Juniper restaurant gets Wellesley board’s blessing

Juniper, the Sweet Basil sister restaurant that will be sliding into Milestone’s current Wellesley Square space this spring, got the Board of Selectmen’s approval Monday night for its liquor license application.

We broke the news last week about the restaurant’s name, and this week restaurant GM Matt Kaplan is sharing more details.

First, the name: “Juniper doesn’t have any grand meaning other than we liked the name, it’s in the same family of spices/herbs as Basil, and the color scheme may include some dark purple.”

Expected opening: “As far as an opening date, I think it’s safe to say it will be a late spring opening. Just in time for patio weather hopefully.”

The menu: “As far as Food and Beverage, we’ve been having some fun experimenting at Sweet Basil. Trying out different cous cous recipes, and we figured out how to make our own katafi. The wine list will feature a large by the glass list, with wines from the Mediterranean coast, as well as the US. Beer will be local. There are so many amazing breweries in New England that it doesn’t feel right to stray elsewhere.”

Who’s who: We’ve mentioned that Sweet Basil owner Dave Becker is behind Juniper, but note that Juniper’s executive chef is Tim Fichera, who has worked at Sweet Basil since 2006. He is also a Blue Ginger Alum.