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The bad news: The Joe’s American Bar and Grill on Dartmouth is closing. The good news: it’s moving into a slightly bigger space, the old TGIFriday’s at Exeter Street.
“We’re not closing!” said Back Bay Restaurant Group spokesperson Amy Daniels. “Joe’s is moving to a new state-of-the-art location.”
Planned for a summer opening as early as June, the new Joe’s will riff on the greenhouse part of the old TGIF by adding a retractable ceiling along Newbury Street. “It will open up [kind of like a convertible top] on nice days to expose the sunlight and fresh air,” said Daniels.
Papa Razzi had been eyeing the TGIF space, but the Back Bay Restaurant Group decided to stay since there are several years left on their Dartmouth Street lease. The new space is slightly bigger, and they like the location better.
“It’s a great location, with seats along Newbury Street,” said Daniels. “It will get more visibility – it’s the heart of Newbury Street.”
The Joe’s lease isn’t up until February 2010, but they’ll close that location when the Exeter Street location is ready.
In other Back Bay restaurant news, Atlantic Fish will reopen tomorrow. It had closed months before due to a fire, although most of the staff was relocated until it could be renovated.
And in sad news, the Casa Romero on Newbury Street suffered severe water damage just before Christmas, from a pipe that burst in the kitchen of the old L’Espalier. “We are now in the process of repairs and renovations,” said their voice mail message. “We expect to open in early February.”

Add the University Club of Boston to your list of world-class sports venues.
The best hardball doubles squash players in the world converged on the club on Stuart Street over the weekend for the 2009 University Club Pro Doubles Championships.
The event, part of the International Squash Doubles Association (ISDA) professional tour, also featured a Pro-Am in which tournament-tested players from the University Club and other clubs had the opportunity to compete alongside the elite doubles players in the world.
University Club member Len Bernheimer led the tournament committee that included Greg Collins, John Nimick, Tom Poor, Sandy Tierney, and UC director of squash, Chris Spahr.
Bernheimer, a past national champion in doubles and singles, teamed up with James Hewitt of Toronto, director of the ISDA pro tour, in the Pro-Am division.
“To see these athletes compete is just a thrill – it’s fabulous,” said Bernheimer. “To get a chance to play on the court with them is fantastic. It’s fascinating how hard the pros hit the ball, how quick their reflexes are, and what great shots they make. We’ve always felt that the top squash players are some of the best athletes in the world.”
Indeed, pro squash players hit the ball between 180 and 200 miles per hour or at least twice the speed of Major League fastballs. The athleticism and mobility of some of the competitors would no doubt astound the average sports fan.
Matt Jenson of Australia and Clive Leach of England prevailed over Australians Paul Price and Ben Gould in a thrilling semifinal match Saturday that had the crowd marveling at the number of difficult shots that the players made look ordinary because of their incredible dexterity on the court. Jenson and Leach ultimately prevailed in overtime of the fifth game.
“Paul and Ben have been dominating the tour in the past three or four seasons with Damien Midge and Viktor Berg, so it’s good to get a win,” said Jenson.
The 29-year-old Jenson, who lives in Greenwich, Conn., said the hospitality at the University Club was topnotch. “The University Club is by far one of the clubs where you feel most welcomed,” said Jenson. “The members are very warm to you and they get excited for the prime portion of the tournament. It’s fun to compete in the Pro-Am with a local player and to get them out on the court, sweating and laughing. It’s always fun to socialize with the members, and they’re good to us and we appreciate it. Boston is a beautiful city.”
Hewitt said Boston is one of 15 stops on the ISDA pro tour. “We look forward to coming to Boston. It’s a great event every year, and the University Club really takes care of the players here,” he said. “All the members look after us, and competing with them in the Pro-Am is great because everyone knows each other when you come back each year.”
Hewitt said the ISDA pro tour is trying to increase its exposure to a wider audience. “With the sport growing so much, having the tour televised is definitely something we’d like to do because that would hopefully open up some more doors for sponsors,” he added.
Bernheimer said the University Club has been hosting professional tournaments since the early 1990s, and interest and participation in squash is growing. “We had excellent attendance for the tournament,” said Bernheimer. “Doubles is gaining in popularity, primarily because the singles game has turned into the same game played internationally, which is played with a soft ball and is much more rigorous; and therefore, older players have a little bit more difficulty continuing to play singles because of the demands of that. You can turn to doubles and play doubles for a long time.”

Four Seasons Chef Brooke Vosika has been running the Super Hunger Chef challenge, a sort of Iron Chef type of competition using only ingredients stocked by the Greater Boston Food Bank.
Scheduled to be held January 21 at The Four Seasons Hotel Boston, the event features cocktails and hors d'oeuvres for guests as they watch the competition heat up among Chef Anthony Susi of Sage, Chef Gabriel Frasca of Straight Wharf, Chef Will Gilson of The Garden at the Cellar, and Chef Evan Deluty. These chefs aren't only competing for culinary bragging rights, but vying to set the record for raising the most money of any Super Hunger Chef event ever.
The chefs use the ingredients from the food bank, but Vosika and his team are in the back, recreating recipes using their own supplied ingredients, to serve to 150 guests who will choose the winner.
This is Vosika’s third year hosting the challenge. “It’s not a serious competition. We’re having so much fun, that it’s not about the winning and losing. What’s so great is we take products from the food bank, and the chefs each have a basket to work with to make appetizers and entrees. The real challenge is that my kitchen has to reproduce any dish. … This year it is tuna and chicken for the appetizers, and salmon and beef for the entrees. Judges come up with some witty comebacks on what they taste.”
There’s also a live auction, and the master of ceremonies this year is the Phantom Gourmet.
“We do two events a year for the food bank,” said Vosika, who competed against Mistral during the first year he held the event. “I thought it was a good way for people to get together during the cold weather months.”
The series of January food events to benefit the Greater Boston Food Bank began 18 years ago when Davio’s Steve DeFillipo and Frank Bell started the brunch series, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the food bank.
The brunch was always popular, but three years ago they decided to grow the fundraiser with the support of the Boston restaurant community, said Greater Boston Food Bank’s marketing director, Marion Kassler.
The brunch is January 24 and 25, where more than 20 Boston restaurants donate their time, food, and services to offer brunch for $25, $35 or $50. All proceeds go directly to The Greater Boston Food Bank.
Despite the economy, about the same number of restaurants are participating in the brunch. “We have great friends in the restaurant community who are very generous and dedicated to helping us fight hunger. They’ve really stepped up,” said Kassler.
Kassler added the food bank hopes to raise the same as last year, $125,000.
Yes, it’s a hard time to ask people for money, never mind to ask people to go out to eat for charity. But Kassler said many people who otherwise would go out to eat, can choose one of these events for a win-win meal. “I think in some cases everyone’s looking at their budget, but you want to go and do something, this makes you feel good, so it motivates you to say, ‘Oh wow, I can do something to help others.’ When you hear about the increase in need for food and people who are asking for help from agencies is up 30-40 percent, people can feel good about going to lunch for $25. They can go out with friends and help out other people.”
The Greater Boston Food Bank distributes approximately 30 million pounds of food and grocery products annually to more than 600 hunger-relief agencies in a dedicated partnership to end hunger in eastern Massachusetts. The Food Bank serves 83,000 people every week through soup kitchens and meal programs and food pantries.
Even a dollar helps. “I think one dollar donated to the Greater Boston Food Bank provides $4 worth of food,” said Kassler. “It’s the way we’re able to distribute food from donations and things like that. That’s the kind of lean, mean fighting machine we are here.”
They can also use volunteers, although the biggest need right now is in the warmer months. On their website, the food bank also offers ways everyone can help out painlessly, such as doing a can drive at work and bringing them to the food bank, host events at their home, and organizing a day where everyone in the office skips a meal and donates what they would have spent for lunch, like $5. “Every little bit counts,” said Kassler. “You don’t have to be the big corporation. We’re doing well, but the need is up so much.”