The Swellesley Report

Most of Wellesley’s restaurants have either stayed open in some form during the COVID-19 pandemic or closed down and announced reopening plans. Bocado Tapas Wine Bar has been the one big holdout, offering nary a clue about its status since temporarily closing in March. Some worried it wouldn’t be back.

But now the restaurant has submitted its plans for indoor and outdoor dining to the Wellesley Health Department and is looking to reopen on Sept. 8, just after Labor Day.

Mike Covino of Niche Hospitality, which counts Wellesley’s Bocado among its 10 restaurants, wasn’t particularly optimistic about the prospect of temporary expanded outdoor dining at his properties back in June. He wrote about the plight of buying tents and other gear that probably wouldn’t pay for themselves anytime soon under the state’s reopening plan.

Bocado’s Worcester site has already reopened for takeout, delivery and in-restaurant dining.

According to Covino, Bocado will be open in Wellesley for dinner seven days a week with lunch offered on Saturday and Sunday. Patio dining will be available, along with takeout and delivery options.

Bocado opened in Wellesley back in 2014.

Wellesley has received $61K from a state shared streets & spaces program that will allow it to set up outside dining tables alongside Elm Park, where the Wellesley Hills clocktower stands, as soon as mid-September.

(Hey, we’ve been inside that the Sprague Memorial Clocktower!)

The town has worked with Wellesley Square and Linden Square merchants to allow for expanded outdoor seating in light of the pandemic, but has been more challenged to do so for merchants in Wellesley Hills, where space is at more of a premium.

This plan would target that strip that people currently treat as one giant crosswalk, darting blindly across Washington Street to the restaurants and merchants across from the park. Using the grant, Wellesley would secure equipment to cordon off a strip of parking along the park’s eastbound side to accommodate a pick-up/drop-off area for those making purchases across the street. Also envisioned are a bike rack and the aforementioned tables. This could be an option for people who want to pick up food at places such as Coconut Thai, Yama, Comella’s and others, and eat outside.

The set-up could likely remain in place for 4-6 weeks, weather dependent, and whether people actually use it (it’s loud there).

The vision for this spot would also be that people walking or biking on the Fuller Brook path could stop for a bite and move along.

The funds will be used in part to pay for a trailer to store the equipment, including barricades and of course lots more street signs. The town could consider other locations to use the materials next year, and will solicit community feedback about that.

“We see a lot of economic potential,” Town Executive Director Meghan Jop told the Board of Selectmen this week.