The wait will be a little longer for the Gen Korean BBQ House looking to take over the long-empty Dickson Bros. hardware store space in Harvard Square. Cambridge’s License Commission board took the matter under advisement Tuesday because questions remain about a rooftop deck and even about how food will be cooked.
The chain, founded in in 2011 in Los Angeles, has more than 50 company-owned locations across the country, but the closest are in New Jersey and New York. This first in New England would be a big one: a basement, three floors of dining and a rooftop deck for a total occupancy of 293 people diners over 8,671 square feet.
At most Gen Korean locations, there is no question how it works – diners grill their own meals at the table using ingredients brought by servers.
But this is Cambridge. Fire officials have concerns, which commission chair Nicole Murati Ferrer raised with Gen Korean’s Joseph Sue and attorney Nicholas Zozula to no clear response.
“I don’t think either of you are answering my question,” Ferrer said. “Who will be doing the cooking?”
Fire officials had concerns about open fire and customers potentially injuring themselves or “causing other issues,” Zozula acknowledged, even though “this is the concept at the other 40-plus locations.” Ferrer’s understanding was that Gen Korean was before the commission after being “held up significantly” only because an understanding had been struck that in Cambridge, the servers would also do the cooking for the diner.
It undoes the concept – also familiar to local diners from Japanese “shabu” hot pot experiences – but avoids the restaurant having to switch to induction stoves at tables, Ferrer said. A similar solution is in place at the Naksan Korean barbecue in Allston.
The change isn’t a problem, Sue said. Staff members at other Gen Korean locations walk around cooking and educating customers.
The understanding wasn’t certain enough to move the licensing forward, though, and Ferrer had still more questions about whether there would be open flames on the rooftop deck. Neither Sue or Zozula were sure.
That put Gen Korean on pause. Denise Jillson, executive director of the Harvard Square Business Association, hoped it wouldn’t be for long.
“To say that we’re excited would be an understatement,” Jillson said. “The space has been vacant in the heart of Harvard Square since December 2020 and we expect that after all the permitting and the buildout we’re probably looking at another year” until Gen Korean can open.
“It will be a very long time for this very important location to be filled – and with something that is as exciting as this,” Jillson said.
Dickson Bros. operated at 26 Brattle St. Dickson Bros. for nearly 80 years. Already facing pressures from online retail, the store closed in the summer of 2020, during the Covid pandemic. Billionaire Gerald Chan bought the real estate that November for $10.1 million.
The Gen Korean concept is unique in the square and will be only the third rooftop patio after Daedalus and the Mexican restaurant Felipe’s, which is directly across the street at 21 Brattle St.
“If you’ve ever been here on a Thursday or Friday or a Saturday night, [there are] dozens and dozens – I would say hundreds – of people standing in line waiting to get up on that patio during the good weather,” Jillson said.
Tradesman and Marriott
Licensing went smoothly for Tradesman, a Boston coffee shop and lounge adding a a full-service restaurant location on the ground floor of the Marriott Hotel at 50 Broadway, Kendall Square. Tradesman Cambridge is set to be open from 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. just inside the Broadway entrance of the hotel.
The 2,200-square-foot restaurant with a capacity of 49 will be independent of the hotel, leasing what used to be Marriott space. The hotel is keeping its own M Club restaurant and lounge and Element 50, a hidden speakeasy-style bar, said the hotel’s Jennifer Pendola.
The hotel asked the commission to make formal adjustments to its total square footage and corrected the number of guest rooms to 457 from 432.
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