Let’s Eat: Trio of Eateries before Zoning Board of Appeals

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Photo: The location where a businessman hopes to open a pizzeria on Park Avenue. 

Three restaurants will come seeking special permits before the Zoning Board of Appeals on Monday, July 13, and while two – near neighbors on Trapelo Road – appear to face perfunctory review for approval, one already has neighbors opposing its location at the intersection of Belmont Hill and Route 2. 

The ZBA meeting is taking place at 7 p.m. in the Homer Building.

George Rozopoulos, a well-known Wilmington pizzeria owner who comes from the family which established the Pizza Lover’s chain on the North Shore, is seeking to lease the former Belmont Market at 92 Park Ave. adjacent the overpass and the access road onto Route 2 and bordering Arlington, and open Rizzo’s Roast Beef & Pizza.

“Belmont is a beautiful town,” said Rozopoulos in his statement of interest, a place where “parents can walk … and kids ride bikes to grab a bite.”

“This location will be cool and hip inside and the walls will be covered with memorabilia,” said Rozopoulos, which recently was the home of Olive Market and Deli. 

Rozopoulos will serve essentially the same menu as he does at this Wilmington, Peabody and Salem locations, such as pizzas, calzones, hot and cold sandwiches, rice bowls and subs. 

The shop will have 18 seats, using the existing nine parking spaces in the area. Rozopoulos hopes to have up to 20 outdoor seasonal seating.

Yet some neighbors are rather bothered that a pizza place will be located at the edge of the residential neighborhoods. Two couples have objected to the special permit request, citing traffic – Park Avenue is rather congested for about an hour in the morning and evening rush – parking and health concerns as there is reportedly past encounters with “mice and rats” from the past businesses.

• • •

Adjacent to the newly-opened Studio Cinema, a Foxboro-based soup restaurant is seeking to occupy the former home of Cafe Burrito.

As reported in the Belmontonian this spring, owner Jose Rios wants to bring his concept of 8 to 12 daily soups as he does at his shop Spoodles Soup Factory at 374 Trapelo Rd. The restaurant, open Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., will serve fresh salads, wraps and sandwiches along with a variety of soups from the staples such as chicken noodle to the adventurous chipotle sweat potato or chicken enchilada. 

The 768 square-foot location will have 13 seats and employ five workers.

• • •

Number One Taste, the Chinese take-out at 382 Trapelo Rd., will be changing owners with Jack Sy seeking to take over the business from the current owners. He will keep the same menu and name as well as same hours; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Sunday to Thursday; and open until midnight on Friday and Saturday. 

“This will be a family business. We want to have this business because cooking is a passion and we take pride in what we serve,” said the resident from Boston’s South End.

Special Town Meeting Set for Thursday, August 6

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Photo: Belmont Center under construction. 

The Special Town Meeting called by residents seeking to reverse last-minute changes to the $2.8 million Belmont Center Reconstruction Project will take place on Thursday, Aug. 6, according to a notice released on Monday, July 13.

On Thursday, July 16 at 8 a.m., the Belmont Board of Selectmen will meet at Town Hall to vote to open and close the warrant before voting on the date. 

Still up in the air is the meeting’s location. Town Meetings are held in the auditoriums of either Belmont High School or the Chenery Middle School. Last week, Town Clerk Ellen Cushman said she would seek to hold the assembly at the Chenery as it has air conditioning.

Town Meeting’s traditional start time is 7 p.m.

The Special Town Meeting was called after a group of residents presented a citizen’s petition calling for the return of the project’s original design which included a prominent Town “Green” and removal of the cut through between Moore Street and Concord Avenue after the Selectmen voted on May 28 to keep the bypath and locate four parallel parking spot in front of the Belmont Savings Bank.  

The Selectmen will take the non-binding vote “under advisement” and decide at a public meeting whether to follow Town Meeting’s “instruction” or set it aside.

This Week: A Trip to Iran, Airplane NOISE! and ‘Le quatorze juillet’

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Photo: Barry Pell’s photograph of Iran.

On the government side of the week: 

  • The Zoning Board of Appeals is meeting in the Belmont Gallery of Art, third floor of the Homer Building in the Town Hall complex, on Monday, July 13, at 7 p.m. 
  • The long-delayed Cushing Village project will come for a review and approval of decorum standards at the Planning Board which meets on Monday, July 13, at 7 p.m.  
  • The Net Metering Working Group will continue its accelerated meeting agenda gathering on Monday, July 13, and Wednesday, July 15, both at Town Hall at 7:30 p.m.
  • The Belmont Historic District Commission meets on Tuesday, July 14, at 7 p.m. at Town Hall to evaluate the Stephen Frost House (1763), 467 Pleasant St., which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the United States. Frost was on his way to the battle of Concord on April 19, 1775 when he came across a group of Arlington minutemen who needed a leader. He took command and later in the day capture a supply train. 

• Tuesday, July 14 is “Le quatorze juillet” Bastille Day! 

• Pre-School Story Time at the Benton Library, Belmont’s independent and volunteer run library, at 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, July 14. Stories and crafts for children age 3 to 5. Parents or caregivers must attend. Siblings may attend with adults. Registration is not required. The Benton Library is located at the intersection of Oakley and Old Middlesex.

• Noon movies for children on Tuesday, July 14, noon to 1 p.m., in the Assembly Room of the Belmont Public Library.

• Barry Pell will give a talk on Iran-Persian Glory and Islamic Revolution at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St., on Tuesday, July 14, at 1:15 p.m. Pell traveled 4,000 miles through the country’s magnificent landscape, visiting historic cities and monuments and meeting with Iranian people who openly shared opinions about their lives and relations with America. This program will be accompanied by Pell’s spectacular photography.

• Faculty from Powers Music School’s Music on the Hill (MOTH) summer program will perform a selection of music for students, friends, and family to enjoy on Tuesday, July 14, 6:30 p.m, at Powers Music School, 404 Concord Ave. Students will perform on Wednesday and Thursday, July 15 and 16 at 6:30 p.m. at the school. 

• The Belmont Public Library is hosting a great kids program, Ed’s Magic Show, on Tuesday, July 14 at  6:30 p.m. in the Assembly Room.

• Stories with a Police Officer for kindergarteners and slightly older kids on Wednesday, July 15, at 2 p.m. in the Assembly Room. 

• The Belmont Book Discussion Group will discuss The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, on Wednesday, July 15, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Flett Room. Everyone is welcome to attend. Copies of the book can be requested through the library catalog or call the library Reference staff at 617-993-2870.

• Explore different cultures and read great books in our international fiction book club!  This month the The Belmont International Fiction Book Club will discuss The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen, on Wednesday, July 15 from 7 p.m. to  8:30 p.m. in the Flett Room. Explore different cultures and read great books in our international fiction book club on the third Wednesday of the month. Everybody is welcome. If you have questions, or need help finding a copy of the book, contact Kylie at ksparks@minlib.net.
 
• Hugh Hanley has been singing with young children for over thirty-five years in his work as an early childhood educator, music specialist and entertainer. He’ll be at the Belmont Public Library on Thursday, July 16, at 10:30 a.m. in the Assembly Room, for a program for pre-K children. 
 
• Boston West Fair Skies Coalition will hold its July meeting on Thursday, July 16, at 7 p.m. at the Belmont Public Library’s Assembly Room.
 
• State Sen. Will Brownsberger will hold office hours at the Beech Street Center, on Friday, July 17, at 10 a.m. 

Belmont Yard Sales, July 11 – 12

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Photo: Yard sales in Belmont.

Yard sales in the “Town of Homes.” 

• 40 Hamilton Rd., Saturday, July 11, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• 41 Pequossette Rd., Saturday, July 11, 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

• 29 Wilson Ave., Saturday and Sunday, July 11 and 12, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• 109 Winter St., Saturday and Sunday, July 11 and 12, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

 

Pair of Belmont Farm Stands Open Weekends This Season

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Photo: Farmer Tim’s Vegetables. 

A pair of farm stands – one well established and another starting this year – will be providing Belmont residents with fresh produce for the coming growing season.

Belmont Acres Farm – previously Sergi’s Farm from 1947 to 2011 – is open on Saturdays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The stand is at 34 Glenn Rd. off Blanchard Road; enter through the main gate on Glenn Road and exit via Taylor Road. Shoppers are asked to leave pets at home as a family dog attacked the farm animals last year. The stand is also open on Tuesdays from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. 

Farmer Tim’s Vegetables is a new farm stand this growing season, open on Sundays from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Boston Musicians’ Association’s parking lot at 130 Concord Ave., across from the entry to Belmont High School. Tim Carroll, a long-time Belmont resident who purchased a farm in Dudley, will sell fresh farm vegetables in his hometown from the stand. 

Town Clerk Declares Summer Special Town Meeting ‘Will Be Held’

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Photo: Ellen Cushman, Belmont Town Clerk. 

Belmont will have a summer Special Town Meeting before the third week in August after Town Clerk Ellen Cushman certified a citizen’s petition submitted by residents who seek to reverse a last-minute change to the $2.8 million Belmont Center Reconstruction Project.

“The train is on the tracks,” said Cushman, referring to the process the town will undertake to schedule the meeting during the middle of summer. 

The meeting will cost taxpayers approximately $5,000 to hire a court reporter, have materials ready and to pay overtime for town employees.  

Cushman said her office certified 284 of the 302 signatures submitted Wednesday, July 8, by residents seeking a non-binding vote by the 300 members of the town’s legislative branch.

The latest the Special Town Meeting can take place was 45 days from Wednesday, on Aug. 21.

It is now up to the Board of Selectmen – the group which prompted the special meeting after approving major changes to the project’s design at a May 28 public meeting which resulted in a counter petition and later a near free-for-all at a subsequent Selectmen’s meeting – to pick a meeting date and sign the warrant. The board will also vote on whether to recommend or reject the article. 

The meeting will be held 14 days or longer once the warrant is signed.

The article’s language Town Meeting will be voting on is the same used on the petition delivered to the town. (see below) Amendments to the article can be submitted up to three days before the meeting. A quorum of 100 members will be needed to call the meeting.

Cushman said the vote – which seeks to return the project to its original design with a prominent Town “Green” and removal of the cut through between Moore Street and Concord Avenue – is, in fact, non-binding. The Selectmen will take the vote “under advisement” and decide at a public meeting whether to follow Town Meeting’s “instruction” or set it aside. 

If there were any thoughts from either camp withdrawing from the anticipated fight on the floor of either the Chenery Middle or Belmont High schools auditorium, the time to do so was before the petition arrived at Town Hall Wednesday.

“This Special Town Meeting will be held,” Cushman told the Belmontonian. 

The petition reads: 

We, the undersigned registered voters of the Town of Belmont, Massachusetts, request that the Board of Selectmen of the Town of Belmont place an article on the Warrant for a Special Town Meeting to read:

“In proceeding with the Belmont Center restoration project, as approved and funded by Town Meeting on November 17, 2014, shall the Board of Selectmen and other Town officials be directed to adhere to the plan represented in the Belmont Center Improvements design documents put out to bid by the Town in January 2015, said documents based on the conceptual plan presented to Town Meeting in the November 2014 Special Town Meeting. These documents shall be used in place of the Board of Selectmen’s revised Belmont Center restoration conceptual plan, adopted unilaterally at a meeting held on May 28, 2015.”

Early Summer Harvest at Belmont Farmers Market

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Photo: Early in the season. 

The Belmont Farmers Market is open Thursdays from 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The market is located in the Belmont Center Municipal Parking Lot at the intersection of Cross Street and Channing Road

At the market today, Thursday, July 9:

Weekly vendors: C & C Lobster & Fish, Gaouette Farm, Mamadou’s Artisan Bakery, Dick’s Market Garden, Fior d’Italia, Stillman Quality Meats, Boston Smoked Fish Co., Goodies Homemade, Sfolia Baking Company, Hutchins Farm, Kimball Fruit Farm, Foxboro Cheese Co., Flats Mentor Farm, Nicewicz Family Farm, Westport Rivers Winery

Guest vendors: Carr’s Ciderhouse, Seta’s Mediterranean Food, Spindler Confections, Soluna Garden Farm.

Food Truck: 
Jamaica Mi Hungry.

Performances in the Events Tent
• 4 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.: Storytime, sponsored by the library
• 4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.: Sara Fard, music educator and local performer
• 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.: Arlington Philharmonic Chamber Players

Tastings in the Events Tent:  Savinos Grill, in Cushing Square, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Belmont Food Pantry:
 The Farmers Market collects non-perishables to help those who use the Belmont Food Pantry. Please bring something to the manager’s tent.

Traffic: Belmont Center construction will affect traffic, but the Market is open.

Belmont Dramatic Holding Auditions for Fall Production

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Photo:

Actors all! Your stage is ready, so come play the part!

The Belmont Dramatic Club – second oldest continuously operating and performing community theatre group in the United States – is holding auditions for its fall 2015 production of Tom Stoppard’s “Dogg’s Hamlet, Cahoots Macbeth” (includes the “15-minute Hamlet” plus two-minute encore) on Monday and Tuesday, July 27 and 28, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., in the Belmont Town Hall auditorium, 455 Concord Ave. please enter through door that opens onto parking lot).

  • Auditions will consist of readings from the script so please be familiar with it. Perusal copies are available at the refinance desk of the Belmont Public Library and at the Arlington Public Library.
  • Please be prepared to stay for the evening.
  • Bring a resume and, if you have one, a headshot.
  • Please bring to the audition a complete schedule of conflicts.
  • Enter through door that opens onto parking lot).

Callbacks if necessary will be on Thursday, July 30, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Belmont Town Hall.

Rehearsals will be Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., beginning in early September.

Performance dates are:

  • Friday, Nov. 6, at 7:30 p.m.
  • Saturday, Nov. 7, at 7:30 p.m.
  • Saturday, Nov. 14, at 7:30 p.m.
  • Sunday Nov. 15, at 3 p.m.

Go to the BDC website: http://www.belmontdramaticclub.org for character descriptions and other play information. For questions, email the club at cheannwelch@gmail.com

Cardinal Ready: BHS Field Hockey’s Habelow Commits to Louisville

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Photo: AnnMarie Habelow.

From the first time AnnMarie Habelow stepped onto Harris Field in the late summer of 2013, spectators could quickly tell the Belmont High School field hockey player was something special. 

In the past two years, the raising junior has demonstrated a rare set of skills for an underclassman, playing as a forward in her freshman campaign or in the midfield last season in which number 13  helped lead the Marauders into the quarterfinals of the Division 1 North Sectionals. 

Just a junior, Habelow’s talents have brought her to the attention of many at the next level of the sport. And one team already wants her to be part of their future as Habelow signed a letter committing to play field hockey at the University of Louisville, beginning in the fall of 2017. 

Ranked 13th in Division 1 at the end of the 2014 season, the Cardinals play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the most competitive league in the nation with six teams in the top 13 spots in the final national poll, including number 1 North Carolina and two-time NCAA runner-up Syracuse.

The league also includes Boston College, which will allow family and friends to see Habelow play in the Boston area at least twice in her career.

Custodians, Cafeteria Workers Strike Three-Year Deal with Schools

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Photo: Custodians at work.

The men and women who keep Belmont’s six schools clean and tidy and help feed 4,100 students will be getting a small pay raise after the Belmont School Committee approved a three-year contract with the union representing the workers.

The committee unanimously approved the memorandum of agreement with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) which represents the 33 employees – 18 custodians and 15 cafeteria workers employed more than 20 hours.

The compensation package, retroactive to July 1, 2014 and running through 2017, will see workers receive wage increases of:

  • 0.5 percent as of July 1, 2014,
  • 2.25 percent as of July 1, 2015,
  • 2 percent as of July 1, 2016, and 
  • 0.25 percent beginning Jan. 1, 2017.

The agreement also includes a performance review and how the workers account for snow days.