for the single all-alcohol license available this year are:
• Nicolas Market and Deli doing business as The Loading Dock; 11 Brighton St.
• Craft Beer Initiative doing business as Craft Beer Cellar; 51 Leonard St.
• D&L Wine and Spirits Inc. doing business as D & L Wine Shop; 334 Pleasant St.

For one of the two wine and beer licenses available this year is:
• Shri Manohar Corp. doing business as LC Variety; 326 Trapelo Rd.

Those interested residents are invited to attend the meeting and provide public comment on the retail liquor licenses under consideration.

If an individual or organization is unable to attend the hearing but wishes to express a comment or concern for the record, they must do so in writing, send it to the Selectmen’s Office, 455 Concord Ave., Belmont, Ma or via e-mail to: selectmen@belmont-ma.gov.

Written comments and concerns must be received in advance of the hearing if they are to be included.