The Student Union announced Wednesday that it supports South Campus students in their effort to stop the outdoor expansion of the Audubon Circle Restaurant and Bar on Beacon Street, after student residences voiced their concerns that a proposed smoking patio will distract students in nearby dormitories.
Last month, Boston gave restaurant owner Chris Lutes permission to build the patio in the rear of his 838 Beacon St. building. The outdoor area is surrounded by Boston University housing on Beacon Street, Arundle Street and Mountfort Street.
South Campus residents who attended Wednesday’s weekly Senate meeting said they believe the outdoor drinking and smoking area, which will only be permitted to serve from April to October, would cause excess noise and smoke and interfere with their studies. The Senate and the area RHA hope to persuade the Boston Licensing Board to reject the plan and prohibit Lutes from serving alcohol in the expanded area.
“Both at the beginning of the semester and at the end of the year this might cause a problem during move-in and then studying for finals,” South Campus Residence Hall Association President Andrew David said during the Senate meeting. “No one wants to be exposed to second-hand smoke and have loud, rowdy crowds when they’re trying to study.”
Vice President of Residence Life Mike Myers said he presented the students’ case before the Audubon Circle Neighborhood Association on March 20 and urged both the community group and students to fight the extension.
“We are really trying to mobilize students and get them to come to these meetings and voice their concerns,” Myers said Saturday. “Even if it is for only a few months, it comes at a time of the year when students open their windows because it gets hot and the buildings have no air conditioning.”
Lutes knew university administrators objected to the addition, but said he was unaware BU students were protesting as well.
“I’ve heard nothing from the students,” he said. “Boston University was represented at the [zoning] hearing – opposed to it – and the neighborhood association was there – they seemed to support it.”
The proposed extension will be hidden from the street and sheltered by high-rise fences, Lutes said. The patio will house about seven tables, covered by umbrellas, and seat around 35 costumers.
“I’m surprised the students are complaining now,” he said. “Since we bought the place we’ve thrown three parties in this back lot and never heard any complaints. What I’m proposing is a few tables and conversational music – nothing like the, well, quite raucous parties we’ve held in the past … There is [also] Fenway and the highway, which makes noise pretty much all day and all night.”
Before Lutes can seek an extended liquor license, the Boston Licensing Board hopes to speak with community groups and residences that will be affected by the patio, according to a Licensing Board employee who declined to give his name.
The Audubon Circle Neighborhood Association has not decided which side to support on the issue, association President Jack Creighton said.
“Most people that I know think that the café is a good establishment,” he said. “It’s a nice addition to an upscale residential area.”
Creighton said the neighborhood association met with both Myers and BU Community Relation Liaison Maureen Kiely and will consider the topic further during its next meeting on April 20.
While many have voiced both concern and support, Creighton said “it is perilous to predict the actions of the board.”
“They agreed to stop service after [11], which helped their case, and if they do not increase the occupancy of [the restaurant], they would have an even stronger case for themselves,” he said.
Many residences fear that by increasing the occupancy, the Audubon Circle restaurant will attract more costumers and more cars to the “already overcrowded street,” Creighton said.
Lutes said the majority of Audubon’s costumers are local residents, students and baseball fans walking to or from Fenway Park and he claimed the increase will not affect parking.
“Since we bought the restaurant in 1996, we have received a lot of praise of the community,” Lutes said. “The place used to be a liquor store that attracted a seedy crowd and sold to minors. When I first got the place, I described it to some friend and they said, ‘Oh yeah, I know that place. I used to by beer from them when I was 16.'”
City Councilor Michael Ross (Fenway, Audubon Circle) said Sunday that he is for the proposed patio but suggested students contact his office and voice their opinions.
“We have had ‘problem bars’ in the area – they are not one of them,” Ross said. “My office has reviewed [the plans] and I’m inclined to support it. [However,] perhaps there is a way we can find a compromise.”
While the Union hopes to stop the entire project, Myers said the students might have to cooperate with the restaurant to find a solution.
“I think compromise will probably be the eventual outcome of this situation,” he said. “We want to make them at least recognize that this is a student concern.”