What's Left Between the Josiah Smith Tavern and a Restaurant

The Woods has cleared every design and zoning review that touches the building. Historic New England has signed off, and so have the Planning Board, the Historic Commission, the Permanent Building Committee and the Zoning Board of Appeals. According to the Friends of the Josiah Smith Tavern, the operator is ready to apply for a building permit. What's left is a lease amendment and an escrow agreement between the Select Board, the Friends and Boston Urban Hospitality. As of late October those terms were still in dispute, and the board had put termination on the table.

That's why Weston's 1757 tavern at 358 Boston Post Road is going into another holiday season with no restaurant open. Less than a mile away, the town's other Revolutionary-era tavern has a full calendar built around food and candlelight.

The design and zoning approvals are done

The Woods is the restaurant planned by Brian Piccini, a Weston resident, through his company Boston Urban Hospitality, also called BUWest. The Friends of the Josiah Smith Tavern is the nonprofit that leases the town-owned building. Their October update lists what the project has finished:

• Complete construction documents, a chosen contractor and a construction budget
• Approval from Historic New England, which kept a deed restriction when it sold the building to the town
• Approvals from the Planning Board, Historic Commission, Permanent Building Committee and Zoning Board of Appeals
• More than $455,000 of Piccini's personal funds invested so far, by the Friends' count

The last zoning step came on Sept. 30, when the Zoning Board of Appeals approved a variance for 22 more on-street parking spaces. That brought the site to the 77 spaces it needs.

In July, the Weston Observer reported that Piccini put the project cost at $4.3 million and was aiming to open in March 2027. The Select Board called his July 14 update satisfactory, the Observer reported in its September roundup of town projects. So what stands between the project and a building permit application is the lease, not design or zoning.

What the town and the project team disagree on

On Oct. 8, the Select Board sent its second ultimatum of the year. According to the Weston Observer's Oct. 23 report, the board's letter said the Friends and Piccini were in breach of the master lease because the restaurant wasn't open and no rent had been paid a year after the liquor license was issued. The letter set an Oct. 15 deadline to sign new terms. If they didn't, the board said it might enforce the current agreement, seek money owed and terminate the lease.

The Friends did not sign. The disagreement comes down to a few specific terms:

1. When the escrow gets funded. The board wants a $1 million construction escrow set up within 30 days of signing. Piccini has agreed to fund it. He and Friends president Jay Valenta object to funding it before the revised lease is signed.
2. Who signs off on construction spending. The proposal has the town's building inspector verify progress and spending before money is released. Valenta told the Observer he was uncomfortable with that process and preferred a third party.
3. Missed deadlines. Under the letter's terms, the town could seek immediate termination if a deadline is missed. The Friends write that this applies even to minor delays, with no notice or chance to fix the problem.
4. When the rent relief starts. The Friends say the original deal gave 180 days to build after the permit was issued, then nine months of free rent starting around opening. The town isn't paying for any of the interior build-out. The Oct. 8 version starts the nine months when the agreement is signed, which the Friends say would use up most of the relief before the doors open.

The board describes the terms as protection for a building taxpayers paid to restore. "As you can see from the letter, they are in breach of the lease, and we're offering them an opportunity to agree to the things in that proposal, in which case then we can move ahead," Chair John McDonald told the Observer. "That is all to protect the interests of the town." McDonald said the board is prepared to walk away from The Woods but still thinks an agreement is possible.

Valenta told the same paper, "I think they want to go forward, but what's happening right now is not effective and is not productive," and added that he believes a majority of the board wants the restaurant to happen.

The board's Oct. 20 agenda included an executive session on 358 Boston Post Road.

Why a lease fight can stop a project this far along

The escrow and rent terms matter because the building has a long history of public money and long waits. Here are the key dates from the Friends' history of the tavern and the Observer's reporting:

Town voters approved more than $12 million to restore the building. The operator has to pay for the restaurant build-out himself. Both sides are trying to protect what they've already spent, which explains why the remaining arguments are about when money moves and who confirms it was spent. The Friends write that "Weston residents have repeatedly made their wishes clear: they want a restaurant at the Josiah Smith Tavern."

Before it was a restaurant project, the tavern was a political place. Weston Historical Society president Pam Fox wrote in the Observer that Josiah Smith and Joel were known "Liberty Men." Josiah represented Weston at the First Massachusetts Provincial Congress in Concord in October 1774, and Joel was one of 103 Weston men who marched to Concord the next spring.

The other tavern has a full winter calendar

Fox's column also tells the story of the Golden Ball, built in 1768 "at the sign of the Golden Ball" by innkeeper Isaac Jones, a Tory sympathizer. Jones served tea during the boycott, and his tavern was ransacked in March 1774 in what's now called the "Weston Tea Party." In February 1775, two spies sent by British Gen. Thomas Gage stayed the night there. The Golden Ball stayed open through the war and closed in 1793. Six generations of the Jones family lived there until 1963, when it was restored as a house museum furnished with things the family had kept.

So the Patriot tavern is still waiting for a lease amendment, and the Tory tavern is the one serving up history this season. The Golden Ball Tavern Museum is at 662 Boston Post Road. Here's what's on its events page:

• Thursday tours, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The tours cover 200 years of the Jones family, the Weston Tea Party, the visits from Gage's spies and Paul Revere's men. You can book ahead online.
• "An Ordinary Bill of Fare: Colonial Tavern Food," Friday, Nov. 13, 6 p.m. Stacy Booth gives a free talk on tavern food at the museum's Visitors Center, sponsored by the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Space is limited and registration is required.
• "Trimming the Tavern 2026: A Winter's Tale," through Dec. 12. This free, family-friendly event features the museum's rooms decorated for the season.
• "Twilight at the Tavern," Tuesday, Dec. 8, 6 to 8 p.m. A ticketed, candlelit evening in the decorated rooms during Trimming the Tavern.

Fox's column calls a visit to the Golden Ball "an ideal way to celebrate this 250th anniversary year." For now, the Nov. 13 talk is the only colonial tavern menu on Boston Post Road.

The next dates on Boston Post Road

Weston's Special Town Meeting is on Monday, Nov. 23. The Select Board scheduled its review and vote on the warrant for its Oct. 20 meeting, the same night as the executive session on the tavern. The Friends post updates on their Woods page, and the Weston Observer has covered each round of the dispute. When the lease question is settled, the Friends' version of the original terms allows 180 days of construction after the permit is issued.

Until then, you can hear Booth's talk on tavern food on Nov. 13 and see the 1768 rooms by candlelight on Dec. 8. If you'd rather be outside between those dates, our walk along Weston's Legacy Trail covers another corner of town with more history than its name suggests.

At Diane Basemera, we follow Weston's town decisions, like what happens next at 358 Boston Post Road, because they shape the village center around your home. If you'd like to know how Weston Center's changes affect your property's value, get your instant home valuation or browse our Weston neighborhood guide.