Geoff McGean of the Rural Land Foundation and Elizabeth Akehurst-Moore of Trail’s End sign leases for two restaurant properties in the Lincoln Station complex on Wednesday.
The suspense is over for the Lincoln Station restaurant situation. The owner’s of the Trail’s End Cafe in Concord will open new locations in not one but both Lincoln restaurant locations vacated by the closures of Aka Bistro and the Whistle Stop cafe.
The Rural Land Foundation (RLF), which owns Lincoln Station, announced in a press release Wednesday night that Jim and Carol White of Lincoln and their daughter Elizabeth Akehurst-Moore, who together own Trail’s End, had signed two separate leases. After renovating the Aka Bistro space, they plan to open Lincoln Kitchen, which will serve “high-end comfort food” for lunch and dinner along with cocktails, wine, and craft beer on tap and in bottles. Trail’s End Café, Lincoln will open in the Whistle Stop space as a “casual breakfast and lunch venue” that will offer homemade baked goods, sandwiches, salads, coffee and espresso drinks similar to what’s served at the Concord location, the release said.
The cafe is expected to open by the end of September and the restaurant by later in the fall.
“I am very excited to open two restaurants in my hometown,” Akehurst-Moore, a Concord attorney who has been operating Trail’s End since 2011, said in the release. “Both restaurants will maintain our commitment to serving delicious food, homemade from thoughtfully sourced ingredients, using local products when possible.”
Akehurst-Moore could not be reached for comment Wednesday night. Jim Moore deferred comment until Wednesday.
Lincoln resident Richard Card had hoped to lease the Aka Bistro space for Blazes, a combination bookstore, coffee shop/restaurant and cocktail bar. He made an offer but as of late July, he had started looking at other locations as he had not heard back from the RLF. Card could not be reached for comment Wednesday night.
“We had several really qualified candidates approach us about leasing both spaces, but in the end we think Lincoln Kitchen and Trail’s End Café will provide a great community experience with top-quality local food,” RLF Executive Director Geoff McGean said in the release. “Elizabeth grew up in Lincoln and her parents, Jim and Carol White, still live here, so they understand Lincoln and recognize the desire for a community-based restaurant that will appeal to all Lincolnites. We are so fortunate to have them share their Concord restaurant expertise and great food with Lincoln.”