We want to thank the Jamaica Plain community for the incredible outpouring of support we have received since announcing our move from Centre Street in Hyde Square to the Brewery on Amory Street, which will happen in spring, 2009. To clarify a few points, the Milky Way will not be closing but will be merging with Bella Luna into one restaurant and lounge. We will still have entertainment but on a smaller scale. In answer to many of your questions, we will be serving dinner as well as lunch, and we will continue to host parties and special events.
We also want to clarify for the record that we have never received subsidies from our current landlord and that we have paid for 100 percent of the build-out of both Bella Luna and the Milky Way facilities. We paid a total of $1.2 million in base rent from 1993 to 2007 (not including insurances, taxes or utilities), and we have invested $500,000 in leasehold improvements that we will not be able to take with us. It’s not our choice to move but our reality.
We are excited about a great future at the Brewery and look forward to establishing new traditions and excitement with our local customers. We hope that Bella Luna and the Milky Way will still be a vibrant neighborhood institution, 10, 20 and 30 years from now, and we feel confident that our new location will enable us to serve JP and the City of Boston for years to come.
Carol Downs
Katherine Mainzer
Co-owners
Bella Luna Restaurant
Milky Way Lounge & Lanes
Jamaica Plain