At the end of the month, a commercial and social anchor of Belmont Center will become one more empty storefront on Leonard Street.
The Trinktisch beer hall and restaurant, along with the Craft Beer Cellar, will be closing their doors as of Jan. 1. Owners Kate Baker and Suzanne Schalow announced the news in an email to customers last month citing “irreconcilable differences” with their landlord, Locatelli Properties, among other reasons.
The owners had originally hoped to sell their business to someone who would embody the company’s ethos and be good corporate citizens.
At last week’s Select Board meeting, co-chair Elizabeth Dionne said the owners had a buyer lined up, but the deal fell through because of the landlord.
“The [building] owner decided the rent would go from $13,000 a month to $30,000 a month and, suprise suprise, the buyer walked. So, we have a dire situation that’s completely caused by the landlord right now,” Dionne said.
Locatelli, which owns all of the property on that side of Leonard Street from CVS to the soon-to-be-opened Butternut Bakehouse, did not respond to multiple requests for comment from The Belmont Voice.
Trinktisch’s owners declined to be interviewed, but in their email to customers they cited the lingering impact of Covid-19, staffing challenges and a need for better work-life balance as reasons for closing, in addition to the landlord difficulties.
“[W]e intend to remain strong, stocked, and present to each and every customer until we turn the lights off one last time on December 31st,” Schalow wrote in a statement to The Belmont Voice.
Trinktisch ‘Deserved Better’
“It’s devastating,” said Amy Kirsch, a realtor at Leading Edge Real Estate in Belmont Center, who likened Trinktisch to the bar in the classic Boston sitcom, “Cheers.”
“Everyone knows you. You come in, and they love you right away,” she said, noting it wasn’t just a storefront, but a social hall. “So to lose that not just in Belmont Center but in Belmont as a town is a huge loss.”
Whether convening trivia buffs for pub quiz nights, hosting live music in their beer hall, or educating guests at one of their “flight nights” that pair various types of beer with something delicious, like Tick Tock chocolates — which will be the case for their final one on Dec. 13 — Baker and Schalow have created a variety of interactive experiences over the years.
The owners first opened Craft Beer Cellar 13 years ago in the space next to Champions in Belmont Center. It was an instant success, and the owners went on to build it into a franchise with nine locations nationwide.
In 2020, the owners moved the beer shop to its current location, adding on the Trinktisch restaurant and beer hall a year later, taking advantage of the kitchen built for the former tenant, Foodie’s.
With just weeks left until they close, the Belmont residents haven’t slowed down, preparing pre-ordered Thanksgiving meals for patrons and hosting a holiday market featuring Boston Women’s Market makers, entrepreneurs, and artists.
“The closure of Trinktisch is not just a loss; it’s a profound setback for our community,” Belmont Economic Development Committee Chair Paul Joy wrote in a statement to The Belmont Voice.
“Owners Schalow and Baker have been pillars of our community, dedicating 13 years to building a business that went beyond mere commerce,” he continued. “They created a space that nurtured community spirit and collaboration among various groups, from sports associations to local campaigns. Their contribution to Belmont has been immeasurable, and they indeed deserved better.”
Rent Cited as Challenge Throughout Belmont Center
If you take a good look at Belmont Center, you’ll notice the number of empty storefronts.
“Landlords are trying to get the right mix into their places and some keep the rents high,” said outgoing Belmont Center Business Association President Gerry Dickhaut.
“Retail business is hard,” he continued, adding that store owners have to deal with a variety of challenges, from hiring staff to retaining customers, who increasingly shop online. “My personal opinion is that rent is too high in Belmont Center. That might be why there are so many closings.”
Rent was cited as a major issue by more than 50 percent of responding Belmont Center businesses in a 2019 survey by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council.
Cheeky Monkey Home, a studio and store offering decorative throw pillows and other accessories designed by owner Holly Johnson, closed its doors at 68 Leonard St. in August.
Johnson said her rent was reasonable at $1,300 per month, including utilities, for the 750 square foot space. She said her landlord, Middlesex Investment Partners, was easy to work with, but ultimately she was unable to get customers to find her location – down the pedestrian alley from A Chocolate Dream.
She said during the “mass exodus” of shops closing on Leonard Street, several landlords contacted her offering the available spaces. But she said those rents were just too high.
“I always wonder what the potential would be if I were able to swing that,” Johnson said. “But I know the rents were starting for a smaller space at $3,500 and $5,000 to $6,000 for one of the regular store fronts. I wasn’t able to swing it.”
Damian Demagistris, co-owner of Belmont Center restaurants Il Casale (which also has an outpost in Lexington) and The Wellington said businesses still haven’t recovered from the pandemic.
“People think that Covid just goes away because someone says it does, or it’s over because some indicator says it’s over,” Demagistris said. “But the reality is that something of that magnitude … it changed things, it shifted things.”
Demagistris referred to patrons in Belmont and the neighboring communities as “the backbone of our business,” and said they were extremely supportive during the pandemic. He said his landlord, Alex Burke, was also supportive.
“[Landlords] assist in any way they can with rent, basically,” he said. “But then there comes a time where that’s over and you just have to get back on track.”
Demagistris said normally a business continues to grow, with rent increasing over a certain timeline. But the pandemic was a huge setback.
He said instead of getting back to where they were pre-pandemic, the goal should be getting somewhere that’s better than where they are today. He thinks this is doable, but will take cooperation, time, and “breaking down some of our old thinking patterns with relationships to our landlords and lease dealings.”
How to Bolster Belmont Center
“We’re looking for stores to draw people in, make it an interesting center,” said Mary Nielsen, owner of A Chocolate Dream, which she opened in 1995. “Stores come and go … we had The Gap at one time. That was a draw; that was a nice store.”
She said the Center would thrive with a better mix of businesses, which has a number of banks and real estate offices right now.
Christian Senna, co-owner of Middlesex Investment Partners, which owns the building at 68 Leonard St., agrees a variety is ideal for a town, but the bottom line matters.
“If you’re in the landlord’s shoes and Chase Bank comes to you … and also a local person comes to you and wants the same space, it doesn’t matter if Chase does well, because you’re going to get a check anyway because they’re a national company,” he said.
“We’re carrying a decent amount of rent for tenants who can’t pay on time … so that’s often what it comes down to,” he added, noting he does his best to work with tenants who are behind on rent, creating payment plans when needed.
“Do I think we need more real estate offices? No. Or more banks? No. But a bank is clean, professional, you’re not dealing with trash. That’s more of the thinking that goes into choosing tenants,” he said.
Senna also said that expenses for landlords have increased, from the rates on their loans to the cost of construction and availability of labor, which can delay the availability of their properties for rent. Senna said he’s been waiting six months to update the electrical systems in one of his non-Belmont buildings.
But business owners like Johnson said the Center needs a more holistic approach.
“Landlords, the town, and decision-makers need to think more broadly about the appeal of the town as a whole because it really spills over to the longevity of businesses,” Johnson said.
Baker and Schalow seem to agree. In their statement to The Belmont Voice Schalow wrote, “[I]n the New Year, we are both committed to helping encourage change in local and town government, so this doesn’t happen to another business.”
