Weston Select Board clears restaurant plan at Josiah Smith Tavern for historic review

WESTON — July 23, 2025 — Weston Select Board advances Josiah Smith Tavern restaurant plan and steps back from train depot funding effort. At the July 22 meeting, all five board members voted to endorse the proposed modifications by restaurateur Brian Passini for a restaurant called The Woods at the historic Josiah Smith Tavern, forwarding the plans to Historic New England for required approval, as summarized by Town Manager Leon Goemind in a Select Board Rewind episode. The board also renewed its agreement with the Regional Housing Service Office and directed Goemind to draft a steering committee scope for a possible update to the town's housing production plan, which expires in 2026. On the 55 Church Street train depot, the board declined to sponsor a warrant article at the October Town Meeting to redirect unused acquisition funds to the Friends of the Weston Depot for stabilization work, saying the group could proceed instead as a citizens' petition — leaving the preservation effort without official board backing heading into the fall Town Meeting cycle.