A pizza chain’s plans to open up shop in a vacant Dot Ave storefront is getting a cold reception from others in the Fields Corner business district, including the Main Streets organization that is charged with helping merchants.

A Papa John’s franchisee received a permit to renovate the old BOS Burger location at 1501 Dorchester Ave. at a cost of $280,000. Work at the retail location, owned by an LLC controlled by Brendan Feeney, began two weeks ago, drawing attention to the new business.

The chain restaurant must also get a “common victuallers” license from the city before opening, which the director of the Fields Corner Main Streets (FCMS) says the group will oppose.

“We’ve never stood up against a common victuallers license in my history here and we don’t take that lightly, but I think…this product is not additive to the district,” said Jacky West Devine, the director of FCMS. West Devine discussed the issue at last week’s meeting of the Fields Corner Civic Association (FCCA) and asked for residents there to assist in opposing the restaurant’s plans when they come before the Licensing Board soon.

“It feels like a tough time for a corporate franchise to come in when businesses here are vulnerable. If you want Papa John’s in Fields Corner, I’m sure there is one that will deliver with Uber Eats. It’s not something we feel we need,” she said.

Another vocal opponent is Brian Chavez, who owns and operates Antonio’s Hi-Fi Pizza, directly across the street from the proposed Papa John’s site. Chavez was the operator of the BOS Burger, which closed in October 2021. He told neighbors at the civic meeting that he continued paying rent on the property until this past February even though it wasn’t operational.

“There are already three pizza shops in the Fields Corner district and four if you count Pizza 24 on Adams Street,” he said. “I’m all for business and for competition but having another pizza shop proposal directly across the street from my shop is kind of disheartening…especially when it’s a corporate franchise.”

A request for comment from the Reporter more than a week ago to the media relations team for Papa John’s has not been answered. A Papa John’s franchise operated on the outskirts of Fields Corner in Glover’s Corner for several years but closed more than three years ago.

Chavez and West Devine said food businesses in the district are still struggling to recover from Covid-19 shortfalls, along with increasing food costs and inflation. Neighbors seemed in support of the opposition for the most part, but hoped it wasn’t too late given that construction has started.

West Devine said it’s not too late to block the common victuallers license, describing that as “the nail in the coffin” for the proponent’s case.

She said she’s compiling a list of local food operators trying to find a location in Fields Corner – including a Moroccan venture – to present to the building ownership. Perhaps, she said, those options would work for thems when they see opposition to Papa John’s.