Beans in town

There's something comforting about shopping on Newbury Street. If you get de-friended on Facebook, if the Scantron fills itself out wrong, if you bite the curb as you dash for the T, Gucci doesn't mind. Diesel waits patiently for you at the end of the traumatizing school day.  If you've recently trudged toward your tried-and-true retail therapists, you might have noticed a 6-foot-tall Bean smiling and gesturing. Yes, he's pointing at you! No, it's not a strange side effect of that new energy drink you're hopped up on. The Boston Baked Bean has come to 291 Newbury Street., seeking to unify Bostonians beyond a common interest in the Sox and a collective craving for clam chowdah.

The Boston Baked Bean does not, contrary to popular belief (and the store's name), actually sell Massachusetts's most famous side dish -- unless customers have a hankering for plastic or plush collectible legumes, key chains and "I Love Beantown" T's, all sporting the wide-eyes and button nose of the vegetable with the biggest smile, and the worst rep.

But behind the chachkas -- and the giant baked bean -- is president Tom Hayes. He feels that the Bean has potential far beyond souvenirs. Stories chronicling the Bean's many heart-warming (no pun intended) adventures are in the works; positive tales Hayes hopes will inspire children and instill important values to all Bostoninans. For example, when Bean looses to his nemesis, the "Big" Apple, he does so because he was using his "bean, and not his heart," Hayes says.   He hopes that Bean can eventually become Boston's mascot. Director of PR Lizzy Pangborn said that she too has visions of grandeur -- perhaps the Bean may eventually rise to Mickey Mouse status and become the inspiration for a theme park? "All the rides could be gas- powered!"

- Sydney Levin, Muse Staff