Newton mourns passing of pub

NEWTON - To the neighbors who loved it, the West Street Grill & Tap was everything that generic "neighborhood" chain restaurants like Applebee's and Bennigan's pretend to be: a place to enjoy great food and cold beer, and maybe to run into a friend or neighbor at the same time.

But the comfortable little Nonantum grub pub, where families with young children once dined happily next to bikers and dirt-caked landscapers, all tucking into West Street's legendary turkey tips, is no more.

Without much fanfare or warning, the restaurant recently closed its doors. The space that would have been packed with local Red Sox fans watching the first few games of the World Series last week is dark and empty, with all the old Newton memorabilia and collectibles that once adorned the walls ripped out and sold off. Even the cozy booths are gone.

Alderman Scott Lennon of Ward 1 was one of the regulars mourning the loss of the beloved neighborhood tavern last week.

When you talk about Nonantum, Lennon said, you talk about fixtures like late local legend Anthony "Fat" Pelligrini, DePasquale's fresh sausage shop, and the giant seasonal Santa Claus statue in Magni Park.

And the West Street Grill, Lennon said, "was definitely in that conversation."

"It was a great, friendly neighborhood place that you could walk into and immediately become a part of," he said.

The restaurant was also heavily involved in the community, sponsoring local sports teams and serving food at community events like the St. Mary of Carmen Society festival in nearby Pelligrini Park.

John Blancarte, a manager at Swartz True Value Hardware on Watertown Street and a regular customer, called the passing of the bar "really sad."

"It was local, and the steak tips were great, and the turkey tips were great," he said. "You could go in and get a beer and know you were not paying an arm and a leg."

Owner Jimmy Donovan said last week that changes in the neighborhood and in the bar business made it impossible to make the economics of the small restaurant and tavern still work.

"Sales were sinking for the last two or three years," said Donovan, 46. "I was doing everything I could to keep my head above water."

First, he said, the citywide smoking ban chased the nicotine-addicted segment of his bar clientele to local private clubs like the Elks and the Sons of Italy. Then several medium-sized businesses moved out of the nearby office buildings on Adams and Bridge streets, undercutting his lucrative lunch trade. All the while, his landlord was raising the rent, up to $4,000 a month by the time the doors closed, Donovan said.

"You have to sell a lot of hamburgers to make that."

The closing ended a run of almost 13 years, which began when Donovan took over a grungy bar called Wallaby's. He succeeded almost instantly at his goal of building a true neighborhood restaurant, even though he had to work with a kitchen roughly the size of one of the parking spaces in the cramped, adjacent parking lot.

"They did more with the smallest kitchen of any restaurant I'd ever seen," Lennon said.