Virsa de Punjab Indian Kitchen is Replacing Firebox BBQ

Virsa de Punjab Indian Kitchen is expected to open at 347 Great Road by the end of February. This is the space previously occupied by Firebox BBQ (which just closed). The new restaurant, which will feature Indian Food is expected to offer different cooking styles than Holi Indian Restaurant which just opened this spring. Virsa de Punjab Indian Kitchen will also offer a Buffet as well as a special kid's menu. The restaurant just obtained a full alcohol license and will likely have a small bar area.

The new restaurant will be run by Kishan Singh who has managed several Indian restaurants in the surrounding area.

Stay tuned for more details.

More Details on The Comella's Restaurant Coming to Bedford Marketplace

As earlier reported, Comella's Restaurant expects to open this spring at 158 H Great Road in the Bedford Marketplace in the same building where the new Bank of America is located. The family run restaurant chain, which has about a dozen other location in Massachusetts, offer Salads, Sandwiches, Soups, Pastas, Pizzas, Traditional Italian Entrees and Desserts. Comella's just purchased a full alcohol license from Ka-Noon Thai Cuisine (which closed a few months ago) and so should have a full selection of beer, wine and mixed drinks.

While most of the other Comella's have about 20 seats and focus on take out, the Bedford location is expected to be different. The new restaurant which will be around 3500 square feet, is expected to have close to 100 seats. There will be two sections of this restaurant. A counter service section  where you place the order and then food is brought to you (similar to Ken's Deli) and a full service section where you order at the table. This full service section will also contain a bar area.

Comments:
With the second new building at Bedford Marketplace completed and work on the third building proceeding rapidly, additional restaurants will be re-opening in the next few months including b.good, Bruegger's Bagels and Subway.

As far as Cafe Luigi, a December 14th note on their Facebook page states "We are still working hard towards reopening in the Spring and are confident that we will be able to accomplish this."

Firefox BBQ Restaurant Has Closed

Firebox BBQ which was located at 347 Great Road, has closed. According to employees, the company is moving to Woburn where it will focus on catering as well as sending out food trucks in the region.

One of several different Firebox Food Trucks that will continue on

A new Indian Restaurant tentatively called Virsa de Punjab Indian Kitchen and Bar will be moving in to the old Firebox location (which has been a number of different restaurants over the years). It appears the new restaurant will be purchasing a good amount of the existing fixtures and equipment from Firebox. This should enable them to open relatively soon. In addition, the new owners have requested the transfer of the All Alcohol License from Firebox BBQ so expect the new restaurant to also serve alcohol.

It's interesting to note that this will be second Indian restaurant to open in Bedford. Holi Indian Restaurant opened this past April.

Construction Wraps up at The Crossing at Bedford

Construction has essentially wrapped up at The Crossing at Bedford, the mixed use project at 54 Loomis Street in the Depot District. Construction started in September 2014, and got delayed somewhat most likely due to the heavy snowfall last winter. While there are a few minor items such as additional landscaping to be completed, the project is expected to get it's certificate of occupancy very shortly which will enable people to start moving in within the next few weeks.

The second building contains Eight 2 Bedroom and Four 1 Bedroom units.

The Crossing consists of two buildings with 19 Residential Condos and three retail spaces which are located in the first floor of the building closest to Loomis Street. The residential condos have already sold out, although a few may have been bought as investment properties as at least one is currently available for lease.

The three retail spaces occupy about 2800 square feet.

While the three retail spaces were originally promoted as traditional retail leases, a decision was made to offer then as retail condos. While this is not yet common, retail condos have become a lot more popular in recent years. All three of the retail condos have been sold. The new retailers include Body Boutique (moving from just down the street at 50 Loomis), The Orange Chair moving from 50 Great Road and some type of food place (may be called Private Kitchen, stay tuned for more details).

A new public walkway across the property connects the Minuteman Bikeway to the Narrow Gauge Trail.

The new condos are located right next to Depot Park and along the Route 62 bus route.

Note the external fire sprinklers just above the windows. This was a condition of a variance to let the developer build closer to the property line.

Comments:
1. This project should add some additional vitality to the Depot District.

2. It's interesting to note how quickly the condos sold out. There seems to be a lot of demand for apartments centrally located where you can easily walk and bike and be close to mass transit. I expect to see some additional proposals for condos and/or apartments in the surrounding area in the next year or two.

3. The past year have seen several retail oriented businesses moved out of 50 Loomis Street. This building was originally built in the 1960's and might benefit from an exterior renovation.

December 17th Update: Lynn Garber an owner of 50 Loomis Street has notified me that both of the businesses that have moved out was due to changes in business plans - one wanted more visibility on Great Road and the other was interested in buying their own space.

Bank of America to Open in New Bedford Marketplace Building on December 14th

Bank of America will be the first new tenant to open in the second of the three new Bedford Marketplace buildings. The Bank, which as earlier reported, moved in to a temporary trailer on June 8th, is expected to vacate the temporary trailer on December 11th and then re-open in it's new permanent location at 158 Great Road on December 14th.

The Bank has the primary spot along Great Road. The new building is much closer to the street with parking in back.

The new location also gets a new branch number, 16798 compared to 14391 for the old building.

The new location has a separate entrance for employees which leads directly to offices and conference rooms, bypassing the bank lobby.

Several surveillance cameras have been added adjacent to Great Road.

The new branch location is larger than the old one and also adds a drive thru and ATM. A second entrance and exit from Great Road to Bedford Marketplace should be open shortly.

The new drive thru is covered but tall enough for Van's and Full Size SUV's.

The new ATM's are expected to have multiple language options, including English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, French, Russian and Portuguese.

The Bank of America drive thru contains a ATM and a Teller Window.

The first new building which is adjacent to Marshall's, opened in October adding Lincoln Liquors, Red Heat and the temporary location for Brookline Bank. The second building which is housing the new Bank of America branch, will be adding additional tenants over the next month or two. The third building has just started construction and is expected to be completed by early Spring 2016.

While the second building is just opening, work is proceeding rapidly on the remaining building. 
The foundation is expected to be fully poured by December 12th.