New Bar Pizza Restaurant Coming to Braintree

The owner of a new restaurant that received approvals from two government boards this week plans to bring bar-style pizza to Braintree as part of a family-friendly location in the Granite Plaza, a development that may also help revitalize a shopping area struggling with vacancies during the recent economic downturn.

Alexandros Kesaris, the owner, comes from a family steeped in the restaurant industry. The Kesaris family has long operated the Clam Box at Wollaston Beach in Quincy and other restaurants at Marina Bay and in Boston. The Brew House will seat 78 people total and will feature entertainment by way of open mic nights and fundraisers, Kesaris said.

On Tuesday, the restaurant received permission for all-alcohol, food and entertainment licenses from the Board of License Commissioners.

Following that meeting, the Planning Board agreed that the proposed use change from equipment supplier Omni Fitness to a restaurant was a minor, not major, modification, and allowed the development to move forward with some parking flexibility because of the number of vacant locations in the plaza and the different times of day that The Brew House will be busiest.

"It's not going to be a huge project," Kesaris' attorney Thomas J. Cavanaugh told the license board.

A traffic report prepared for the restaurant owner showed that it will have a minimal impact on the plaza, Cavanaugh said. The Brew House renovations will be financed by family members, who put up $50,000 for the work in documents submitted to the license board.

There are a number of vacanies in the Granite Plaza and the center's owner, F.X. Messina Enterprises, has been trying to fill spots for some time. A potential deal with Stop & Shop fell through earlier this year, according to several town officials, and that space has since been filled by a branch of .

Kesaris also said there is a lack of South Shore-type bar pizza such as that featured at the Alumni Cafe in Quincy, where he and a business partner have worked.

"Bertuccis isn't the place to watch the Pats and have a pizza. This is the place," Cavanaugh said. "This is something that Braintree needs and Braintree should have."

Note: The second paragraph was changed to clarify the fact that the Kesaris family, and not Alexandros Kesaris himself, has operated the restaurants mentioned.