"Oath Craft Pizza" proposed to replace Singer sewing machine store

[ron_newman]

As reported earlier, the Singer sewing machine shop at the corner of Elm and Day streets is moving to West Cambridge.  The new prospective tenant is a 16-seat superfast-order restaurant called Oath Craft Pizza.

Here are the submitted plan and the city planning staff report.  (Though I see only 13 seats in the diagram.)

From the planning report: "This pizza establishment is providing a different kind of experience by using super-efficient ovens to cook craft pizza in 90 seconds. "

They currently have two locations, Nantucket and South Station, but want to grow into a real chain.

Oath Craft Pizza Has Aggressive Growth Plans for Boston, Starting With South Station (Eater.com, 8/11/15)

The smallest pizzeria ever is opening in South Station (Boston Business Journal, 10/22/15)

Comments

[ayelle.livejournal.com]

Darn, I was hoping for Boca Grande, or Boloco. Or maybe Berryline!

(Kidding!)

[dougo.livejournal.com]

For when you really want pizza but you're too lazy to cross the street to Mike's?

[scott gunther (from livejournal.com)]

or walk 200 feet down Day St to Sacco's?

[keithn.livejournal.com]

I know Mike's is a Davis Square institution, but... the quality of the food there is the worst in the area. I wouldn't say Mike's fulfills any of the area's pizza needs.

[frotz.livejournal.com]

I think it will fill a niche fairly well; I've had their pizza in South Station and liked it. (Certainly moreso than the last time I had Mike's.) The pizzas are relatively small and fast and expensive, though; I think they'll fill the "hey I need some food before this movie" niche well, but not so much the "let's get a pizza for dinner" niche. Also they're thin and crispy and get cold fast, so benefit from immediate consumption vs. takeout-for-later.

lack of due diligence by planning staff

[jlauspitz.livejournal.com]

This is a "change of use" on a high opportunity location requiring due diligence by the City. It is good of Ron to attach the staff report. On basis of the restaurants' use of a high-speed, smoke-free (microwave?) oven, the staff report judges that this aspiring fast food chain will make a distinctive contribution to Davis Square-- without inspecting its menu, comparing its pricing and offerings to the 5-6 other pizza purveyors in Davis Square, discussing its place in the context of non-pizza fast food operators, discussing the balance that OSPCD has previously sought between prepared food and other retail establishments in the Square, inquiring about the expected ratio between take-out and sit-down service, noting the problem of circling cars while the 90-second takeout is prepared for pickup, discussing the future lane squeeze in the City's own plans for a second plaza at that intersection, advising the usual neighborhood meeting where the owners can address standard concerns about trash and debris, hours of operation, signage, outdoor seating, delivery service, community hiring, community service as evidenced in local charitable contributions, etc. By contrast, the staff report does give due diligence to explaining why affordable housing will not be affected. It mentions that the alderman has not been consulted, so perhaps they mean to pass the really important judgments and negotiations over to him.

RE: lack of due diligence by planning staff

[teko.livejournal.com]

I've never tried Oath's pizzas, but I will say that from what I've seen, their pizza occupies a unique niche in the area. All of the other pizza-related places are either upscale made-to-order table-service restaurants or pre-made "by the slice / pie" type spots. Oath is trying to be the Chipotle of pizza: an individual made-to-order pizza with your choice of dozens of toppings, ready in 90 seconds.

RE: lack of due diligence by planning staff

[jlauspitz.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the info. More will doubtless come out in the change-of-use permitting process.

Re: lack of due diligence by planning staff

[ron_newman]

This pizza place is so small that I expect its impact on the neighborhood to be close to non-existent. Its product sounds substantially different from Flatbread's or Mike's or Cristo's.

RE: Re: lack of due diligence by planning staff

[jlauspitz.livejournal.com]

Square footage has little to do with the trash generation to which this type of business is prone. A neighborhood meeting is the standard way for alerting the owners to this and other concerns. It will be interesting to see whether Lance Davis, the new alderman, takes a role in this.

The glaring public policy issue of course is that the Planning staff has apparently sent the owners off to commission a privately funded traffic study without informing them (or itself?) about the City's own plans for that corner-- eliminating the turning lane from Highland to Elm, creation of a plaza in front of Mike's. Also, the staff has apparently abandoned the concern, pushed by Alderman Gewirtz, of the balance between food court and other retail in Davis Sq. An acceptable staff paper would have mentioned these matters (as well as menu inspection) in reaching its conclusions. In all, a red flag that a) Davis Square is low priority for City planners, b) OSPCD needs to work harder at coordinating its many activities.

Re: lack of due diligence by planning staff

[ron_newman]

Trash is a legit issue, but I don't see any relationship at all between creating a plaza in front of Mike's and approving this somewhat competing pizza place across the street.

I'm willing to give this place a chance to succeed or fail on its own.

RE: Re: lack of due diligence by planning staff

[jlauspitz.livejournal.com]

The planning staff seems to be requiring a traffic study without this scenario. One infers either that it is not aware of it, or that the City has put the reinvestment plan for Davis Square on a back burner.

Re: lack of due diligence by planning staff

[ron_newman]

The traffic study is focused on parking, and I don't think any parking spaces are being removed by replacing the left-turn slip lane with a plaza in front of Mike's.

RE: Re: lack of due diligence by planning staff

[jlauspitz.livejournal.com]

As I recall the consultants also broached the idea of eliminating whole parking lanes on Highland or Elm, or both. But perhaps the underlying issue is that the City has shelved the Davis infrastructure reinvestment plans.

RE: Re: lack of due diligence by planning staff

[keithn.livejournal.com]

"Also, the staff has apparently abandoned the concern, pushed by Alderman Gewirtz, of the balance between food court and other retail in Davis Sq. "

Now that she's gone and can't retaliate:

Gewirtz was a hack failure with no accomplishments during her tenure who quit because she didn't want the job, didn't like the job, and couldn't do the job. She can take her concerns with her to whatever state government appointment her Beacon Hill buddies got her. She tried to dictate exactly what happened where in Davis Square and failed miserably because she doesn't understand how business works - probably because she's never worked a day in her life outside of government/political organizing (confirmed by linkedin).

I have much higher expectations for Lance Davis, and I hope he realizes that nothing will happen in Davis Square if he tries to appease every retiree who has decided to take all their free time and make it their life's purpose to be a pain in the neck.

Re: lack of due diligence by planning staff

[ron_newman]

That's more than a little unfair. She quit the job because she had a baby and she felt that ten years was long enough to hold such a position before letting someone else have a chance.

RE: Re: lack of due diligence by planning staff

[keithn.livejournal.com]

Perhaps it was worded strongly, but I don't think it's unfair. What is unfair is that Davis Square had effectively not had a dedicated representative to the Board of Alderman for over a year, until Lance took over. IIRC Gewirtz took six months of maternity leave from about November to May of last year, and even when she officially returned, not a peep was heard from her aside from her endorsement of Lance.

Meanwhile the Social Security building was crumbling apart while the owner bickered with his neighbors and Roche Bros pulled out. Where was she during all of this?

It's pretty clear to me that once she got her appointment to whatever cozy health board position she now has, she lost interest in the alderman position. She should have resigned then and allowed a replacement to be appointed.

RE: Re: lack of due diligence by planning staff

[courtney (from livejournal.com)]

Truth be told, there is no love lost between Rebekah and I. Although I am cordial and friendly, I am deeply saddened by some of her actions while I was serving on the Board and was a candidate for Alderman. I can also say, with confidence, that if I got pregnant before she did (and was still serving on the Board) - a 6 month maternity leave would not have been an option for me.

With that said, I would not call her a complete failure. Her passion for Union labor and equality on all fronts are two that stick out for me. I also appreciated her plastic bag recycling ordinance and focus on the prevention of formula businesses. Although her last two years were lackluster, I feel it's because her first 8 were filled with hard work...certainly PDS agenda predictable, but hard work, nonetheless.

Also, the Board of Aldermen have changed how seats are filled should a representative resign. This charter change was approved in 2013.

Re: lack of due diligence by planning staff

[ron_newman]

Although we are drifting off topic, I'm curious which actions of Rebekah's you were "saddened" by.

RE: Re: lack of due diligence by planning staff

[courtney (from livejournal.com)]

One example... there was a promise that was made to me by Rebekah regarding her level of involvement in the Ward 5 race. Not only was that promise broken, but her reasoning was disgusting (first word I could think of).

RE: Re: lack of due diligence by planning staff

[keithn.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately I don't think we've seen the last of her. Denise Provost will retire sooner or later, and I expect Rebekah to come gunning for her seat. I hope we have a viable alternative when that day comes.

RE: Re: lack of due diligence by planning staff

[serious-noir.livejournal.com]

"Now that she's gone and can't retaliate:"

For christ's sake, give fcuking it a rest.
You are a reliable and entertaining whine but you are getting really tiresome after all this time.

Yes: we know you want MORE BEER HALLS
Yes, we know you despise Gewirtz et al.

Neither of those positions have much merit but hey, it's ok – it's Somerville and we accept all kinds.
Just ease off on the nasty and needless bullshite.

RE: lack of due diligence by planning staff

[keithn.livejournal.com]

jlauspitz, you are hurting Davis Square. You were one of the people who fought against Tenoch with a litany of ridiculous complaints, which helped push the opening date of that restaurant off by 6 months. Now it is FINALLY open and just as awesome and popular as expected.

Here you are again with another list of silly grievances, including the most bizarre complaint I've seen from you yet -paranoia about an army of cars circling Davis Square waiting for their pizza. Come on, man. That doesn't even make sense. If you are even driving, you have to park your car to pick up your pizza at some point, and I know of nowhere that has less than a 90 second parking time limit.

Now you are also proposing a purity test regarding community service and charitable contributions. That tells me that you are more interested in establishing a cultish utopia than services that the community wants. And what in the holy hell does a tiny pizza place have to do with "affordable housing?" This is being turned into a meaningless buzzphrase that can be thrown out there by NIMBYs to gum up the works for literally anything.

We need to stop letting our processes be driven by kooks. The existing Oath Craft Pizzas seem to be well regarded. Let's get it opened as soon as possible. If the community doesn't like it, it will be closed soon enough.

RE: lack of due diligence by planning staff

[teko.livejournal.com]

Quite frankly, I don't even think it's possible to "circle" that area in any meaningful way. Foot traffic defines the kinds of food available in Davis Square, not car traffic. Oath's whole idea is to be a tiny pizza place that turns out super-fast high-quality pizzas. I haven't tried their stuff but the reviews of their other shops are very positive; I think it's great that they're looking at Davis for one of their first community shops. A tiny pizza place has nothing to do with establishing affordable housing, and hey, sure, community service, sounds great.

jlauspitz is theorizing that the city hasn't looked at Oath's menu, their service offerings, or their uniqueness compared to other pizza shops. That's both unfair and born out of paranoia.

Re: lack of due diligence by planning staff

[ron_newman]

You can make right turns from Day to Elm to Chester to Herbert and back to Day, yes. I doubt this happens too often but it's possible.

Car circle route

[jlauspitz.livejournal.com]

The actual car circle route while looking for parking or waiting to pick up a shopper is along Elm to a left on Grove left on Highland left on Elm along the slip.

RE: lack of due diligence by planning staff

[jlauspitz.livejournal.com]

"Teko": I'd be more careful about calling people paranoid on line. Some genuinely crazy person might take it amiss.

On the due diligence point: If the staff had systematically compared menus of Davis Square pizza purveyors they would surely have noted it in the public record, because (as you point out) it strengthens the case for their conditional* support of the Special Permit. They would appear to have relied instead on a news clip about Oath's South Station outlet that highlighted the ovens. Livejournal discussion has already gone beyond this.

[*One material condition is that Oath underwrite the cost of four parking meters as a parking/traffic mitigation measure. The meters must accept both coins and credit cards. They obviously have a good lawyer.]

RE: lack of due diligence by planning staff

[teko.livejournal.com]

And I would be equally careful about issuing vague threats on Davis Square Livejournal. Please don't do that.

RE: lack of due diligence by planning staff

[jlauspitz.livejournal.com]

no threat intended, but certainly a strong rebuke. I don't take kindly to being called a kook and paranoid by people who won't sign their names.

moderator note

[ron_newman]

I'd like to request that everyone, especially keithn and teko and jlauspitz„ continue this discussion in a civil and noninflammatory style.

RE: moderator note

[jlauspitz.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

RE: lack of due diligence by planning staff

[jlauspitz.livejournal.com]

Dyspeptic ad hominem outbursts seem to be gaining in fashion in the season of the Donald. One useful thing about face-to-face neighborhood meetings in New England is that they are generally more civil than the Internet, even on a well-moderated list like this one. And such meetings can achieve lasting results on a case by case basis in cooperation with the City and the business owners: the plaza itself is a large example but there are many, many small amenities as well.

For the record, I am neither a "kook" nor a "pain-in-the-ass" retiree, and did not favor or oppose Tenoch but did provide a checklist of topics to be addressed and an alert to past neighborhood concerns. These are not "grievances" which I harbor but, repeat, topics to be addressed, which they were in that case to the satisfaction of the licensing commission. Similarly, I do not favor or oppose the Oath project, but do want to be sure that the change of use procedures are followed diligently on a high visibility, high trafficked spot.

Again for the record, there are cars circling Davis looking for parking spaces all the time, and sometimes they drop off and pick up a spouse or roommate to run in for food or cash or stamps or whatever. As it happens, my wife and I, though we are both walkers, did this just last week for a pizza at Peppe Boca, and might well do the same on a rainy day at this new place if it makes a reasonable case for change of use, as required by law.

As for the affordable housing matter, I think it clear that my point was that the staff report addressed it "by contrast" to more site-specific topics, including those in OSPCD's own planning documents.

Have a nice day.











The

RE: lack of due diligence by planning staff

[keithn.livejournal.com]

And one drawback of face-to-face meetings is preference falsification. I think spirited online discussions often allows people to really debate the heart of an issue. And to me, process is not the solution to a problem here. Process is the problem.

I don't want delays for endless community meetings and studies over something so trivial. I don't want what you call "due diligence." I want the pizza place. Let it open and succeed or fail. The worst that happens if you open this pizza place without a all the things you are asking for is... what, exactly?

We are getting to the point where nobody is going to be able to open anything in Davis Square due to having to hire lawyers, representatives, set up endless community meetings, pay for endless meaningless studies, apply for license after license, wait months on end, and appeal decisions repeatedly. Only people with deep pockets will be able to do it.

I'm sure you are a nice guy and mean well, but I really think you enjoy process for it's own sake.

Re: lack of due diligence by planning staff

[ron_newman]

Democratic process is essential for large developments such as 240 Elm Street (ex-Social Security building) or the once-proposed Day Street hotel. I find it less essential for a tiny storefront reuse such as this one.

Re: lack of due diligence by planning staff

[jlauspitz.livejournal.com]

1. What one cannot do very well on line is to negotiate a deal that is better for the City than the paltry four parking meters (not even new meters are specified) offered by the very able Oath lawyer (Richard di Girolamo) for traffic/parking mitigation. A better deal-- including, for example, the clean up measures undertaken by Dunkin Donuts-- will require the intervention of the Ward Alderman, after taking a neighborhood sounding. The question is not simply whether or not to welcome a new business but the terms on which this is done. This is why I noted that it will be an interesting test of Lance Davis, for whom I voted, to see whether he asks for a postponement in tomorrow's planning board hearing pending a neighborhood sounding, and why the failure of the planning staff to provide explicitly for a such a sounding is a significant omission for a flagship change of use location. At the very least, the Alderman and those living in the area should be given a chance to review the privately commissioned traffic and parking study.

2. On the larger philosophical issue of the relation between result-oriented and process-oriented thinking, a great deal depends on time and place. We live in a rule of law country that from its founding has institutionalized multiple levels of review, participation and reconsideration. It is also a country noted for its dynamism, innovation, adaptability and problem solving culture. So the question is always how to combine these. And there is formula applicable to all situations at all times.

3. Somerville, because it is so densely populated, is understandably more inclined to procedural issues-- permitting, licensing, regulation, citizen participation-- than, say, a strip mall in Texas where property owners can more easily dump the burden of their externalities into the wide open spaces. The somewhat funky character of Davis Square is the product of the interplay between market forces and citizen/City planning and review. It will achieve its full business potential with a re-zoning that invites citizen and aldermanic input. To its credit, OSPCD has undertaken this task.

Since Davis Square is home to many one-of-a-kind businesses and the burial for more chain outlets than Singer, it is not plausible to argue that the Somerville combination of the two modes of thought-- procedural and result/market-oriented-- has been inherently hostile to start-ups.

4. In the Oath case, the main externality, which is not trivial, is increasing the already serious bottleneck for pedestrians and cars at the junction of Day, Elm and Highland. Even with a virtually dormant Singer outlet, there is very often a car idling in the illegal space in front of that store while the driver runs out to make a quick purchase or pickup at one of the surrounding businesses or ATMs. This will obviolusly become a greater problem with a fast food store, and looking down the road a more serious consideration if the Mike's Plaza plan takes shape. Against this, must be balanced the revived use of a previously sleepy corner space-- indeed, a flagship space-- in Davis Square. I for one am not so smitten with the positive prospects as to think that the offer of four parking meters accepting coins and credit cards is sufficient to gloss over the obvious problems.

5. Tomorrow, we shall see whether Mr. Davis takes a role in this at the first public hearing.

RE: lack of due diligence by planning staff

[serious-noir.livejournal.com]

"We are getting to the point where nobody is going to be able to open anything in Davis Square..."

Pointless, fevered hyperbole seems to be your thing (given your posting history) – what is up with that?
It certainly doesn't help any discussion (but I understand that it makes you feel good).

I have no stake in the "90 second" pizza place. I can think of worse things that could go there and I can think of better. But looking at the impact that it may have is called "due diligence". It is what adults do.

RE: lack of due diligence by planning staff

[serious-noir.livejournal.com]

"jlauspitz, you are hurting Davis Square."


Coming from you, that is priceless. Your position is... what? MORE BEER! MORE WHINE!

Give it a rest. Be civil.

RE: lack of due diligence by planning staff

[ron_newman]

No beer here. The applicant is not requesting a liquor license.

Pizza joint/lack of due diligence

[mary388.livejournal.com]

Is this the same planing board who approved the Pink Berry plan? Remember that fiasco? Thanks, Ron, for the update. And kudos to jlauspitz for the comments
about the great number of things the planning board seems to have ignored.

[vonelftinhaus.livejournal.com]

Slightly OT, but where did you get those plans for that project Ron? I was searching around the city website and did find this reports and decisions page (http://www.somervillema.gov/departments/planning-board/reports-and-decisions) as i was curious if there was a plan submitted for the corner of School and Summer st yet, where the old gas station is.

[ron_newman]

Yes, I found the 280 Elm Street plan there. I don't know anything about the other project you mentioned. I would guess that the developer hasn't formally submitted plans yet.