A RESTAURANT on Boston Common seems far-fetched for now, but three city councilors are right to look at enhancing the appeal of the park with food and drink, if only in a limited way.
Michael Ross, Bill Linehan, and Salvatore LaMattina, members of a special council committee, recently led a trip to Manhattan. There, the delegation marveled at the lines snaking from the Snack Shack at Madison Square Park; enjoyed the bustle of the cafe at Bryant Park; and relaxed at the spacious Boathouse, a restaurant in Central Park.
The two cities aren't comparable, however. According to the Census, Boston's 831,000 daytime population is dwarfed by New York's 8.5 million. More people mean more potential customers. A restaurant requires space, available in 843-acre Central Park; precious on the 46-acre Common.
Food is available now, at a snack bar next to the Frog Pond, from carts managed by the Boys and Girls Clubs, and in warm weather from two carts subsidized by Emerson College at Boylston and Tremont Streets. The college absorbs a $30,000 annual loss to enliven space across from its campus.
At night the carts vanish, but the Common remains a passageway from the Back Bay to downtown. Tom Kershaw, the Cheers restaurateur and president of the Frog Pond Foundation, wants to open a small cafe next to the water during summer evenings and serve wine, beer, and light fare until 9 p.m.
Kershaw tried out the idea in 2001, but it failed for lack of a beer and wine license. The city doesn't like to allow alcoholic beverages, thinking it undercuts the overall ban on alcohol in parks. But Kershaw would separate his cafe from the rest of the park. A glass of chardonnay in a controlled area isn't what the ban is designed to forestall. His proposal is worth a try next summer.
Besides grass and trees, the Common is stuffed with ball fields, tennis courts, MBTA stations, war memorials, a wading pool, children's play space, underground garage, and a graveyard. Without diminishing public use, there's no place for a full-scale restaurant, except possibly a parking lot for maintenance vehicles on Boylston.
Where would the maintenance equipment go?
The Convention Center Authority, which controls the underground garage, has authorized a study to determine whether to expand it. This may not be worth doing, and will have to be vetted with the city and open space advocates first. But if it does pass muster, the maintenance equipment might be moved to the expanded garage and the above-ground lot freed for other uses.
A decision on the garage is a long way off. For now, a restaurant is not the top priority in this park of many uses.
