Outdoor Dining Begins March 22 in Boston

Let's hope Boston sees a lot of warm days starting next week as outdoor dining will begin March 22, which is earlier than initially planned. The city has received more than 434 applications of which at least 215 have been approved. Last year more than 550 requests for outdoor dining were granted with 415 on public property. According to the city's website, eight Jamaica Plain restaurants have been approved for outdoor dining: Brassica Kitchen and Cafe; Brendan Behan Pub; Casa Verde; Jeanie Johnston; Little Dipper; Monumental Market; Soup Shack JP; and Tres Gatos. Outdoor dining was initially planned to begin April 1.

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Nine Jamaica Plain Bizs Awarded JPCS Main Streets Grants for Reopening

JP Centre/South Main Streets has awarded grants to nine Jamaica Plain businesses to help them with their reopening expenses and outdoor seating. The grants were given to businesses in the JPCSMS district. Grants of $1000 were awarded to the following businesses:

Casa Verde at 711 Centre St. Jeanie Johnston at 144 South St. JPizle Kitchen at 536 Centre St.

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Fundraising Campaign to Help Centre Street Bizs Adapt to New Reality of Outdoor Seating and More

Restaurants are now allowed to have customers inside at a reduced capacity, and to help offset the loss of customers, outdoor seating has been expanded for many eateries. To help cover some of the costs for businesses due to the pandemic, JP Centre/South Main Streets is holding a fundraising campaign to pay for things such as outdoor seating. The campaign runs through July 22 and has a target goal of $40,000, and as of July 8 had raised $3,545. JP Centre/South Main Streets is also letting customers know that businesses are open by asking them to put an orange balloon outside of their location. Business owners David Doyle of a trio of restaurants Tres Gatos, Little Dipper, and Casa Verde, and David Warner of City Feed & Supply, recently partnered to purchase the required jersey barriers (water-filled) for outdoor seating areas.

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JP Restaurant Week Returns to Support Immigration Justice Starting Nov. 10

Six of JP’s favorite restaurants and local activist group Boston For All are coming together again for an exciting week of fundraising for legal defense of immigrant children starting Nov. 10. From Nov. 10 through 15, through participating in ‘Dining For a Difference 4’ – the fourth such collaboration – customers
of the restaurants will be directly supporting the work of Kids in Need of Defense (KIND). KIND’s work to provide legal support for immigrant children in the legal system informs the stated mission of all involved to support immigration justice.

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JP Restaurants Raising $$ for Immigrant Rights During Dining for a Difference Week

Diners in Jamaica Plain have a chance to donate to a great cause while enjoying meals at six fabulous local restaurants during Dining for a Difference Week from November 4 to 9. The fundraiser will support national immigrant rights group Kids in Need of Defense, which in recent months has been working tirelessly on behalf of migrant children separated from their parents. During Dining for a Difference Week, local restaurants Tres Gatos, The Haven, Casa Verde, The Frogmore, Vee Vee and Little Dipper will each donate a portion of proceeds from a night of business. The event is the fifth organized by Boston For All, a grassroots group of local parents inspired by the 2016 election to raise money for civil liberties and civil rights organizations. Thus far, Boston for All has raised more than $25,000 through fun, family-friendly events.

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Rosie’s Place Names JP’s Mari Pérez-Alers to Board of Directors

Rosie’s Place, a sanctuary for poor and homeless women, recently named Jamaica Plain resident Mari Pérez-Alers, DPT to its board of directors. Pérez-Alers is a senior project manager for PACE, a national organization whose mission is to allow adults with chronic ailments, age 55 and older to remain living safely, and as independently as possible in the community. Trained as a physical therapist, she has more than 20 years of strategic management and leadership experience in community-based health care. With her husband, David Doyle, she co-owns three Jamaica Plain restaurants: Tres Gatos, Casa Verde and Centre Street Cafe. Mari Pérez-Alers serves as the vice-chair of the Rosie’s Place board and also sits on the Strategic Planning committee.

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JP Restaurants Hosting ‘Dining for a Difference’ to Support Immigrant, Refugee Advocacy Coalition March 6-9

This coming week you can eat at some of the best restaurants in Jamaica Plain during the first Dining for a Difference Week, which will support the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition. Vee Vee, Tres Gatos, Casa Verde and The Frogmore, will each will donate a portion of proceeds from a night of business from March 6th through March 9th, as part of Dining for a Difference Week. The following is the schedule for Dining for a Difference:
Tuesday, March 6 - Tres Gatos
Wednesday, March 7 - The Frogmore
Thursday, March 8 - Vee Vee
Friday, March 9 - Casa Verde

This is the third event organized by Boston For All, a grassroots group of local neighbors inspired by the 2016 presidential election to raise money for civil liberties and civil rights organizations. Jeremy Fischer founded Boston For All and with other local parents, he organized Run for All, a benefit fun run weeks after the election, raising $6,000 for the Massachusetts ACLU. Months later, Fischer created Rock for All, a rock concert for kids in Jamaica Plain that raised another $8,000 for the ACLU.

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One Year Later, JP Restaurateurs Reflect on Hospitality Fee

Last December, Jamaica Plain restaurants Tres Gatos and Centre Street Cafe added a 3 percent "hospitality administrative fee" to diners' checks, which would be used to fund raises, benefits and more sustainable work hours for the restaurants' back-of-house kitchen staff. When sister restaurant Casa Verde opened this May, it adopted the rule as well. The restaurateurs' decision touched off a great deal of discussion online (including on Jamaica Plain News) and in their restaurants. In particular, they told the community they hoped their experiment would "serve as a test model from which other small restaurants can gain valuable insight." So, one year after implementing the fee, what have the restaurants' owners observed?

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Detail from draft menu for Casa Verde, as of Tuesday, May 5, 2015.

Three Dollar Tacos to Anchor New Mexican Restaurant ‘Casa Verde’

New details emerged Tuesday about a Mexican restaurant proposed to fill the Ghazal space at 711 Centre St. — including a draft menu featuring $3 tacos. The eatery, to be called "Casa Verde," is from the team behind existing JP restaurants Tres Gatos and Centre Street Cafe. Co-owner David Doyle described the project Tuesday to members of the Public Service Committee of the JP Neighborhood Council. "We believe a Mexican restaurant, really affordable, family friendly, would be a good fit for Jamaica Plain," Doyle told those at the meeting, which was held at Curtis Hall Community Center.

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