Wellesley’s Tatte Bakery & Cafe, expected to open soon in Linden Square, paid a visit to the town’s Board of Health this past week to seek a variance allowing it to use an antique display case for its goodies.
I’ll confess to being oblivious to the word “Viennoiserie” or the existence of such display cases for breads and pastries, but for Tatte, this piece of “millwork” is a signature element of its bakery and cafe design. At the 165 Linden St., location formerly home to California Pizza Kitchen, customers will see it almost immediately upon entering the shop, slated to open June 15.
As planned, however, the piece Tatte had in mind wasn’t going to cut it in the eyes of health codes or of Vivian Zeng, the town’s senior environmental health specialist (aka, health inspector).
The Wellesley Board of Health convened a short special meeting (see Wellesley Media recording) on June 2 to address the matter.
According to Zeng, the display case was not depicted in the original plans, which isn’t unusual, but she did notice it during a construction walk through. The case would sit between food servers and patrons, and showcase baked goods behind a plexiglass sneeze-guard. A couple of drawers might stick out toward customers and would contain grab-and-go items, like cookies, mugs, or other merchandise.
The health concerns over a piece like this involve the cracks and crevices that food can sneak into and fester in, allowing for viral and bacterial risks. Also, it showed some splintering of the wood and features protrusions, like drawer knobs, that can spike patrons or employees as they brush up against it. Such surfaces that require frequent cleaning need to “be constructed of a corrosion resistant non-absorbent and smooth material. Typically in commercial kitchens we see stainless steel, sometimes ceramics; wood is very, very, very seldom used,” Zeng said.
Brendan Boyle, VP of development for Tatte, manages construction and facilities. In seeking the variance to allow use of the display furniture, he gave the board an update, showing an image of the equipment after being sanded and receiving a couple of coats of polyurethane. Tatte has proposed in addition to this, the business would coat the top with an epoxy resin coating similar to that used for bar tops. Shelving within the unit on the service side will be used only for paper goods, not food.
Tatte, which has a couple dozen locations across Massachusetts and the Washington, D.C., area, also undergo quarterly health and food safety audits via a third-party outfit, Boyle said.
Boyle said issues with the wooden display pieces haven’t been raised in getting approvals for buildouts in other locations, though Zeng said Tatte has been cited in Boston for having non-porous wood surfaces and has treated them with coatings as a result.
The arrival of Tatte will continue the reimagining of Linden Square, which looks forward to new restaurants Karma and Oath Pizza as well, plus a redesign outside of Wellesley Tavern.
More: Restaurant visit: Next best thing to a Wellesley Tatte bakery—the Newton Centre one
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And was it tested for lead? I wouldn’t want my food anywhere near that.