Wednesday, May 02, 2012

Sami's May Lose Its Home in Boston's Longwood Medical Area

It looks like a Middle Eastern food trailer that has been located in Boston's Longwood Medical Area for more than 30 years is about to lose its home, and it is currently looking for a new location.

A note within the ipetitions.com site indicates that Sami's is "no longer welcome" in their current location at 107 Avenue Louis Pasteur, and is now looking to find a new space to set up their trailer somewhere in the general area. A poster on the Chowhound site mentions that Sami's will be closing on May 11, and that "apparently whoever owns their little corner wants the space back," though no specifics at either the petition page or Chowhound have been given at this point in time.

The petition is not set up to keep Sami's at their current spot; it has been put into place to help find a new home for the eatery.

[May 14 update: The Harvard Crimson reports that the reason for Sami's problems stem from Boston inspectors stating that the food stand has to abide by the same codes as brick-and-mortar structures because it doesn't have wheels. Therefore, Sami's needs to install plumbing or else it will have to close down. The article does mention that the petition includes raising money via donations for a food truck that the folks behind Sami's would look to buy and set up on public property. One further note: Sami's has been given extra time to stay open--30 days--after the owners went to City Hall to ask for a reprieve. (Thanks to Eater Boston for bringing this to our attention.)]

Sami's first set up its trailer in the Longwood area in 1979, and has been at its current spot for the past 16 years. Some of the food items available include Greek salads, hummus, falafel, chicken shawarma, kebab wraps, lamb gyros, and more.