Winter Storms Spell Danger for Coastal Restaurants

Welcome back to AM Intel, a round-up of mini news bites to kick off the day.

What Happened Last Week?

Catch up on last week’s top stories, from news of a forthcoming vegan beer hall in Quincy to the opening of a new Peruvian restaurant in Somerville’s Union Square.

And from our national big sister, Eater.com: Plan a trip to Texas with this essential eating guide. Learn about what it’s like to dine on the border between North and South Korea. Wonder about what took McDonald’s so long to switch from frozen to fresh beef for its Quarter Pounders.

The Wrath of the Nor’easter

With yet another storm due to hit Massachusetts early this week, many areas of the state are still dealing with the damage caused by the previous March storms. Tonight, one longtime Cape clam shack will learn its fate — the Orleans selectmen will decide whether to terminate the lease and demolish the building that houses Liam’s at Nauset Beach, since the recent storms ravaged the swath of beach between Liam’s and the water, causing a dangerous amount of erosion. Owner John Ohman — who has owned Liam’s since 1990, although its history dates back to the 1950s as Philbrick’s Snack Shack — thinks the ocean will take the building soon enough even if the town doesn’t. Meanwhile, fans of Liam’s have put together a petition aimed at letting Ohman rebuild instead of the town terminating his lease.

The Shutter

Just a couple months after the longtime Faneuil Hall location of Bertucci’s closed its doors due to an inability to agree to new lease terms with the landlord, another one is also gone — the Kenmore Square location at 533 Commonwealth Ave. The building is set to be renovated. The pizzeria chain was born in Somerville back in 1981 in the space that will soon be a cafe called Revival; nowadays, there are Bertucci’s locations all around the East Coast, with nearly 40 in Massachusetts.

A Reopening and an Anniversary

North End coffee shop My Cousin’s Place (396 Hanover St., Boston), which celebrates its sixth anniversary later in March, reopened this month after “floor-to-ceiling” renovations resulting in an expanded seating area, a snazzy new dark wood counter and bagel tree, and a digital menu. Stop by for breakfast and lunch sandwiches, coffee, and more.

Baking in Camberville

Formaggio Kitchen alums and married duo Alyssa and Teddy Applebaum — currently manager of the Baldor Specialty Foods produce department at Eataly and a junior sous chef at Oleana, respectively — are looking to open a home baking equipment and supply shop called Elmendorf Baking Supplies somewhere in Cambridge or Somerville this year. The name is a reference to the bakery that Alyssa Applebaum’s great-great-grandparents owned in Germany. They’ll be grinding grain onsite — they’re ordering an Austrian mill for their future store — and they’re planning to have a kitchen space where they can invite in local experts to teach classes. Keep an eye out for the Applebaums’ Kickstarter campaign to launch this week (and say hello to them — and eat some pies — at Lamplighter’s Pi(e) Day pop-up on March 14.) They’ll also be popping up in various other places this spring, serving waffles at Boston Public Market and some breweries, pop-tarts at Longfellows (inside Lamplighter), and more.

Got a news tip for the Eater Boston team? Email boston@eater.com.