The Boston Licensing Board today approved a plan to replace the closed Daily Catch at the Moakley Courthouse with a bar catering to hard chargers who need to rewind with a cocktail in hand as they watch the sun go down after a long day arguing in court or creating new wonder drugs in a nearby life-sciences lab.
The board formally approved a deal by the owners of Marcelino's Boutique Bar, 2 Northern Ave. to buy the liquor license from the defunct Common Ground on Harvard Avenue in Allston to recreate the high-caliber yet soothing atmosphere of their existing bar in Providence.
Attorney Kristen Scanlon said manager Basel Badawi (in photo) and his partner Marcelino Abou Ali will provide "a bit of a calmer atmosphere" than some of the more frenetic outlets elsewhere in the Seaport, an "upscale, relaxed environment" in "a boho setting."
Part of that setting will come via a 180-seat outdoor seasonal patio. That was the sole bone of contention for the Fort Point Neighborhood Association, which wanted to see the patio closed no later than 11, or maybe even just 10. But the licensing board said, no, midnight is fine for a patio right on the water outside a court building for a bar that has permission to stay open until 2 a.m., in what Scanlon described as Boston's "largest eat/live/work/play neighborhood."
In addition to cocktails, Marcelino's will also offer Mediterranean and "Middle Eastern inspired" food.
Scanlon added the new restaurant will help keep the waterfront from becoming an outlaw area, because it will mean "lights and eyes on what is now one of the darker corners of the Harborwalk at night."