The Place 2 Be on March 27. No sign is visible.
Reminder Publishing photo by Ryan Feyre
SPRINGFIELD — More than three months after being evicted, the founder and CEO of the Place 2 Be said that the eatery is aiming to reopen its Springfield location sometime in the spring.
During a License Commission meeting on March 26, Place 2 Be principal owner Gina Lauri told the commission that the restaurant is currently working with its landlords at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on an agreement to reopen at its roughly 6,000-square-foot space on 1000 Hall of Fame Ave.
Lauri said she hopes to finish an agreement with attorneys sometime in April so the eatery can reopen in May.
“Right now, we are working with the Hall of Fame to have a deal to reopen,” Lauri said. “We’re in the final stages.”
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 now 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. “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. Following minimal discussion, the License Commission agreed to continue a hearing on their license to its April 23 meeting.
By then, Lauri said she hopes to have more on the plan to reopen.
Reminder Publishing reached out to Colebrook Realty Services, who manages the Hall of Fame, for a comment on the matter, but did not receive one as of press time.
When Reminder Publishing drove past the restaurant on March 26, the Place 2 Be sign was removed from the premises.
