Natick Select Board Approves Suru Liquor License, Advances Johnson School Reuse Plan

NATICK -- July 8, 2026, Natick Select Board unanimously approves Japanese restaurant license and endorses Johnson School interim-use calendar at a four-hour meeting. The board voted 5-0 July 8 to grant a new Section 12 all-alcohol on-premise restaurant license to JXCS Natick Corp., doing business as Suru, a casual fine-dining Japanese concept set to open at 45 East Central Street with 68 indoor seats and a 31-seat outdoor patio, pending manager fingerprinting at the Natick Police Department. In the same session, the board voted 5-0 to endorse a structured interim-use matrix for the shuttered Johnson Elementary School, targeting a board vote on occupancy by June 2027 after a public survey, a community workshop in October, and feasibility studies running January through March 2027; six candidate organizations include Natick Public Schools, the YMCA, and Natick Pegasus. The board also heard more than an hour of public testimony on the $11 million Main Street Improvement Project, including a finding by Town Engineer Christopher Erickson that adding a designated bike lane to a full reconstruction adds minimal cost over the $11 million baseline, without taking a vote; discussion continues July 22. Economic Development Committee Chair Paul Joseph warned that Natick's commercial share of the tax levy has fallen from 22 percent to 17 percent over the past decade and that competing communities including Framingham and Marlborough are investing aggressively in economic development infrastructure that Natick lacks.