Blank Street coffee shop seek to open by year-end in Wellesley Square but as is sometimes the case for restaurants opening in town, they’ve been challenged with meeting the town’s grease trap requirements designed to keep the pipes from getting clogged.

Property manager Linear Retail reps have appeared at multiple Board of Public Works meetings pleading their case for double internal grease traps rather than a pricier and more involved external one, as is the norm. Blank Street won’t be cooking food at 61A Central St. (across from the recently shuttered Starbucks), but will be serving matchas, lattes, and other beverages.

Imagine this: For the price of a few coffees and for way less than the price of a grease trap you could make a tax-deductible donation to Swellesley to support our work. 

The town had considered allowing a pilot of the internal systems but Department of Public Works Director Dave Cohen said at the Board of Public Works meeting on Oct. 20 that “we were not able to come to a conclusion that offered some kind of waiver to our normal requirement” (see Wellesley Media recording about 9 minutes in).

So Blank Street is going with Plan B: They’re connecting to Central Street restaurant black & blue Steak and Crab‘s external grease trap.

“That wasn’t necessarily the outcome they were hoping for, but they felt like they needed to move forward. They’re really looking to get that café open for the Christmas season,” Cohen said. The business couldn’t wait while the town tried to work through some details regarding a sampling system that might get it “to a comfort level,” he said.

Separately, Blank Street just got the Design Review Board’s blessing on its signage and minor construction.

Wellesley’s Maugus Restaurant, owned and operated by the Papakonstantinou family for nearly 45 years, is changing hands. The new owner of the eatery, located at 300 Washington St., plans to keep the menu and space as is initially, though gradually introduce new dishes and upgrade the facility.

The Wellesley Select Board has a vote for change in ownership of a common victualler license on its consent agenda for its Tuesday night meeting.

New owner Kostas Saranteas tells us that he and his wife Anna and son Stratis entered the restaurant business “primarily driven by my wife’s and my son’s passion and expertise in Mediterranean cuisine. ”

They owned and successfully operated  the Atlantic Sea Grill in Acton for the past 11 years. But as Kostas and his wife were approaching retirement last year, they decided to sell the restaurant and looked to invest in a much smaller operation in the area with less demanding hours.

Maugus will remain a breakfast and lunch restaurant, and the new owner seeks to keep the outdoor seating.

“We heard through family connections on the Maugus restaurant opportunity and jumped on it right away,” Kostas says. “The fact that it was located in a beautiful town and a nice location was also a big plus for us.”

Plans are to gradually introduce dishes that have proven popular at the previous restaurant.

The Saranteas family looks forward to getting to know Wellesley better in the months to come.

We reached out over the weekend to a member of the longtime owners of Maugus for more on why they are selling, and will update this post if we hear back.

Punjab getting closer to opening

The Select Board’s second restaurant-related item on Tuesday will be to hold a public hearing on common victualler, alcohol, and entertainment licenses for Virsa de Punjab at 99 Central St.

As we reported in July, Virsa de Punjab plans to open at the space formerly occupied by La Toscana’s (the “Coming Soon” sign on the window technically says “Virsa the Punjab”). They need to install an external grease trap, so may not be open until spring.

We’ve been unable to reach the owners of Virsa de Punjab, but in their pitch to the town, they say they have “two successful family run Indian food restaurants, one in Brighton and the other in Bedford.” They are called Vaisakhi Indian Kitchen and Virsa de Punjab, respectfully. As is the case with those restaurants, the owners tout authentic and healthy Indian cuisine from fresh ingredients.

Friends Baljit (Bally) Singh and Kishan Singh Bola, both born and raised in India, are behind the planned Wellesley Square restaurant. They plan to keep the layout as it is, and will replace the pizza oven with one to cook naan and more.

The restaurant plans to have 62 inside seats and 12 outside seats.

Virsa de Punjab will join Singh’s Cafe in Wellesley Hills as an Indian restaurant, and another called Rani Mahal aims to open in the former Amarin space on Grove Street.

Tama comes to Natick

Not far over the Wellesley line on Rte. 9 West, Tama Sushi & Hibachi has opened at the location long occupied by Oga Japanese Cuisine. Read more on Natick Report.

Find more places to eat in Wellesley on our restaurants page, sponsored by The Cottage.

The latest Wellesley, Mass., news:

Wellesley resident launches Lunch on the Charles restaurant

Newish Wellesley resident Abe Wurster, who has spent about half of his life working in restaurants, has now opened his own sandwich/soup/salad shop in South Natick: Lunch on the Charles.

His path to this point has been unusual to say the least.

Read more on Natick Report.

Know of Wellesley businesses opening or closing? Fill us in: theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

A warm “Welcome back” to The Cashmere Sale

SPONSORED CONTENT: Back for its 15th year, the The Cashmere Sale is a Wellesley holiday-time tradition. Needham resident Heidi Wells has set up shop at 35 Central St.—same spot as last year. As usual, she’s  brought beautiful, soft and cozy  cashmere sweaters, wraps, blankets, hats, mittens, and more.

BEGINS: Friday, Oct. 17
ENDS: Monday, Dec. 22
HOURS: Monday-Saturday, 10am-5pm; Sunday, noon-4pm
EMAIL: boston@thecashmeresale.com
ONLINE SHOPPING: https://thecashmeresale.com/discount/BOSTON2025
FREE SHIPPING: Use code BOSTON2025

Sponsored content: Thanks to The Cottage for their swell sponsorship of The Swellesley Report’s Restaurants Page.

Gather friends amid colorful foliage for chef-driven plates, clean flavors, and wines with a SoCal soul. The Cottage offers an everyday escape where New England autumn meets West Coast ease.

Check out more restaurant options at The Swellesley Report’s Restaurants Page.

The first time we visited a Karma Asian Fusion Cuisine restaurant was nearly three years ago, when we hit the Burlington, Mass., location to give Swellesley readers a peek at what was anticipated to be coming soon to Wellesley’s Linden Square.

Things didn’t quite turn out that way due to contractor and other issues, but Wellesley’s Karma opened this month at 165 Linden St., and we checked it out this past Friday for lunch.

I attempted to make last-minute reservations online as I was about to walk out our door, and found no openings for another 45 minutes. But we just  showed up at the restaurant, and sure enough, there were plenty of free tables. Karma’s just trying not to overextend itself as it ramps up staffing.
 

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Our server, Joseph, was excellent, bringing with him knowledge of Karma from having worked at the Burlington site as well as experience from working at other Asian restaurants. He referred to the Wellesley restaurant as the upscale flagship Karma of the six in Massachusetts.

As we shared via photos ahead of Karma’s opening, the interior is both opulent and inviting, with lots of golds and reds across a variety of seating options. But what about actually dining there?

My lunch companion and I were guided to a four-seat table with a view of the sushi bar, where several chefs worked their kitchen magic.

We ordered Salmon Maki (6 rolls for $11), Chicken Lo Mein ($18) and Hibachi Black Pepper Wok Tossed Shrimp ($27). We passed on afternoon cocktails.

The sushi had a bold, fresh taste, combining salmon and avocado.

“It’s genuine, I can taste the individual flavors,” said my lunch partner, Chris.

The six pieces did us just fine. It wasn’t one of those $198 Grand Sushi & Sashimi Platter days.

The dish was savory and sweet, with soy sauced noodles that stuck together enough to scoop them with chop sticks but that were not so sticky that the whole shebang clung together. The chicken was mild and the vegetables fresh. I’m not a fan of onions, and while they were in the dish, they didn’t exude an oniony flavor.

Oh, and loved the fancy little tongs.

 
It was a little hard to judge the atmosphere at the restaurant since it was a quiet lunch crowd, but it was nice to be able to just enjoy the interior design and the newness of it all. One other nice thing was that we could hear each other talk (and believe me, some important things were said). Soft music played in the background, just for ambiance.

Karma’s a welcome addition to Wellesley’s vibrant and evolving restaurant scene.