Weston Select Board Directs Town Counsel to Draft JST Lease and Escrow Documents

Select Board · Meeting of July 14, 2026

Weston Select Board presses JST restaurant operator on unresolved lease and escrow agreements, approves Cherry Brook Road safety measures. The board voted unanimously Tuesday to install no-parking signs on both sides of Cherry Brook Road near a blind curve at Pollywog Lane and to build a roughly 50-foot sidewalk on the north side from that intersection to 41 Cherry Brook Road, responding to resident emails warning of dangerous conditions near a heavily used municipal field. Separately, restaurant operator Brian Pesini presented a detailed update on the Josiah Smith Tavern barn conversion project, showing $4.3 million in total projected costs, a $2.289 million construction build-out estimate from Knox Construction, and a March 2027 target opening.

Chair John McDonald said Pesini had "largely" satisfied the board's earlier demand letter but warned that "there's been so many timelines I've seen and none of them have ever been met." The board directed Town Manager Leon Gaumann to request that town counsel KP Law forward amended lease and escrow documents to the full board for review, and agreed to hold monthly status meetings. A ZBA parking variance and a building permit application, due July 24, remain the project's critical-path items.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
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• The complete report — 3,284 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of July 14, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.