Murphy’s Eats & Treats plans to open soon in Nobscot at the site of the old CJ’s Northside Grill on Edgell Road. This would be the second location for Murphy’s, which has been in Ashland for 6 years.
The Framingham Board of License Commissioners unanimously approved a license for 31 indoor seats and 24 outside (at picnic tables) at its September 11 meeting . Once the site receives Board of Health approval, owner Shaun Keefe expects the restaurant to open a week or so after.
“Everything inside is just about done,” he told the board. Overall, he predicted the restaurant might open “in the next month or so.”
Murphy’s Ashland location bills itself as “a gathering place to enjoy a burger, salad, seafood and plenty of hard and soft serve ice cream”. They serve Richardson’s ice cream in Ashland -- the same tasty brand served at Mad Willie’s in Framingham Centre. (The frozen yogurt options at the Ashland spot are much more limited than at Mad Willie’s, though, with only two flavors listed.)
The menu also boasts they serve Captain Marden’s Seafoods, including clams, scallops, and haddock fish and chips.
While the Ashland location is a seasonal business, closing for much of the winter, Keefe told the Licensing Commission’s Sept. 11 meeting that he plans to keep the Nobscot restaurant open year-round except for shutting down two to three weeks around Christmas.
Keefe said he lives in the Nobscot area and “I have loved the location” where CJ’s and previously Riley’s Roast Beef used to be.
Murphy’s Framingham license application requested to be open Tuesdays through Sundays, 6 am to 10 pm, but Keefe said the restaurant was unlikely to be open that late every night -- especially on school nights, when students aren’t allowed to work there after 8:30 pm. He wanted the option to stay open that late for students to have a place to go after home football games, for example. The restaurant may also stay open closer to 10 pm on some days over the summer.
There are also plans to resurrect classic car nights at the location.
Keefe said the Framingham location has already hired 22 young adults, 20 from Framingham and 2 from Sudbury, who are in the process of being trained.
When it first opens, the Nobscot restaurant will start off serving just ice cream for a few weeks while the staff settles in, Keefe said. That will expand to lunch and dinner for three or four weeks, and then add breakfast.
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