Excitement building for opening of Northern Spy

After a longer than expected wait due to construction delays and COVID impacts, excitement is steadily building for the anticipated opening of Northern Spy — Canton’s new “destination” restaurant at the burgeoning Paul Revere Heritage Site.

Located inside the historic — and fully refurbished — rolling mill building on the site of America’s first copper mill, the new eatery will serve up a wide variety of “comfort foods” with a classic, New England aesthetic.

A glimpse inside the 1st floor of Northern Spy. (Victor Del Vecchio photo)

Co-owner Daniel Myers, who also operates the award-winning, Colonial era-inspired Loyal Nine restaurant in East Cambridge, said he has been at the Canton site almost daily helping to orchestrate the remaining tasks, even sometimes picking up tools himself — anything, he said, to get the project “over the finish line” as they head into the home stretch.

“We’re looking at opening in December,” said Myers. “We’re really just buttoning the last buttons so to speak, although, with the recent uptick in cases, we’re a bit unsure of how things will look at that point.”

Originally targeted for a Labor Day 2019 opening, the project had encountered some building-related hurdles but was back on track by the following spring when the pandemic struck in March. The entire restaurant industry was affected as Governor Baker ordered the closure of all in-person dining as part of a partial statewide shutdown.

Coincidentally, Myers said the ownership team made the decision to temporarily close Loyal Nine on March 15, just hours before the governor made his announcement. The silver lining, he said, was that it allowed them the time to perfect their takeout and delivery system — and to do more planning for Northern Spy.

Christopher Thompson, beverage manager and communications director, said they were able to learn what makes people feel comfortable and how to better meet the needs of their customers prior to opening the new venture. “While I would not call it a gift, I think this experience gave us a good point of view for opening a restaurant in this era,” he said.

While COVID has certainly caused the brunt of the delays over the past six months, Myers said the good news is that they are now back at the “finish line” and, with fingers crossed, hopeful that “most of the trouble” is now behind them.

Fueling their own optimism is what Myers described as an “overwhelming enthusiasm” around the opening of Northern Spy, not only from restaurant staff but from those involved in the planning of the Revere Heritage Site and from members of the greater Canton community.

“I get questions regularly from friends and family as well as members of the public,” confirmed Victor Del Vecchio, chair of the Revere Heritage Commission and co-author of the RFP that outlined the broad vision for the restaurant that has become Northern Spy. “They’re very excited by the prospect of having this new restaurant populate this historic mill that was also once a contaminated wasteland. They’re just delighted by the repurposing of this site.”

While the restaurant is one of many attractions in the works on the town-owned portion of the site — along with an expansive town green and the highly anticipated Paul Revere Museum of Innovation and Discovery — Del Vecchio said it is “fairly unique” to have a restaurant in a historic mill building, particularly one that was built more than 150 years ago by the son of a famed American patriot. Further adding to the excitement is the development of a museum “preview room” on the second floor of the mill, which will be open to restaurant patrons as well as members of the general public upon completion (pending the lifting of COVID restrictions).

As part of the arrangement with the restaurant operator, the second floor will also serve as a shared space that can be used by the restaurant to host events and by the town of Canton for meetings and other activities. Additionally, there are two outdoor patio spaces with considerable space for outdoor dining as well as space designated for town use.

As for the restaurant itself, Myers said there is space for as many as 300-350 total seats when operating at full capacity, both indoor and outdoor, although that figure will be closer to 80-100 as long as COVID restrictions remain in place. There is also a large, wood-fired hearth in the center of the restaurant and a 36-seat bar on the main floor.

The restaurant’s aesthetic is “classic New England,” and there are nods to Paul Revere — including a replica of the USS Constitution, whose hull was sheathed in Revere copper. But the primary draw from a visual perspective, according to Myers, is the mill building itself, which he said offers “quite an aesthetic lean” to the history of the site.

At the same time, Myers hopes the real star of Northern Spy, and what will keep patrons coming back, is the diverse yet “comfortable” and “approachable” menu designed by chef/owner Mark Sheehan, featuring the “kind of family meals your parents and your grandparents had in New England,” but perhaps with an up-scale twist.

“For us it’s really about having that comfortable approach to the menu,” said Myers. “It’s a place where you’ll be able to get mac and cheese for your kids but made with real cheese and handmade pasta. But it’s also a place to get a dish like oysters.”

As Boston Magazine noted in its early snapshot of the restaurant, diners at Northern Spy can “expect a craveable, grass-fed beef burger; free-range roasted chicken, chowder, clam dip, hot-buttered crab on Parker house rolls, prime rib [and] mac and cheese … But Sheehan is also working on some fancier dishes, like the Locke-Ober classic, lobster Savannah.”

Del Vecchio said he has seen a sample of the menu and he came away thoroughly impressed. “While they’re upscale in general, they’re catering to a family clientele,” he said. “The prices were reasonable; they were not extravagant. They had a nice variety of foods most people would enjoy.”

While certainly invested in the success of the endeavor as Revere Commission chair, Del Vecchio said he has a great deal of confidence in the ownership group, in large part due to what they have been able to achieve with Loyal Nine, which has a far more eclectic menu than what is planned for Northern Spy.

He added that the ownership team has been a pleasure to work with, and Myers was equally complementary of the town of Canton, which struck a 10-year lease agreement with the operators. “Really anybody across the town has been incredibly supportive, and that’s really the driving force for the enthusiasm we have,” he said.

In a recent deal reached between the town and the ownership group, the Canton Select Board agreed to a temporary reduction in rent to help mitigate the impacts of COVID-19, while Northern Spy agreed to make every effort to hire 50 percent of its staff from Canton.

As it stands, Myers said they have a management team already in place and are continuing the process of lining up staffing with more hires anticipated over the next several weeks. Meanwhile, they are currently going through the process of final inspections and are taking the time to “make sure everything is done perfectly.”

While he has not yet announced an opening date for the restaurant, Myers said he is hoping it’s on the earlier side of December and encouraged interested residents to follow Northern Spy on Instagram for the latest announcements. He also encouraged anyone in Canton who is looking to reschedule a wedding or private event to contact them as soon as possible as their schedule is “filling up fast” for next year.

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Posted by Jay Turner on Nov 20 2020. Filed under Business. Both comments and pings are currently closed.