The identity of the future tenant of the AKA Bistro restaurant space is very much up in the air, as Trail’s End Cafe in Concord is also hoping to lease it, even as Richard Card of Blazes said he can’t wait much longer for an answer from the Rural Land Foundation, which owns the Mall at Lincoln Station.
“We’re still in discussions with a few potential tenants for the AKA space and we hope to have more to report in the next couple of weeks,” Geoff McGean, executive director of the RLF, in an email on July 20. Asked if Trail’s End was in the mix, he said “they are one of several who have expressed interest.”
Trail’s End Cafe has a full dinner menu and catering service as well as serving breakfast and lunch.
Bree Showalter, general manager of Trail’s End, confirmed in a July 21 email that “we are having ongoing discussions with RLF about the former AKA Bistro space” but would not comment further.
Meanwhile, Card is still waiting for an answer on his proposal for leasing the Aka Bistro space for Blazes, a combination bookstore that would also service food and cocktails as well as host events.
“We’re put in a very, very good offer,” he said in an interview on July 22. “I was told by the RLF there would be an answer a month ago and I’ve heard nothing… It’s been so frustrating to have the support of the town and the people who have come on board with this thing.”
Card said he was looking into other locations for the Blazes venture, including Sudbury, Maynard and even in Maine where he has a summer home. “I can’t continue to wait and wait,” he said. “If I found something tomorrow, the situation in Lincoln would be dead for me… but I haven’t found anything yet.”
Card was not entirely unsympathetic to the RLF, saying that “negotiations have been more protracted than either party would have liked” and that “they want to do something for the town too… they’re in a tough situation.” Emphasizing that he did not know what was going on behind the scenes, Card speculated that the holdup may be due to negotiations or legal proceedings involving Aka Bistro, which closed on May 8.
The sudden closure of the Whistle Stop last week is also concerning for Card. “I start to look at these serial failure and it makes me nervous, too,” he said.
The closures would seem to emphasize that market in Lincoln is not sufficient to support two restaurants, so if Trail’s End wins the bidding for the AKA Bistro space, putting Blazes in another Lincoln location (even if one were available) would not be an option.
“The short answer is, it just doesn’t seem possible to me” for both establishments succeed in Lincoln. Card said. “We would essentially serve the same type of fare as Trail’s End does. Two places like that? No.”
Card has another idea for a Lincoln establishment that might coexist with a place like Trail’s End—a combination bike shop and tap room—but it’s not something he would pursue any time soon, he said. Card’s long-term goal is to have about 10 versions of Blazes in different locations around the country, though they would look different from what Card envisioned for the business in Lincoln, such as not having the bookstore.
But Card is still hoping to open the first Blazes in his home town. “For me to start in Lincoln would be ideal because it represents everything I believe in and cherish. I think we could really make it work here,” he said. “Blazes is a big concept; it’s not just a restaurant, which in some ways is only incidental. It’s coming together for a social experience, cocktails and coffee—really making an an effort to be a community center.”
Leave a Reply