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Is sleepy Hyde Park ready for late-night food action?

The Boston Licensing Board decides tomorrow whether to let Tony's Pizzeria on Fairmount Avenue stay open until 2 a.m. and to give the owner of the planned Drifters Restaurant on Hyde Park serve food until 1 a.m.

City officials, however, opposed the late hours at both establishments.

Tony's owners said they are only seeking parity with the Domino's on Truman Parkway, which delivers until 2 a.m., and that the late hours would cater to police officers, firefighters and other late-night workers seeking an alternative food source - and let them support a growing family in tough economic times.

Brian Clinton of City Councilor Rob Consalvo's office, however, said Domino's doesn't have eat-in service and that 2 a.m. would be "excessive" for a neighborhood like Hyde Park. The mayor's office also urged an earlier closing time.

Conrad Blake, who wants to turn the former hole-in-the-wall Hyde Park Pub at 1184 Hyde Park Ave. into a restaurant, faced similar opposition from city officials. And he faced the wrath of board Chairwoman Nicole Murati Ferrer, who noted he held a pre-opening party at which alcohol was served even though the board denied him permission for a one-day liquor license and explicitly told he couldn't open that day.

"If we tell you you cannot have alcohol, you cannot have alcohol," she told him. "It shows me you have no regard for the rules and regulations of this board and its authority."

As has become routine for new restaurants being opened by small-time entrepreneurs, both Tony's and Drifters also ran into problems due to the Inspectional Services Department's apparent inability to remember that restaurants in Boston need a common victualer's license from the licensing board.

Tony's was actually staying open until 2 a.m. because ISD told its owners it was in an "unrestricted" zone for restaurant hours; Blake said he went through the process of getting building and health certificates from ISD without anybody ever telling him he also needed a separate license from the board.

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Comments

WHAT I REALLY WANT TO KNOW IS WHY DOESN'T CLEARY SQUARE HAVE A STARBUCKS??

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Who needs Starbucks when you've got a Dunkin' Donuts just up the street that not only has tables but the world's best mural explaining why donuts have holes?

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Because DD's didn't have WiFi! And there were no shops that did (although I forgot about the library).

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Has WiFi (don't know if the WiFi is new, though). Right on the corner of River and Hyde Park Ave.

Isn't Cleary Square a bit off your beaten path? :-)

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I was so close to going in to see but was trying to keep from buying a full meal and didn't want to take up a seat (it was lunch time, although it was only 1/2 full). Didn't see a sign. Good to know.

I was taking photos of the Renaissance School down the street and needed to upload them. I ended up waiting til I got to JP.

I am not a fan of the 32 bus! 30 min wait, then 3 w/in 3-7 minutes of each other.

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Had lunch there today. No access point showed up and they've taken down the sign that advertised WiFi. So looks like the library is it.

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I don't have a stake in this since I'm nowhere near there, but late night food is not a threat. I know quiet sprawling suburbs with 24 hour eateries nestled in them and it's all harmonious. The fact that Boston can't deal with it.. is really, really sad.

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Maybe if Tony's added a 'Menino Wing' to his shop (like the Hyde Park branch library), he might stand a chance.

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