Popular Italian Restaurant Opens On Moody Street

WALTHAM, MA — Sweet Basil Restaurant and Provisions has taken over the former Balani space on Moody Street, after several successful "pop-ups" there.

"The pop up ... was so much more successful than Balani was," a spokesperson for the restaurant told Patch. "People really wanted this restaurant."

On Friday, owner Dave Becker made the switch officially. The Waltham location is now listed on the original Sweet Basil's website in addition to the Needham original spot.
Becker is set to convert the space in the coming weeks.

The outside space, complete with faux cherry blossom trees, greenery and outdoor lighting, has been a popular spot on the closed off section of Moody Street for the past few weeks.

The more Asian-inspired restaurant that was Balani opened in fall of 2018, taking over the space that was once Raffaele's Ristorante. After an involved remodeling it introduced a number of special events to get people in the door, from happy hour to live music.

Becker has two other restaurants in the Greater Boston area. He opened Juniper in Wellesley in 2014 following success with Sweet Basil in Needham. Sweet Basil is decidedly an Italian restaurant and Juniper is Eastern Mediterranean restaurant, and both focus on sustainability and local sourcing.

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