Two women restaurateurs are on the fast track to open a full-service Dominican-themed restaurant and function hall early next year on Blue Hill Avenue. Plans for a 240-seat restaurant with a full liquor license – called El Punto – and an affiliated 148-person function space were discussed at an abutters’ meeting on Dec.12.

Wandaly Ortiz and business partner Yira Pena secured a full liquor license for the establishment last year and received city approvals to go forward in 2023. But the partners are now looking for support and working to renew their approvals with a goal of opening in February.

El Punto will be one of the first full-service restaurants on Blue Hill Avenue to hold a liquor license, though other applicants are hoping to secure permits in a process approved through state legislation earlier this year.

A view inside the soon-to- open El Punto restaurant and lounge on Blue Hill Avenue. Seth Daniel photo

“I just think it’s a great area for us right in the middle of Dorchester Center and the cornerstone of where we like to gather as Dominicans,” said Pena. “We’re right there in the middle of it by Blue Hill Avenue and American Legion Highway and that’s precisely why it’s called El Punto.”

Pena said part of their business plan is “about getting people off the street and the gathering places and out of their cars and into a nice place so they can enjoy themselves and not have to drive to Lawrence.”

El Punto first went through the permitting process without a liquor license in 2023, but having secured one since, they have brought their plans back to community groups and the Zoning Board of Appeal. Pena said they are working through that process and haven’t to date encountered any major opposition.

“We just had to renew our liquor license and so we already have that,” she said. “That’s the first thing we said about this venture. If we couldn’t secure a license here, then it really wouldn’t be worth it to go forward with a full-service restaurant.”

The restaurant will offer small plates and tapas in seeking to carve out a different niche from other take-out Dominican spots – known as “lunches” – that exist along Blue Hill Avenue and in nearby neighborhoods. The food and drink operation is being planned by chef Carlos Rosario, a graduate of Madison Park Technical Vocational High School and a veteran of the culinary scene in Boston. In addition to small bites, his forte will be a build-your-own Platano [Plantain] Bowl.

“We wanted to be open all day, but there are so many take-outs or lunches here, so we decided to do something different,” said Pena. “We want our food to be more like tapas food and not the big Dominican plates with rice and beans.”

Pena and Ortiz have been involved in the hospitality industry for at least a decade. Pena said she was the general manager of a Mojito’s in Randolph for five years while also being a promoter in Boston. She said they know the pitfalls and have brought on a professional security company for the site.

“We are going to make sure we have professionally trained security and not just some guy at the door at our operation,” said Pena.

“We’re going to finally have somewhere to be,” she added. “I’m from Boston and was raised here and went to college here. It’s sad we have to go out of town and spend money to be in a place we can identify with and be comfortable.”

The location at 879 Blue Hill Ave. was previously planned to be a Royalty Iron Grill – pitched as an elaborate steakhouse, but it never opened once the pandemic hit. The building, which was purchased by PWN Development of Tewksbury for $6 million in late 2023, today has a long-time beauty salon on the premises.