Aka Bistro may soon be replaced by Blazes.
By Alice Waugh
Mother’s Day will be the last day of business for AKA Bistro, which garnered widespread praise for its innovative French and Japanese cuisine but was a victim of not one but two natural disasters.
Meanwhile, Richard Card, the Lincoln resident behind the proposed Blazes bookstore/coffee shop/cocktail bar, has made an offer to lease the space currently occupied by AKA Bistro and has launched a website detailing what Blazes plans to offer.
Rumors have swirled for some time that Aka Bistro might be closing. “AKA is a tenant at will and has been struggling to pay the rent for the space,” Geoff McGean, executive director of the Rural Land Foundation (which owns the Mall at Lincoln Station), said in an email last week. “We have talked with several new potential restaurant tenants about the space. Richard Card/Blazes is one of the potential tenants that has expressed interest in the space, and we have had discussions with them.”
Card confirmed that he has made an offer on a five-year lease for the AKA Bistro space for Blazes, which he hopes to open as soon as this fall if all goes well, but said on Tuesday he had not gotten a response.
“This is very sad because I like the town very much. It reminds me of the village in France where I grew up, a small community where everyone knows everyone. This is something I’ll miss a lot,” Christian Touche, co-owner and general manager of AKA Bistro, said in an interview Tuesday night. “It would have been easier if there was something bad” such as substandard food or poor service, but such was not the case, he said.
AKA Bistro was was never able to recover from a pair of unfortunate events: the lengthy closure of nearby Donelan’s after its roof collapsed in a snowstorm in February 2011, significantly reducing business traffic for the entire mall, and the closure of AKA itself for several months starting in December 2013 after a burst ceiling pipe caused extensive interior water damage. “I learned a lot about insurance,” Touche said ruefully.
The plan for Blazes had its first public airing at Town Meeting in 2015 when Card applied for a liquor license. He told the Lincoln Squirrel beforehand that his business would aim for a “salon atmosphere” with a breakfast, lunch and light dinner menu, and a small bookstore that would stock “only high-minded and literary works.”
At that time, Card said he did not have a specific site identified, though he later said he was looking at space on 10 Lewis St. That later turned out not to be workable due to a shortage of parking space.
Even though nothing has been signed, Blazes now has its own website noting that the establishment will be a “cultural cafe” with “an inviting chic and urban edge.” Offerings will include crafted coffees, loose-leaf teas, fresh fruit drinks, and food including “meticulously prepared soups, local cheeses and charcuteries.” The website includes a sample menu and an undated list of events Card hopes to hold there.
Asked about pricing, Card said that Blazes would be somewhere in between Concord’s Woods Hill Table and the Whistle Stop in Lincoln “so people can come here once or twice a week and not feel it’s going to be a big expense. We definitely do not want to be a ‘special occasion’ place.”
Card has assembled a committee of about a dozen Lincoln residents who are investing and/or lending their expertise in the design and planning process. He’s also planning to launch a Kickstarter online fundraising campaign featuring a promo video and a song. Among the committee members is Wendy Harrington, who said she and other Lincolnites are excited about what Blazes could offer beyond just its menu and merchandise.
“Italy and France have cafes in town squares, England has the pubs and Iceland has the baths,” Harrington said. “The problem with a small town like Lincoln is that it doesn’t have a town center” where people can run into each other and socialize with a cup of gourmet coffee or a cocktail.
“I’ll still go to Concord or Waltham or Lexington” to eat out for dinner, “but I would much rather have a casual meal [at a place] where I can throw on a coat and and go downtown [in Lincoln] with my daughter, or drop in during the day,” Harrington said. “I think Richard has really hit on it. I think he’s got a very holistic approach to the culture [of Lincoln] and the food part of it that was really missing.”
The impending closure of the well-regarded AKA Bistro came as a surprise to gourmets outside Lincoln as well. The restaurant was featured on April 22 in Boston Magazine’s “Best Food Instagrams of the Week” and was reviewed in detail on April 15 in The Passionate Foodie, a blog by Richard Auffrey, who said he had no idea about the upcoming change when he wrote his blog post.
Touche said he had considered “downgrading” the AKA Bistro menu a bit to get more local customers, but decided it was too risky. “I may or may not gain people from Lincoln, but I’d certainly lose the people who drive half an hour” for AKA’s fare, he said.
Touche isn’t certain what’s next for him, but said there will definitely be another restaurant in his future, and the AKA Bistro experience has taught him a lot. “I wish the best for the new people who are coming. It’s a great spot and maybe they’ll get a better sense of the needs of the residents,” he said.
I just learned of the closing and am deeply saddened. I didn’t go there often, due to the price, but for those special occasions it was the only place nearby that would give me an amazing experience. For those who complained the prices were too high, it is more expensive to create that experience than you realize. (And witness: they closed because they could not afford the rent.)
My heart goes out to the excellent staff and the owners. It will be a long, long time before anything as interesting comes to the area. The creativity of the dishes was at times incredible — such amazing flavors concentrated in a tiny dish of beautifully colored unfamiliar ingredients.
Thank you so much Christian, Chris (whom I never met) and the lovely staff. Best of luck for the future.
– Harold
I will miss AKA, a special place for special occasions and an attractive, frequent, go-to destination for out-of-town friends to come and join me for lunch. I was looking forward to a sunny stretch when the terrace could finally open. Christian and Chris provided a unique menu, I loved the tuna poke in particular. We will never forget our first meal there with our family, Easter weekend when they had just opened. We wish them well and thank them for staying the course for six years amidst many challenges.
Congratulations to Christian, Chris and their team on a great run in Lincoln. They had a vision and succeeded in garnering critical success and attracted clients form near and far. They also created jobs, paid taxes and were generous in their donations to the community.
I don’t understand while others feel the need to pile on. If the place wasn’t for you, I’m sure you didn’t reward them with your business. But give them credit for taking the business risk and joining our community.
Lincoln is desperately missing a space to gather and socialize. I hope the next tenant can achieve this. For the price the food at AKA was overpriced and hyped up in my opinion. The attitude of the co-owner and his judgment of cliental was a turn off. We likely would have been routine customers had we not been completely snubbed by Christian asking if we could afford the dinner when we attempted to dine there on a winter evening. Instead we venture outside of town to restaurants that enjoy our business. I will certainly not miss the kitchen staff of AKA continually smoking all along the side walk of the post office that I have to walk through their second hand smoke every afternoon trip I take to the post office.
It’s sad to see Christian and AKA go, and I wish he and his family all the best!
Blazes is a great idea, and I hope it comes to fruition. Lincoln needs a multipurpose venue that can be a meeting place for Lincoln residents of all ages and others passing through town from morning to evening, and on weekends. That broader appeal, longer hours of operation, and location will bring warmth to the center of town, and likely help other local businesses. The AKA space is well suited for such an innovative concept.
Good luck!
It is sad to see AKA go–had a few lovely birthday dinners there and the convenience–unbeatable!
However must say I am excited about the prospect of a space in Lincoln for something like Blazes. As a local musician, I would be in 7th heaven if there was a piano in there and the possibility for musical performances…
Many thanks to Christian and Chris for taking a chance on Lincoln. You brought us innovative cuisine, highly competent and friendly service and a warm atmosphere-you were pioneers in the burbs and we were the beneficiaries. In spite of being dealt a bad hand, through no fault of your own, you tired to make it work. We have loved having you in our “backyard” and you will be missed. Thank you for taking a chance with us, and best wishes in your next endeavor. Let us know where you land we will follow.
The food at AKA was delicious but the place was soooo noisy. Once we went there for Sunday brunch at 11am and it was lovely. Then at noon a zillion people arrived and the din was intolerable. We left.
But Christian was a doll. I hope Blazes will do something to soften the acoustics.
I’m so excited about the prospects of Blazes Cafe coming to town!!! Sure hope it all works out. The website looks fabulous – interesting menu & drinks. Salon atmosphere. Perfect!
AKA bistro provided a much needed ‘local’ hangout, for neighbors and out of towners looking for fresh innovative food. We will miss them! William must have missed the reasonable priced appetizers (from $9) and the $18 chicken entree, and it’s possible he dined there after rumors began to swirl that AKA might close, then swarmed to the point that people stayed away.
Every time we’ve dined there, the service was warm, friendly and welcoming, and the menu broad enough that you could be adventurous if you wanted, or stick to affordable comfort food – something for everyone. Brunch on the porch munching on fresh croissants and nibbling dim sum was a (affordable) treat,
Chris Chung gifted Lincoln his exquisite talents with seafood, saving us all a drive to Boston or New York. We will miss the AKA team – thank you for being part of the town.
We have had many lovely dinners at AKA. And we especially loved the outdoor dining in the summer. Our very best wishes to Christian and his team. We will miss you.
A lovely place for Lincoln’s nouveau riche clientele. I went there once with a friend for a drink and appetizer. The place was empty. Nobody else showed up during the hour and a half we were in there. The bill was over $100. Goodbye and good riddance, and please take the depressing mediocre sculptures with you. Have a nice day.