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On Feb. 8, the Springfield Board of License Commissioners had a new all-alcohol annual restaurant license on their agenda for Yaad Food Bar & Grill II.
Yaad Food is a Jamaican restaurant at 89 Main St., Indian Orchard, owned by Orlando Roberts and Alexis Mercure.
It is Mercure’s sister, Kimberley Campbell, who is listed as the manager of record for Yaad Food Bar & Grill II’s new liquor license application. Campbell works at Yaad Food with Mercure and is often the person who greets customers as they enter.
If approved, the new license would facilitate alcohol service at Hemil’s Bar & Grill, a little way down Main Street from Yaad at 287 Main St.
The address is the location of the former A Bica Bar, a Portuguese neighborhood pub. A Bica closed in July 2020 so owner Lucas Rosa could retire, according to the restaurant’s Facebook page.
The following month, Yaad part-owner Orlando Roberts secured a business registration for a new restaurant at the old A Bica’s.
It was unclear from the liquor license application what kind of food would be served at Hemil’s, but the establishment is already trying to make itself known in the community.
In February, Hemil’s along with 8 other Main Street businesses (including Yaad) donated to the city’s “blooms” campaign to add 200 flower baskets to the neighborhood.
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