2 poets, 1 musician as artlounge opens
What’s up tonight — something to eat, a drink … painting a picture?
Not expecting the last one? Soon this trio of events will be brought to you by three women who are part of a changing Arlington.
It’s happening in the Heights, where the former Savory Plate, at 1346 Mass. Ave., is becoming artlounge Arlington (yes, the first word is lowercase).
“We’ll put on a party,” said Helen Galanopoulos, smiling, but “we’re not cooking.” The Lexington co-owner described the food as Middle Eastern, “low prep” and brought in from such places as Moody’s Delicatessen (tentative menu below).
Owners of artlounge Arlington have a blast. They are, from left, Kim Bradshaw, Helen Galanopoulos and Sheila Carme. / Photo by Siobhan Rooney
“Every night will be an event. … It will be as if you come to my house and say, ‘Let’s have a great time.'”
The three owners, who hope to open by the end of September, laid out their vision this month to YourArlington.
Offering food, drink and paint, they hope to “bring arts and community closer together,” Kim Bradshaw bubbled, her enthusiasm bursting. “Each night will be a surprise.”
With her compatriots, Sheila Carme sat on dark, plush couch and smiled. They call her “the artistic one.”
Here’s what the three expect will happen:
Seeking a change?
You’re looking for an evening that is a bit different. Maybe it’s girls’ night out.
You head to the place between Galaxy Market and Horizons Salon. Inside, for $35 a person, you find a bit to nosh, canvas and brushes — and an artist waiting to guide you.
What happens next, artistically, is up to you.
So is what happens next socially.
The artist is among seven hired so far.
Varieties of art
Among the genres: special collage, watercolors, mandalas (connected somehow to astrology), Venetian papier-mâché masks and spray-paint art.
The latter is a guy, 19, who calls it “space art.” Google the term, and you get colorful, otherworldly canvases.
Down the road, and this is where Bradshaw’s ebullience takes over, she envisions other possibilities: painting furniture and jewelry (not at the same time).
They are considering other arts, including performances. How about a poetry slam, a guitarist, a piano singalong or an open mic for teens?
Arlington has “so many young people with no place to express” themselves, said Galanopoulos, who is an in-house attorney for a fast casual-cafe chain.
How it started
Each of the owners has other jobs. Bradshaw, who graduated from Arlington High School, is a partner with an executive search firm. She has long led exercise groups at Gold’s Gym and learned hospitality as a server at Jimmy’s Steak House while she was in college.
Carme, a corporate recruiter with a local tech company who went to school for art at Boston College and “always wanted to get back to it.”
Asked who had the idea for artlounge, two pointed to Galanopoulos.
About 2 1/2 years ago, she went to the Paint Bar in Newtonville and “had a blast.”
She then got Carme interested. On a flight to Florida, a friend of Carme’s happened to be sitting next to Bradshaw, they started to chat and she said to Bradshaw, “You’ll have to meet Sheila.”
Bradshaw, who said was “very open” to an arts-oriented venue, said, “I always wanted to run my own business.”
Once all met, they found the chemistry was right.
The three dreamed, business consideration brought them down to Earth.
Why Arlington?
They spent perhaps a year looking at locations, but the location was Arlington.
Why? All answered: The population here is creative, open to culture, close to Boston, diverse, with a mix of old and new.
The three talked at length with the owners of Savory Plate and made an initial offer last October. The back-and-forth of negotiations continued for six months, before a deal was signed in May. The three took over the lease and bought some of the equipment.
The trio received approvals from the Board of Selectmen, for food in June and wine and beer in July.
“We’re ready to turn on the lights in the goosenecks,” she said, referring to the outside lighting.
When that happens, it will offer a new glow welcome to the Heights at night.
SAMPLE MENU
Small Plates and Tapas:
* A selection (3) of artisanal cheeses served with rustic sourdough crostini
* Dolma/Grape Leaves (vegetarian)
* Charcuterie/Cured Meat Platter (varied meats, pickled vegetables, cornichons, with sliced baguette)
* Raw seasonal vegetables with choice of exotic dips (hummus, tsatziki, etc.) and olives
More:
* Truffle chips
* Exotic Spiced Nuts
* Baklava
* Sweets (cookies and/or chocolates)
HOURS
Evenings: 7 to 9:30
Saturday and Sunday afternoon: 2 to 5 p.m.
Nov. 7, 2013: Savory Plate: Why a unique Heights food business closed
This story was published Sunday, Sept. 21, 2014, and updated Oct. 6.
