Four Square Born of Passion for Food, Local Brews

Several decades after the first inkling of the idea and three weeks after Braintree's newest eatery began cracking its taps and serving paninis, pasta and pizza, Four Square Restaurant hosted its grand opening in Weymouth Landing last Wednesday night.

The restaurant, co-owned by state Sen. Robert Hedlund, R-Weymouth, moved into the landmark Helen's Restaurant location and serves Italian and American cuisine and more than 40 types of beer. Chef and managing partner Marko Fani crafted the menu. His goal, he said before Wednesday's opening, was to combine some typical bar food, like nachos, burgers and pizza, with more sophisticated fare.

Among the stand-out entrees are Sausage and Broccoli Rabe, Arrancini – saffron infused risotto balls stuffed with park shaved fennel and fontina cheese – and a variety of panini sandwiches, including one with roast beef, horseradish, carmelized onion and blue cheese. It's a "very aggresive menu," Hedlund said.

Historic beer signs and other promotional materials line the walls, while coasters bear replica Commonwealth of Massachusetts Brewers Licenses. "It's probably a fantasty for a lot of guys to own a bar," Hedlund said. Much of the beer paraphernalia comes from his own collection.

One significant motivation for him opening the 60-seat restaurant, Hedlund said, goes back even further, to his grandfather's days operating Sarni's Restaurant in the Landing for three decades.

When Hedlund was around 11 years old, for Christmas he got a shoe shine kit, and every Saturday would go to his grandfather's restaurant and ply his services. At Four Square, "We tried to maintain and resurrect a little of the 1930s feel the building had," he said. "It's not just a barroom anymore."

Four Square hosts occasional live music, now that it , and both Fani and Hedlund said they look forward to the over the next year.

"The more businesses you have, the better for everybody," Fani said.

The chef is joined in the kitchen by Joe Armstrong, who owned Goodfellas Trattoria in Cohasset. He and Fani bring a lot of expertise, Hedlund said, and Four Square will supplement that with local ingredients as often as possible, including beer from area breweries, such as Mayflower in Plymouth and Blue Hills in Canton.

As a lawmaker and small business owner, Hedlund said he sees first hand much "red tape," in the form of redundant and often frustrating regulations. He thinks it's important that legislators have that kind of experience, whether it be in the restaurant industry or elsewhere. "Having more [owners in the legislature] would definitely be helpful," he said.

Hedlund and Fani said they encountered some challenges along the way, concerning building improvements, picking a name (it comes from the restaurant's address, 16 Commercial St.), and obtaining a liquor license, but that things have gone smoothly since the "soft" launch a few weeks ago.

"It was a long journey, but we made it," Fani said.