Sibaritas Owner Plans Second Resturaunt at 41 North
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The owner of Sibaritas plans to open a new restaurant in the former Jay Allen's Clubhouse Grille.
On Monday, the Licensing Board approved a change of category, a change of corporate name, a change of corporate structure, and a change of name for 41 North St.
Attorney Darren Lee, representing the applicant, explained that Sibaritas owner Megan Gomez is opening a second restaurant in the large, empty restaurant space next to Hot Harry's.
Gomez is now the 100 percent owner of Sibaritas, he reported, as well as the new venture. The "doing business as" name on the application is "Aura."
The location most recently housed Placita Latina Salvadoran and Mexican Cuisine, which moved to 17 Wendell Ave. Ext. Jay Allen's closed before the pandemic.
The attorney wasn't able to share much about the upcoming business, but noted that Gomez works "quite a bit" and will be able to balance the nearby eateries.
Sibaritas, an Italian restaurant with a Chilean flair, opened in 2021 in the former Elizabeth's Restaurant at 1264 East St. In 2024, the Licensing Board approved a new annual downtown all-alcohol restaurant license for the eatery's new location at 27 McKay St., the former Trattoria Rustica.
Sibaritas remains in that location.
This left the former beer and wine license active for 1264 East St., and when the eatery owners learned that they could upgrade it to a full liquor license under a new state law, they opted to transfer and upgrade it for 41 North St.
"That's the reason for the many changes you see on the application, which includes location, type of license, which we just understand is available from the city to convert that," Lee said.
Next to 41 North Street, the Marketplace Cafe closed last month after 15 years in business.
While there was positive news about a restaurant space being filled in North Street, that wasn't the case for the former Chili's in Berkshire Crossing.
The restaurant closed abruptly in August 2024 and has been looking for a buyer for over a year. The current lease agreement goes out to 2029, and the company, Pepper Dining Inc., is looking for another business to carry it out.
Last fall, Chair Thomas Campoli reminded the company that under state law, if a licensee is not operating, the board has to "turn up the heat" to see if the license can be transferred or the venue reopened under a different owner.
"As far as I'm told, we have nothing new to really add," Director of Northeast Operations Allen Anderson reported.
"We have no interested buyers, still for sale, but nothing new to report, as far as the status of that restaurant."
He explained that there were some interested parties early on, but as of that morning, there is no active interest. The company is reportedly doing "very, very" well in other areas, but didn't work out in Pittsfield.
The update on the status of the shuttered restaurant's all-alcohol license was again continued.
"Right now, I don't want to do anything with the license, so I think we should just continue this," board member Kathy Amuso said.
Anderson explained that when one of these restaurants is closed, they look at the volume of guests, how difficult it is to staff, and proximity to other restaurants.
"This one doesn't have much going for us," he said.
"No other restaurants around it, super difficult to staff, management was impossible to find."
Campoli pointed out that if a liquor license is rescinded because of inactivity, the city loses that license. He pointed out that the license could be sold on its own, apart from the building, so it remains available for another business.
The board also asked that a representative from Chili's legal or real estate department update the board on the progress of the sale and if the liquor license could be put on the market.
Tags: license board, alcohol license, restaurants,
