A Two-Story Korean Barbecue Palace Was Coming to Allston. Instead Its Liquor License Is Going to a Taco Bell

Last year a California chain, Gen Korean BBQ House, bought a Boston liquor license so it could turn a former two-story bank on Harvard Avenue in Allston into a 218-seat barbecue place. Opening was supposed to be by the end of 2025. That's done. Universal Hub reports the license now has a buyer: a Burlington Taco Bell franchisee that wants to open a 37-seat Taco Bell Cantina at 16 North St., across from Faneuil Hall, in the old Koy space.

The Licensing Board votes on it Thursday. The franchisee runs eight beer-and-wine Taco Bell Cantinas in New York and Nashville, so this isn't a stunt. It's a business plan.

Here's the absurd part. The state handed Boston 225 new liquor licenses in 2025, the Globe has reported, and the license that was supposed to anchor a big new restaurant on Harvard Ave is heading downtown to pour beer next to Faneuil Hall. The license system did exactly what it's built to do: move the license to whoever pays.

Dez's take: I don't hate a Taco Bell with beer. I hate that Allston lost a 218-seat restaurant and nobody at City Hall has said a word about it. The same week Mayor Wu proposed zoning changes to make opening restaurants faster. Faster for who?

What we still don't know: the price, and what happens to that empty bank building.