Daedalus Plans New Rooftop Dining Space

Fine outdoor dining in the crisp Cambridge night air on a verdant and well-decorated terrace above Tommy’s Value on Mt. Auburn Street is in the works, with Daedalus’ plans for a new rooftop dining area.

The restaurant’s owners submitted the plans to the City of Cambridge in September but are waiting for a public hearing to determine whether construction can begin.

“We are really looking forward to the terrace plans, but we don’t want to get too excited because we still have several meetings to go through,” said Lawrence Hopkins, co-owner of Daedalus.

The dining area will be attached to the existing greenhouse part of the restaurant and bar. It will only be open seasonally and will include a wooden shade trellis, steel handrails, a pool, dining furniture and plantings, according to the restaurant’s application to the City of Cambridge Board of Zoning. The addition will seat 40-50 people.

“Cambridge actually does need an outdoor dining area and the food would be greatly complemented by the outdoor atmosphere,” said Kristopher P. McDaniel ’04.

The Cambridge Historical Commission has already approved the plans for the terrace, and said in the application that the plans “are not incongruous to the historical aspects or architectural character of the building or district.”

An obstacle to construction could be neighbors’ objections, but if no one comes forward in the public hearing, there is a good chance that Daedalus can follow through with the plans, said Sean P. O’Grady, a zoning specialist from the Cambridge Inspectional Services Department.

“Any outdoor eating area could be noisy, but Daedalus is more food-focused than alcohol-focused, so it shouldn’t be a problem,” O’Grady said.

Hopkins said he didn’t anticipate any complaints from nearby residents.

“Everyone in the area has been very supportive,” he said.

The only other problem facing the start of construction are zoning rules that require any outdoor public space be set a certain number of feet back from the property edge.

To maximize seating occupancy, Daedalus architect Theodore Galante has drafted the design to span the edges of the rooftop.

“The current plans for the deck are too close to property lines.” O’Grady said.

However, he said this part of the plan was only a minor issue.

“From a zoning view this is a really small point of business,” said O’Grady,

The public hearing is currently scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 7 at 9 p.m.. If Daedalus should win approval for their rooftop terrace design, construction would have to begin within six months in order to meet regulations.