Film shoot puts vacant Lynn building back in business

LYNN – For the first time in a decade, the front door of Anthony’s Hawthorne was open Tuesday, and people came and went like it was open for business, but it wasn’t.”I can’t help you,” said the gentleman guarding the front door, shooing onlookers away. “I’m just here to keep people out.”He was there to keep people out of what is allegedly the next shooting venue for the movie “Black Mass,” starring Johnny Depp as the infamous mobster James “Whitey” Bulger. Central Square has already transformed into South Boston on St. Patrick’s Day and Munroe Street was dressed for Christmas. Now the Hawthorne is said to be readied as a bar for a scene with Depp.While the doorman kept mum about the project, windows, long blocked by dusty brown shutters, spoke volumes. The curious peeked through the now clear glass and momentarily watched workmen working on a bar in the nearly empty room. A rear door was also open, and although according to the Inspectional Services database, no permits have been pulled for the property, above a huge industrial fan workers could be seen manning skill saws.It is the most action the Oxford Street restaurant has seen since it closed its doors in 2003.”It’s been a long time,” said one onlooker who declined to give her name. “I worked here when it was still open.”City officials pushed the Athanas family, which owns the site, hard from about 2010 to 2012 to either develop or sell the property, but the fight has quieted down over the last two years.In the meantime, “Black Mass” spoiled the day for some beachgoers in Revere when a portion of the beach was blocked off for preparation for filming.”Black Mass,” directed by Scott Cooper, is expected to hit theaters in October 2015.