Newly open, Circle is now closed

Restaurant owner cites poor economy

Circle Plates and Lounge, at Columbus Avenue and Northampton Street, has closed after less than two months in business. (Globe Staff Photo / David L. Ryan)

Malcolm Aalders had been planning to open a restaurant and bar for several years before settling in the South End, drawn in part to the neighborhood's history and thriving dining scene.

But after six weeks in business, his Circle Plates and Lounge, which opened in October at the corner of Columbus Avenue and Northampton Street that used to be home to Bob's Southern Bistro, is already part of the past.

"It was just not the right concept in comparison with the economy," Aalders said last week about the 88-seat contemporary French restaurant.

Circle, which closed its doors with little notice on Nov. 24, putting about two dozen people out of work, was extensively renovated since Darryl Settles, Bob's owner, sold the jazz-oriented restaurant last year after 17 years.

The 2,200-square-foot space now includes a private dining area where Bob's had its takeout service, and the restaurant's interior features more exposed brick, as well as red microsuede banquettes along the walls and round mosaic tiles lining the front of the 11-seat bar.

Aalders, a Cleveland native who moved to Boston last year from the Netherlands, invested "close to $1 million" in the restaurant, which sits on the cusp of the South End and Lower Roxbury and in the shadow of Northeastern University, according to Atlantic Restaurant Group principal Daniel Newcomb.

"I think it was just a little bit off the beaten path for that location," said Newcomb, whose company specializes in selling and leasing restaurants. He said the asking price for Circle is $795,000, which includes a full liquor license with a 2 a.m. closing time, valued at around $225,000.

"The first concept that he was considering was a casual lounge, and it morphed into a French bistro," Newcomb said.

The shift in Aalders' plans gradually happened in the months after diners packed Bob's in November 2007 for a Sunday morning "jazz funeral" to observe the passing of the South End institution, which had become a landmark for the city's black community since opening as a lunch counter in 1957.

Aalders at that time said he intended to rename the restaurant Night Town and offer a menu consisting of small plates of American cuisine, along the concept of tapas, and host live musical performances, ranging from rock and funk to jazz. Instead, as the project slowly moved through the permitting process, his focus shifted from burgers to butter-poached lobster.

"We definitely switched gears a little early on, which in hindsight is never a really good idea," executive chef Adam Gendreau said. "But I don't regret actually changing the concept, because I'm not super-familiar with small plates, which can be a little tricky, and I'm much more comfortable doing fine dining."

Both Aalders and Gendreau say business became more steady as time went on.

Gendreau, who spent five years working with Jody Adams at her Rialto restaurant in Cambridge, said he considered Circle "a measurable success," while Aalders contended that the growing economic downtown would have prevented him from covering costs and turning a profit within his six-month financial blueprint.

While many people in the South End said they were surprised to learn that the restaurant had opened, let alone closed, Ryan Buck was disappointed by the news.

Buck, 28, who recently moved to Dorchester, had met a friend for drinks at Circle the week before it closed, and said he took advantage of a slow night to chew the fat with Aalders about the Midwest, where they both grew up.

"I had intended to go back with my roommates," Buck said, recalling that he was one of only two patrons in the restaurant at the time.

"Obviously, that's not going to happen."

Richard Thompson can be reached at thompjourn@gmail.com.