Good eats on Massachusetts street
New restaurants open in downtown Lawrence taking over from failing brethren
Many restaurants struggle to get a grasp on the market in Lawrence, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of people ready to give their idea a shot. Five new restaurants have opened on Massachusetts street since this past summer.
Friday, November 9th, 2007
Since June, five restaurants have opened on Massachusetts Street, replacing some long-time Lawrence restaurants and some that just didn’t survive.
Jane Pennington, director of Downtown Lawrence Inc., said that this year had been an unusual year as far as turnover rates.
“There are so many restaurants available downtown, it’s hard for newcomers to get a hold and be successful,” Pennington said.
This past summer, Global Café, Ingredient and Genovese opened, and this fall Encore Café and Southern Cuisine opened.
Bob Shumm, owner of Buffalo Bob’s Smokehouse, 719 Massachusetts St., and previous owner of Mass. Street Deli, which was open for 34 years and closed in February 2007, said the restaurant market was fully saturated in the city- and that the customer market was currently down from previous years.
The ingredient bar at Ingredient, 945 Massachusetts St., is a showcase for the variety of dishes you can have created to your specifications.
“Dining out is a discretionary act, and when people run out of money, it’s easy to say ‘I’m not going to eat out anymore,’” Shumm said.
Despite restaurant closings, open spaces on Massachusetts Street sell quickly. When Shumm closed Mass. Street Deli, Genovese was ready to start moving in almost immediately. Pennington said that Ingredient rented Qdoba’s space almost immediately as well.
Nick Wysong, general manager of Ingredient, said the turnover rate in Lawrence was always high and would continue to be high.
“The reason it’s so high is because the people that own them don’t want to work them,” Wysong said. “They put someone else in charge, and then other restaurants start to steal from you.”
Pennington said the restaurant market was difficult if owners didn’t understand the market and how much competition and customer loyalty to other restaurants played a part.
Shumm said it was important for restaurant owners to have their debt under control for when the market was down.
“You have got to have a unique product and be determined to stay with it through the ups and downs,” Shumm said. “Through the years there have been plenty of ups and downs, and you have to invest a lot of money in it.”
Genovese
Date Opened: June 2007
Location: 941 Massachusetts St.
Previously: Mass. Street Deli
Price range: Appetizers start at $4, and entrees cost as much as $24
Description: Genovese is a two-story restaurant owned by the same owners, Subarna Battachan and Alejandro Lule, as La Parrilla and Zen Zero. The restaurant offers authentic Italian food, such as spaghetti, linguini and pizzas.
Best-selling item: General manager Jack Donham said that the ravioli was the best selling pasta dish and that the pasta tasting dish also sold well.
Ingredient
Date Opened: June 2007
Location: 945 Massachusetts St.
Previously: Qdoba
Price range: Everything costs less than $11.
Description: Ingredient offers make-your-own salads, pizzas and sandwiches and will soon serve breakfast on Saturdays and Sundays. Customers order at the register then servers bring the food to their table. General Manager Nick Wysong said he thought students enjoyed Ingredient because, “It’s quick, great food with fresh ingredients.”
Best-selling items: Wysong said the top-selling items were the spin-dip pizza, the peppercorn steak sandwich and the sweet leaf salad.
Encore Café
Date Opened: October 2007
Location: 1007 Massachusetts St.
Previously: Vacant
Price Range: You can get a full meal with a drink for less than $20.
Description: Encore offers oriental-inspired food, along with Thai and curry dishes and smoothies and other drinks. Waitress Michelle Wilson said, “We have a pretty young atmosphere. We watch MTV here and serve great food.”
Best-selling items: Wilson said customers enjoyed the Pad Thai with chicken, chicken teriyaki and popcorn chicken.
Global Café
Date Opened: July 2007
Location: 820 Massachusetts St.
Previously: Black Eyed Susan
Price Range: $3.25 to $7.50
Description: Global Café has breakfast, sandwiches, soups and salads. The Café also offers arepas, which are South American stuffed corn cakes, and pinchos, a Spanish kabob served with yellow rice and black beans. The Café has Wi-Fi for customers.
Best-selling items: Owner Kate Gonzalez said best-sellers were the Cuban sandwich, arepas, Havana chicken sandwich and the breakfast scramble.
Southern Cuisine
Date Opened: November 2007
Location: 1008 Massachusetts St.
Previously: Olé Tapas
Price Range: Everything is either $6.99 or $9.95.
Description: Southern Cuisine offers down-home southern cooking, with everything made from scratch.
Best-selling items: The most popular items are the fried chicken and meatloaf.
— Edited by Jeff Briscoe
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