If you live or work in the city, you'll have to travel a bit farther to find a kosher meal.
The property owners of the Milk Street Cafe's branch at Zero Post Office Square have decided not to renew the restaurant's lease. The lease will run out at the end of this month, almost 17 years since the restaurant opened in January 1991. A non-kosher restaurant is expected to open on the site early next year. The Milk Street Cafe's main location, at 50 Milk St., will remain open.
The Post Office Square location has been a popular kosher lunch spot in Boston's Financial District, but also built up a loyal clientele of non-kosher diners, attracted by the location as well as the food.
Fewer than 5 percent of customers keep kosher, said the cafe's owner, Marc Epstein, explaining that most of the visitors like the food, paying no attention to whether it conforms with Jewish dietary laws. And when the weather was good, many customers would sit in Post Office Square to enjoy the meal. "On rainy days, it might not get as crowded as on a sunny, spring day," said Epstein.
For those who keep kosher, the shutdown signifies more than just the closing of a good restaurant. Now they'll have to venture to Brookline or beyond, Epstein said.
MARY ANN GEORGANTOPOULOS
