Border Will Close For 3 Days

After waiting four months to be heard, the Border Cafe suddenly withdrew its appeal to the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC) and will close temporarily as a penalty for failing a fire inspection in November.

Just days before the cafe's June 4 hearing, officials at the ABCC received written notice that the cafe would not be appealing a January decision by the Cambridge License Commission ordering the Church St. restaurant to close for three days.

"No sense fighting with the city," said J. Michael Larkin, one of the owners of the two-restaurant chain. "We're going to move forward, get past it."

Sources involved in Harvard Square commerce and at the commission said pressure from the University, which is the restaurant's landlord, persuaded cafe management to withdraw the appeal and serve the suspension.

Both Larkin and Scott Levitan, director of University and commercial properties, denied that Harvard had asked the restaurant to drop its appeal.

But Larkin added, "We appreciate that they did that."

According to him, the University sent a "strong message that it wanted the Border to comply with health and safety codes."

The cafe's violations included overcrowding, a blocked exit and excessive grease on sprinklers and ventilation equipment.

In the January hearing, Border Cafe officials denied that any of the violations posed a safety hazard.

The cafe can choose any three consecutive days within the next six months to close, provided one of them is a Friday.