Upcoming East Cambridge Restaurant Loyal Nine Appears to Have Familiar Pop-Ups Behind It

A restaurant and cafe called Loyal Nine is headed to East Cambridge. A tipster points out that a business by that name is seeking a zoning variance to allow a restaurant (with alcohol) in the former University Liquor space at 660-674 Cambridge Street, even though the required number of parking spots aren't available. It's right near New Deal Fish Market, Mayflower Poultry, and Lizzy's (which might become a new location of Lone Star Taco Bar).

Loyal Nine has a presence on Instagram, where the bio reads that it is "coming...soon." (On Twitter, it's "summer 2014.") It will be "a restaurant offering shared dishes in the evenings and a cafe by day," according to a comment on a photo. And it's going to have handmade bowls, plates, and cups.

Bits of Twitter evidence point to the involvement of Hand Taste Collective, a pop-up group that was holding events around town last year, and Marc Sheehan (Bondir, Brasstacks), who tweeted the same photo of the interior of University Liquor that appears on the Loyal Nine Instagram account (and also tweeted or re-tweeted a few other things related to Loyal Nine). Tim Surprenant, another person who has been involved with Brasstacks, has also tweeted about Loyal Nine. In fact, Loyal Nine's fairly new Twitter account has six followers at the moment, and five are related to either Hand Taste or Brasstacks.

Sheehan's apparent involvement makes sense for a restaurant with a historical name like Loyal Nine, which was a secretive colonial-era organization that evolved into the Sons of Liberty, which carried out the Boston Tea Party. In an interview last year, Sheehan told Eater that he is a history buff with a focus on early American and colonial times. He also spoke about the future of Brasstacks and that the intention was to eventually open a restaurant.
· @loyalnine [Instagram]
· Board of Zoning Appeal agenda [CambridgeMA.gov]