The Place 2 Be sign is currently covered.
Reminder Publishing photo by Ryan Feyre
SPRINGFIELD — After announcing last month that the Place 2 Be is aiming for a reopening date in May, the owner of the eatery told the License Commission on April 23 that a deal is still not in place.
Place 2 Be principal owner Gina Lauri said the restaurant hoped to come to a new lease agreement with its landlords at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame by early April, but a deal has yet to come to fruition.
She told the commission that she is waiting on final stipulations from the Hall of Fame’s attorneys.
“We’re ready to go, we just haven’t received final word on them,” Lauri said. “We’re just kind of in limbo.”
The trendy restaurant, which describes itself as a “millennial food concept” inspired by a true love for “brunch, Instagram and our customers,” opened at the Hall of Fame in 2021, in the same spot where Samuel’s Tap and Tavern used to operate. At the time, it was the restaurant’s fourth location to open and first outside of Connecticut.
In late 2024, the Hampshire County Sheriff’s Office, on behalf of the Place 2 Be’s landlord, carried out a court-ordered eviction of the eatery after rent for the property was unpaid.
Now, over three months removed from that, the restaurant and bar hopes to move past the legal troubles with a new agreement to reopen their spot in Springfield.
“It’s really up to the Hall of Fame,” Lauri said in a March License Commission meeting. “We’re ready whenever they allow us to.”
In the meantime, the status of the Place 2 Be’s liquor license is still up in the air after the restaurant violated the terms of the license last year by serving alcohol when they were not supposed to.
The License Commission agreed on April 23 to extend the hearing on the license to its May 28 meeting, but commissioners made it clear that they want to hear a concrete update about the restaurant by then.
“We just want to make sure that if you are asking for a continuance until June 11, that something solid will happen by then,” said License Commission Chair Rosa Espinosa. “We don’t want to continue to give continuances.”
Lauri agreed with Espinosa’s sentiments and said she wants the new agreement done as soon as possible.
“We’re actually paying rent while we’re closed right now,” Lauri said. “So, I want [a new deal] as quickly as you do. I promise you that.”
Reminder Publishing did not receive a comment on the matter from Colebrook Realty Services, which manages the Hall of Fame, when contacted in late March.
The Place 2 Be sign was still covered when Reminder Publishing drove past the restaurant on April 23.
