Asian-inspired sandwich and bowl seller Bon Me is coming to the North Point neighborhood, co-founder Patrick Lynch and developer DivcoWest said Tuesday. It will be the fifth eatery in the Cambridge Crossing development after chef Will Gilson’s Café Beatrice, Geppetto and The Lexington; a Lamplighter Brewing location; and a Tatte Bakery and Café.
When it opens – Divco and Lynch would say only that it will be sometime this year – the 222 Jacobs St. site will also be the fifth location in Cambridge for Bon Me, which has a namesake dish in the Vietnamese banh mi sandwich.
There are two Bon Me locations not far away in Kendall Square: a test kitchen on Binney Street about 0.7 miles from Jacob Street, and an eatery on Hampshire Street about 1.2 miles away. The Fresh Pond neighborhood and the Smith Campus Center in Harvard Square have other Bon Me locations, and there are four more in Boston.
“Our journey starting as a food truck helped us discover communities like CX, which are the perfect fit for us – vibrant and growing neighborhoods that value community and culture,” Lynch said, using the branding for Cambridge Crossing. The chain launched in 2010 after winning a Boston Food Truck Contest that he and co-founder Ali Fong entered on a whim. With their surprise win came the opening of the first Bon Me truck in 2011.
Hungry for restaurateurs
Restaurateurs or the restaurant-curious have their choice in Cambridge. In addition to Tuesday’s news that Porter Square’s Christopher’s and Toad locations are available, the leasing firm Graffito has identified spots in Kendall and Central squares.
In Kendall, there’s 1,725 square feet at 165 Main St. at the base of One65, a new 300-unit residential building across from MIT’s Sloan School of Management. The site has an 18-foot ceiling and an outdoor patio opportunity, though it’s also being marketed for retail, according to a listing sent Tuesday – and is the final retail space available in the building by Broad Canal.
In Central, the former Mary Chung’s space at 464 Massachusetts Ave. is available. The owners retired Dec. 31 after serving Chinese-American dishes and Sichuan fare for 40 years at the location, which has 2,375 square feet of “existing restaurant infrastructure” and another 1,157 square feet of lower-level basement storage, as well as outdoor seating potential.
“Locally owned operators will be prioritized,” Graffito said Jan. 24, calling for “a best-in-class food and beverage concept that, like Mary Chung, will become a fixture in Central Square’s dining scene for years to come.”
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