El Jefe’s Taqueria, a late-night Mexican restaurant, won’t be allowed to operate past 1 a.m. at its new Boston University campus location after the Boston Licensing Board rejected its request.
The restaurant, located on 957 Commonwealth Avenue, applied to stay open until 4 a.m. at a Jan. 26 hearing. Instead, it was granted a permit to remain open until 1 a.m. after representatives from both BU and the Boston Police Department raised concerns of strain on police force personnel and potential “incidents” occurring late at night.
El Jefe’s Taqueria’s owner, John Schall, applied for a license to remain open until then so as to service community members who work overnight, such as police officers, firefighters and EMTs.
“There’s a demand for it among both the students and the residents of these neighborhoods and we’re there to serve that need,” Schall said.
At the hearing, Ken Ryan, BUs director of city relations, was joined by BUPD Chief Kelly Nee in expressing the University’s concerns about the 4 a.m. closing time, requesting the board amend the hours of operation to close at 1 a.m.
“We feel a 4 a.m. closing is uncharacteristic for the area and could result in otherwise avoidable circumstances and incidents at that hour on Commonwealth Avenue,” Ryan said.
BU spokesperson Colin Riley declined to comment further on the University’s objection to the closing time.
El Jefe’s Taqueria has several other locations in the Boston area — one near Harvard Square, another near Boston Common and a third near Northeastern University’s campus. The former has closed at 4 a.m. for the past six years, the Boston Common location closes at midnight and the Northeastern location closes at 2 a.m.
Mark Harrington, commander of BPD’s District D-14 in Brighton, said in the hearing that an early morning closing time could “create problems” — as it has in the past — and believed the restaurant’s operating hours should align with that of others in the area.
“My concern is that I would have to commit cars down there, on a nightly basis, after 1 a.m,” Harrington said.
Raising Cane’s and Blaze Pizza’s West Campus locations both close at 10 p.m.
Pleading his case, Schall said there “hasn’t been an incident” at the Harvard Square location in the six years it has been operating, adding the new location on BU’s campus will not serve alcohol.
“30% of our business is done between midnight and 4 a.m.,” Schall said. “There is absolutely a need for this.”
The Boston Licensing Board offered Schall the opportunity to return in a year to appeal for later hours.
Eloise Marseille, a freshman in the College of General Studies, said it can be hard to find food on campus after the dining halls close, especially when she’s up late on the weekends or studying.
“I think 1 a.m. is a fine time to close, but I can understand people wanting it to be open around 4 a.m.,” Marseille said. “I live in Fenway, and the Fenway dining hall closes really early Friday, Saturday and Sunday.”
Caroline Dehaven, a junior at the School of Hospitality Administration, said Boston is not a “nightlife” city and does not have a lot of options for food at night.
“I definitely feel for people like medical interns and medical workers because it leaves them limited options at night,” Dehaven said.
Peyton Nguyen, a freshman at the Sargent School of Health and Rehabilitation, said he thinks it would be nice to have more food options for students studying late at night.
“Everybody has a completely different schedule in college, and there are a lot of people that have different obligations. They might pull all-nighters,” Nguyen said. “I think it would ultimately be better for the campus community if we did have more options.”
Schall is projecting the new El Jefe’s Taqueria will open sometime over this weekend, he said.
“We think it’s going to be a great store,” Schall said. “We’re really excited about being part of the Boston University neighborhood.”
