The Friendly Toast Has a Boston Location in the Works

An eclectic spot for brunch with locations in Kendall Square and Portsmouth, N.H. has a Boston proper outpost in the works. At a Boston licensing board hearing on July 1, The Friendly Toast looks to take over Zocalo Cocina Mexicana.

It appears Zocalo, which went through an ownership change in 2014, may be going out of business; its Arlington shop closed in March after a decade. The Back Bay restaurant does not open until 3 p.m. on Wednesdays, so a call for comment went unanswered this afternoon.

The Friendly Toast opened more than 20 years ago in Portsmouth, following up with the Cambridge restaurant about six years ago. It serves breakfast all day, including King Cakes; pancakes with banana, chocolate chips, peanut butter, and bacon; the Babe Benny, cornbread topped with pulled pork and Carolina barbecue sauce in addition to the requisite hollandaise; and Ole Miss, a slice of house-made cayenne cheddar toast with sausage, chipotle mashed sweet potatoes, scrambled eggs, and mango sour cream. There are also burgers, sandwiches, dinner entrees, and more.

UPDATE (July 1): The Boston Licensing Board held off on granting the transfer of license from Zocalo to the Friendly Toast today, Universal Hub reports. The manager on record for the proposed Back Bay location currently has that job at the Toast's Portsmouth, N.H. location — and has a New Hampshire address. The rules require that restaurant managers live in-state in order to oversee a liquor licenses.