By Genevieve Jinson, Contributing Writer
Northborough – At its Aug. 20 meeting, the Northborough Board of Selectmen discussed issues about three restaurants in town: Zem Han, Chen's China Moon, Inc. and A.J. Tomaiolo's Italian Restaurant.
The board unanimously approved a common victualler's license for Zem Han Restaurant for premises located at 4 West Main St. The restaurant will feature a variety of Mediterranean cuisine from Spain, Turkey, Italy, Greece and other Mediterranean countries.
The plan is for Zem Han to be a family-friendly restaurant with approximately 110 seats, and it will offer a variety of Mediterranean specialties, including fish from the Adriatic Sea, sweet dishes from Turkey and Arabic countries, as well as specialty meats.
Selectman Leslie Rutan expressed gratitude toward the owners for deciding to open the restaurant in Northborough.
“Thank you for coming to Northborough; this sounds very exciting,” she said.
Zem Han Restaurant is planning a grand opening in October. The restaurant currently does not hold a liquor license, but is in the process of obtaining one.
The board also approved another common victualler's license – to Chen's China Moon, Inc., premises located at 259 West Main St. The premises are on the site of a previous Chinese restaurant that ran into problems with the Board of Health. Town Administrator John Coderre clarified the situation.
“This is a new license, it's a new business, and they'se new owners and new staff,” he said. “It just happens to be a Chinese restaurant going into the place of a previous Chinese restaurant.”
In addition, the selectmen approved the application as submitted by [the restaurant] to alter the premises for an all-alcoholic beverages restaurant license for A.J. Tomaiolo's Italian Restaurant, located at 411 West Main St. Currently, a wall with three large windows divides the dining room and lounge areas in the restaurant. The alteration will remove the wall in order to open up the dining area and add a few additional seats; a few televisions will be added to make the atmosphere more casual. A divider will still exist between the dining and lounge areas.