Lee — Fans of Mexican cuisine will be happy to hear that Agaves Mexican Grill will soon offer a second location in Lee.
The Great Barrington culinary institution—that began operations in 2020—announced its plans at the September 17 Lee Select Board hearing and received an all-alcohol restaurant license conditioned on a new floor-plan submittal for 30 Housatonic Street, the former site of Athena’s Restaurant & Pizzeria.
According to Pittsfield attorney Anthony Doyle, who represented restaurant manager and owner Sandra Sosa, the opportunity to open a Lee location emerged after Athena’s closed, with Sandra Sosa and husband Nestor refinancing their home to purchase the property. Sandra Sosa owns two other establishments in Great Barrington: Fiesta Bar and Grill that opened in 2011 and Agaves that opened during the pandemic.
“[Sandra Sosa] plans on spending full time at the property, get it up and running and try to get it on par with her two restaurants down in Great Barrington,” Doyle said. “She has strong family support who help with the operation of the restaurants.” He said two of Sandra Sosa’s sons are managing the Great Barrington properties.
The 2,400-square-feet restaurant will be limited to 84 diners and/or occupants, the same capacity as Athena’s, Doyle said. He informed the dais that his submittal incorrectly displays more seats, and he will be filing an amended floor plan showing the correct seating arrangement and clarifying the number of staff anticipated on site who will be included in that occupancy capacity. Although the plan presented to the Select Board also reflects outdoor dining, he said that feature won’t be available to guests year round and his clients aren’t seeking any type of entertainment license for the site.
“It’s primarily a sit-down restaurant,” Doyle said of the new eatery. Sandra Sosa said it will be open every day, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. The restaurant is slated to open in about a month.
Agaves’ Great Barrington menu pays homage to Nestor Sosa’s hometown of Oaxaca, Mexico, featuring dishes such as empanadas, Mexican street corn, pozole roja, street tacos, fajitas, and mole sauce.
“Good luck,” Chair Gordon Bailey said to Sandra Sosa. “We welcome you to the town.”
During the session, the Select Board also individually unanimously approved findings and an amendment to a 2014 special permit for 850 Summer Street, Unit M12, within the residential Fox Hollow/Meadow Wood Condominium Association, that would add a 2,000-square-foot primary bedroom to the 4,400-square-foot structure. The Planning Board previously approved the project, and Bailey said the Select Board received a letter of support from a nearby freestanding homeowner. The decision will be filed with the town clerk, where it will remain for 20 days to allow for an appeal before the project can proceed.
“Good luck and enjoy the new space,” Bailey said.
At the meeting, the Select Board also:
- Executed an order of taking for 11 Beartown Mountain Road that allows for a permanent and temporary easement for the Silver Leaf Resorts, doing business as Holiday Inn/Spruce and Oak Resort, for about one-twentieth of an acre along the brook to stabilize the site for a new bridge;
- Approved a Hawker Peddler License for Trinity Solar, Jameail Hand, with officials to remit to Trinity Solar the town’s list of residents disallowing solicitation;
- Approved one-day wine-and-malt licenses for various entities involved in High Lawn Farm’s Massachusetts Cheese Festival, September 21, including Antimony Brewing, Boston Wine School, Provisions Wine, Provisions Williamstown, and Berkshire Cider Project;
- Approved a utility-cut permit for 111 Woodland Drive contingent on providing a sketch of the project, as well as the extent of the cut, and a Berkshire Gas Permit for new gas services at 60 Erskine Drive and 100 Maple Street;
- Appointed Michael Meagher as a per diem firefighter/paramedic;
- Noted the Household Hazard Waste Collection event on November 9, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Great Barrington Transfer Station;
- Approved a Department of Education report outlining the estimated amount of time Town Hall employees spent doing work for the local school district; and
- Heard a recap of actions taken by the PCB Committee including adding a subcommittee to detail transportation issues within the project pending a report due from General Electric Company in mid-October, with David Carrington as subcommittee lead, and activating a Save the Housatonic website.
