Say it ain’t sold: Green St. Grille up for sale

Dave Hadden

After 22 years of serving Central Square as a Mecca for live jazz, fine art, gourmet food and accompanying libations, The Green Street Grill is closing its doors. While the final steps of the deal are still pending, owner John Clifford has openly confirmed such news since the summer. Meanwhile, loyal patrons are enjoying the atmosphere while it lasts.

Green Street will remain open until transferal of the liquor license is approved by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission, which won’t take place until unsettled tax discrepancies are cleared; the process could go well into the winter.

Despite apprehension from many patrons, Clifford is quite matter of fact about both his decision and reasons for it. He speaks mainly of codes demanding costly renovations (including the construction of a sixty foot handicap ramp), resulting legal fees, as well as simple running costs. Furthermore, having been in business for over twenty years, Clifford has the air of a man satisfied from achieving his goals.

He is of course human. “I admit to having some mixed emotions about all this,” he says. Looking along the walls adorned with the brilliant black and white photography of Louis Stener and Lewis Wickes Hine, he shares: “All this is mine. I put these up for a reason”.

Clifford’s love for live jazz was his main reason for opening Green Street. To even bring up the subject to Clifford is to open an encyclopedia of artist’s names; some household, others not. Among these who came through to play include Cecil Taylor, Ed Blackwell and Don Cherry. For over two decades, these names filled the place with music and life.

Nancy Ostrovsky, whose jazz inspired art is featured throughout as well as on the outer walls of the club, is one of many who look back fondly on the golden years of performances there. “It was wonderful; John is a champion of the arts. He brought so many great names up from New York, and all over. It was really one of the great cultural meeting places of Cambridge”.

One of the more idiosyncratic elements of the restaurant, Ostrovsky’s paintings are living examples of some of the more notable performances that have taken place there. The most well known is a painting improvised alongside a performance of the late bassist Fred Hopkins, from the trio Air. An abstract rendering of the musicians in their element, this painting now adorns the outer wall of the building.

The space is to being sold to Dylan Black, a Cambridge local and bartender of thirteen years; his plans are to shift the focus of the establishment from a restaurant and live music venue to an upscale cocktail lounge. Speaking of his background and history in the community, Clifford seems confident that the property will be in good hands.

But when considering how the Grille’s identity will inevitably change, others are somewhat more skeptical. “There’s no question that we are losing a forum for culture; a place of music and artistic performance. What will be missed is an inclusive place where all sectors of society are welcome,” shares Marcello Ozain, leader of Kilombo Mambo, the house band.

Commenting on the diversity in his establishment, Clifford shared that “Because I was a union organizer and our motto was ‘diversity, respect, and dignity,’ I wanted to make people of color feel comfortable here. So I put pictures of people of color on the walls so as soon as they entered they knew they were welcome; I had diverse music and entertainment featuring people from all ethnicities. I also hired people of color, latinos, as well as people from the third world.”

Many are right to see this as part of the familiar pattern of gentrification changing the face of Cambridge and Boston. “When they did away with rent control in 1995, you definitely started seeing a change in crowds around Central,” Clifford notes. Purchasing patterns of these crowds tellingly surface at times like these: along with the closing of The Plough and Star and The Man Ray, both live music venues, the closing of Green Street certainly indicates a Central Square rapidly losing its rich cultural identity.

For now, Kilombo Mambo continues playing salsa every weekend as local students, characters, and politicians gather nightly to share stories and drinks. And though patrons now ponder the future of Central Square as another functional cluster of condominiums, Green Street Grill’s foot print will remain a rich part of its history.