The City that Always Sleeps: Seaport could get Japanese/Vietnamese noodle bar, but neighborhood group opposes 12:30 a.m. closing time

A Connecticut concatenation that serves Japanese ramen and Vietnamese pho wants to unfastened its archetypal Boston edifice astatine 44 Thomson Pl., but the Fort Point Neighborhood Association is asking the Boston Licensing Board to standard backmost its projected 12:30 a.m. closing clip to a much Boston clip of 11 p.m.

Mecha is seeking support to bargain the liquor licence from the closed Whiskey's connected Boylston Street successful the Back Bay to unfastened what its attorney, Kristen Scanlon, would beryllium a "high energy, fun, communal environment" serving "Southeast Asian comfortableness food" that, successful summation to broth-based ramen and pho would besides connection assorted types of dumplings and bubble teas.

She said that Mecha is pronounced "Metcha" and comes from the Vietnamese for "mom and pop," alternatively than "Meka," from the Japanese for elephantine battling robots.

Scanlon said Mecha, which precocious won support for a edifice successful Brookline, said it wanted a 12:30 a.m. closing clip successful portion due to the fact that the Seaport edifice would beryllium its archetypal successful "a larger municipality market," successful portion truthful it could person the accidental to service larger backstage events. She said that galore of the adjacent restaurants adjacent already person closing times of 1 oregon adjacent 2 a.m.

Only the neighboring Trillium Brewing Co. has an 11 p.m. closing time, but Scanlon said that's an wholly antithetic benignant of concern - wherever the main offering is brew and they connection unrecorded entertainment. In contrast, Mecha "is yet a noodle house" wherever astir of the income would travel from nutrient orders.

Tom Ready of the Fort Point Neighborhood Association, however, said 11 p.m. would beryllium a amended closing clip for the restaurant, astatine slightest for the archetypal twelvemonth of operation, truthful the vicinity could spot if it would beryllium a bully neighbor.

An adjutant to City Councilor Ed Flynn asked the committee to defer immoderate ballot connected the connection to let Mecha and the vicinity relation to find a compromise connected the issue.

The committee could ballot time whether to o.k. the liquor-license merchantability oregon whether to defer it for further bargaining betwixt the edifice concatenation and the vicinity group.