September 2012 Openings and Closings

[Gabatta]

I just got an e-mail the M.F. Dulock will be opening its doors in Somerville (201a Highland Ave) this coming Tuesday (9/5). This will be a very welcome addition to the area. I am looking forward to having another butcher option, particularly one that specializes in pasture raised meats and sausage made in house. With the unfulfilled promise of Akimenko Meats this has been a long time coming for the area.

[jim.luyten]

does anyone know the email address for M.F. Dulock, the butcher in Somerville? The website gives a link but it doesn't actually work...

[Gabatta]

It's a web form. You put in your name, e-mail and message, and it sends to Dulock's designated inbox.

[jim.luyten]

doesn't actually go through...

[Gabatta]

In that case it looks like e-mail is publicly available on their Facebook page under About ([e-mail]).

[jgg13]

You can tweet at them. A friend of mine ordered a crown roast via twitter.

[FinnFPM]

UrbanDaddy has BoMa opening next week: http://www.urbandaddy.com/bos/food/20...

Fire up the October thread.

[ChocolateMilkshake]

Not opening in September, but Joanne Chang tweeted today that they will be opening another Flour in the Back Bay this year.
"Finally ready to sign lease for Flour4! We hope to open by end of year in Back Bay at 131 Clarendon (former Hard Rock). SO EXCITED. GULP. "

[yanz]

anyone know when Flour4 is supposed to open? I haven't seen anything since November (which suggested that they "could be open by year end", and they clearly weren't).

[CocoDan]

Sad to hear "Sapporito's Florence Club Cafe" in Hull is closing. Have had many memorable meals there with good friends over the years, and with both owners. These are the places we don't need to loose. Reason given in the Hull Times was the desire to spend more time with family. Good Luck!
Always Enjoyed,
CocoDan

[southie_chick]

Do you know when they are closing CocoDan? I looked on the website but nothing is on there. Had may a good meal there with friends there too - would like to have one moe before they say goodbye. : (

[hiddenboston]

Does anyone know the scoop with Prana in Newton Corner? Did they close again?

[reallyred]

Sign in the window says they are re-opening as The Organic Table (unless that's not a new thing, I haven't been in probably a year). They have a FB page but it's not updated. It didn't look like there was anything going on when I stopped by last week. I really wanted a smoothie too!

[hiddenboston]

Thanks! Can't tell if it's the same owners, but it sounds like it will be a similar place.

[lmuller]

Does anyone know anything about the middle eastern place opening on Common Street in Watertown? It is called something like Kareems...?

[FinnFPM]

Kareem's is actually an old Watertown restaurant that is being re-opened by the original guy. The storefront sat unused for a while, and then I used to see them occasionally running cooking classes out of there, but that seemed to be short-lived. Here's an article from May. I don't know of any more recent news: http://www.wickedlocal.com/watertown/...

[Aromatherapy]

Oh lord, I hope this happens!

[mfhazz]

I came across this article today...
http://bostonrestaurants.blogspot.com...

[hiddenboston]

That looks familiar. :-b

[mats77]

According to Eater, Charley's on Newbury Street has closed due to an inability to renegoiate it's lease.

[total13]

Did Z Rant close? That's what the Yelp listing says so I assume it's true but hadn't heard anything.

[FinnFPM]

For what it's worth, Vadim is going before the zoning board in Somerville tomorrow night regarding the Akimenko Meats shop. I don't know what that means for the timeline, but the idea is at least still breathing.

[jgg13]

I wonder if Dulock managing to open lit a fire under him? :)

[FinnFPM]

A friend sent along the note about the zoning board meeting to me yesterday, and yes, that was my reply. Right down to the metaphor.

[jgg13]

Not sure exactly when it happened, but I didn't see it mentioned here. The Harvest Co-op is open across the street from the old space in central sq (the old Jax Liquidation)

[FinnFPM]

Harvest relocated about a month ago. The new space feels much cleaner (at least for now).

[jgg13]

As it happened, I moved from central a little over a month ago. Bit out of the loop. Yes, it does feel cleaner but I suspect that's just a matter of age. I was surprised that they manage to replicate as much of the old shop as they did in what seems like a much smaller shop

[hiddenboston]

Eugene O'Neill's pub opened in the Forest Hills section of JP today. Same folks who own Napper Tandy's in Norwood and Rozzie.

[MC Slim JB]

Eater Boston reports that the Tasty Burger in Southie, a takeout only store, is now open.

http://mcslimjb.blogspot.com/

[MC Slim JB]

Grub Street Boston reports that Noche in the South End (former Icarus space) is closing, though its owner promises to re-open it "across town". Not clear if the group is hanging onto the Appleton Street space or not.

This is one of those cases that confirms my general suspicion of restaurants run by nightclub people. It was a pretty redesign, I thought, but not a place where locals wanted to return regularly to dine. It did have a brief run of popularity as a drinking hangout for the boys of the South End.

http://mcslimjb.blogspot.com/

[meeps2002]

I really hope this isn't maintained by them. The place has swung and missed, I think it's been to chalk it up as a loss and focus on luring tourists into Forum.

[wickedated]

the group owns the property, heard they're scrapping the idea of a restaurant on Appleton St in favor of a lounge for the boys of the South End. Noche will be moved to another site, but they can't disclose it yet due to confidentiality issues.

[Beachowolfe]

Did anyone ever actually eat at this place?

[meeps2002]

I went to Noche a few times, as it was literally a stones throw from where I live. Every time I went the menu was different. Never too crowded, unless it was the over flow 28 Degrees folks on a friday/saturday night. Food was so-so.

[MC Slim JB]

I did, under the opening chef. Very hit or miss, and dated-feeling, a lot of fusion ideas that seemed leftover from the 90s. I was planning to review it for Stuff, but was so underwhelmed I withdrew that idea and opted to review something else. Ironically, that turned out to be Sam's, which under its opening chef was even worse, but time constraints forced me to file that one anyway.

http://mcslimjb.blogspot.com/

[jjbourgeois]

Looks like X&O Resaurant in Stoughton on Rte 138 is closed.

[reallyred]

Stoughton Patch had an article a while back saying a restaurant named Amelia's from the owner of Sofia's Steakhouse in Dedham/West Rox was going into the space.

[postemotional1]

Does anyone know what is happening with Tonic in J.P? It still appears to be closed and the original manager has resigned. Is there any scuttlebutt?

[hiddenboston]

The last I heard, they were on vacation and would be reopening when they got back.

[MC Slim JB]

The owner and chef Ryan Kelly had come to irreconcilable differences over changes in direction to the menu that the owner wanted, leading to the chef's departure, as reported here: http://boston.eater.com/archives/2012/08/06/chef-ryan-kelly-out-at-tonic.php

This is an old story: an owner (often a first-timer in the restaurant business) becomes impatient when his/her place is not an immediate success, especially in the face of lukewarm reviews, underwhelming receipts, and/or skimpy profits, and decides to tear it up and start over a few months in. See The Beehive, The Biltmore, Savin Kitchen, countless others.

If I had to guess, I'd say the owner has concluded that his initially bold concept was too bold for the neighborhood, or his chef was not managing food costs effectively enough, and the next step is to dumb it down and cheapen it down. Here comes the Sysco truck!

It's a tough business.

http://mcslimjb.blogspot.com/

[postemotional1]

This is just too bad as I worked 5 nights at Tonic and I do think that it would have made it. But it IS a tough business.

[bostonbroad]

After your review, I was was excited to go. Got a little delayed by summer vacations and such, and the next thing I knew, gone. Very sad. Or maybe it's better never to have gone since whatever was interesting about was already on the way out.

[skc]

I went a few times. I really wanted it to succeed b/c I live around the corner.

I appreciated the ambition, but that wasn't the problem, in my view. The biggest sin was the inconsistency. I went there three times, paid a lot of money for the 'hood, and got food that was at best, fine, at worse, awful. Blaming the food on "people only want burgers" is lazy, and I hope they don't go in that direction.

The menu was the minor sin -- you can fix that. Looking back at this discussion I think it did reflect a tension between the chef and the owner. There were a lot of things that were trendy, but didn't make sense -- the banh mi salad comes to mind, the super-gross vegan twinkie dessert. I'm sure the food costs were astronomical. The big-screen TVs were just dumb.

I'm glad they're re-tooling and I'm sorry that Ryan Kelley didn't work out.

On a plus note, Eugene O'Neill's is open next door, and it was lovely. Nice beer list, interesting pub food. It should give the Dogwood a kick in the pants.

The only problem now is that I will bet you dollars for donuts that Tonic will open with a bunch of burgers on the menu, and the strip will be Burger Joint, Burger Joint, Burger Joint.

I would give my left arm for a mexican place, or a red-sauce italian, or a halfway decent non-chinese asian restaurant in one of those spaces.

[CTrainInbound]

There is a story on Eater today (http://boston.eater.com/archives/2012...) about the new restaurant in the theatre district that is opening in the former Dominic's space. Although I don't know if they will be open for September (more likely October) I can confirm that Jason Santos will be the chef and one of the partners is also the owner of Blue Inc and Julep Bar. Also, the requirement for "Aloha experience" in the Craigslist ad refers to an older POS system that was common before Micros, not to the theme of the restaurant. Last I heard they are going for an upscale burger concept that will be open late to capitalize on all the nightclub traffic in the area.

[Klunco]

Anyone know if TerraVino wines in Coolidge Corner closed down? They've only been open for four months and although they had a massive clearing out sale (50% off) Chris said they were just restocking for fall. Now though, their website and twitter are gone and a search on twitter came up with a rumor that they closed.

Anyone been around the area and seen?

[Klunco]

Saw a "For Lease" sign in the window over the weekend. Only a four month run; what a bummer.

[MC Slim JB]

BoMa in the South End (former Pho Republique spot) now has a sign up saying it is hiring waitstaff, so that looks a bit closer to opening.

http://mcslimjb.blogspot.com/

[mats77]

Do you know what type of food BoMa will serve?

[MC Slim JB]

I only have rumors. First it was going to be kind of gastro-pubby, and presumably they checked out The Gallows' menu three doors down, and changed their minds. Next, it was going to be seafood-oriented, though obviously that could go a bunch of different ways, and Morse Fish is two doors down. A Globe report in May suggested it would do "American regional, seasonal cuisine". The owner's other restaurants in the suburbs are sort of Italian-American looking. But really, I have no idea based on actual facts.

http://mcslimjb.blogspot.com/

[Beachowolfe]

YoMa = Burmese ergo BoMa = ?

[gourmaniac]

Yurmese. What do I win?

[Parsnipity]

Q's Nuts (corner of Highland and Willow) was open yesterday. They have roasted nuts by the lb, prepacked nuts, and have ice cream from Christina's. They were still unpacking and setting up, but said they were ready for business. We meant to go back for ice cream after dinner but bailed due to thunder.

[enhF94]

Just drove by, there's six or eight people in there today.

[kobuta]

Not a restaurant, but the Chung Wah Hong market on Beach St has closed (next to Bubor Cha Cha). The word on the Chinatown grapevine is that Gourmet Dumpling House is eyeing a move into that spot. On the surface, it doesn't look much bigger, unless the room in the back is more than can be seen. No specifics on dates though.

[mkfisher]

Eater had something about Belly Wine Bar opening this coming Monday. I'm excited for this one.

[mkfisher]

It was indeed open last night. Walked by with the dog around 7 and there looked to be a good crowd inside.

[galleygirl]

Pongal II in Sudbury (Wayland?) is closed. Sigh...It was the best Indian in that area....

[LStaff]

Their facebook and website says they are temporarily closed - do you have knowledge of a permanent closure? I know they were doing some renovation/expansion.

That would be sad if true....

[galleygirl]

The sign said, "Closed Until further Notice. Please Contact us if you would like to rent this space for an event"...Ya got me...

[Velda Mae]

Newton Patch reported that Terry O'Reilly's, an Irish pub, has opened in Newton Centre in the space formerly occupied by Sabra, which is at the corner of Union Street and Langley Road.

[opinionatedchef]

awww, Sabra is gone? such memories of loooooong ago (before,iirc, the divorce- where she got Sabra and he opened up in Harv Sq and also started [or continued?] the prepared foods line.)

[Guinness02122]

Are you sure it's not THE Terry "Taz" O'Reilly? If it is indeed him then the place is probably a sports bar.

[Gordough]

It is not affiliated with the hockey player and is not a sports bar.

[MC Slim JB]

Walked by it the other day, had a brief chat with the owner, who has a distinct Irish brogue. Looks like an Irish pub to me.

http://mcslimjb.blogspot.com/

[hungrybruno]

The ramen shop that's set to open in the old Zing Pizza space in Porter Square has signs in the window indicating a September open (forgive me, I can't remember the name). Construction mess in the store (seen through the windows) changes daily so they must be making progress. I walk by it every day, so I'll report back if I see anything more specific.

[hiddenboston]

It's called Yumewokatare. Don't ask me how to pronounce that. :-b

[Boston_Otter]

I'm imagining some marketing guy trying to convince them to anglicize their name to "Yummy Wok" (despite being a ramen place).

[hiddenboston]

:-)

[opinionatedchef]

thx much for the name, hb. Because Japnese is pretty much written as it is pronounced, it might be "yoo-mee walk a TAR ay". though i'm prob going to remember it as the joking canadian version- "You-Me walk a tar, eh?"
(huh? what's a tar?)

[Luther]

It's pronounced as it's written, but not with those phonemes. You-may-woke-ah-tar-ray

[Bob Dobalina]

Now I have this vision of an Atari 2600 shoveling ramen into its cartridge slot with its joysticks. Might make a cool t-shirt/logo.

[opinionatedchef]

what's a phoneme?is that someth you learn in Linguistics?

[jgg13]

http://bit.ly/QmAkcv

[opinionatedchef]

wow, that was a cool device. and after readng that piece, i am remnded that lingustics has always read like martian to me. but thk you,j.

[kobuta]

Except it's written in Japanese with the 'wo' (a very literal romanization) as a particle and in those cases, the "w" sound normally gets dropped, so it might actually be pronounced 'yume o katare' (you - may - oh - kah - tah- ray).

[opinionatedchef]

...in which case the canadian version would be "You may ohkahtar, eh?"
(I may what?)

[divinebaboon]

ahhh september is ending soon...any updates on the ramen joint?

[Boston_Otter]

Just a bunch of building permits posted in the window and ongoing work inside.

[galangatron]

angkor wat market on shirley ave in revere has closed

[ScotchandSirloin]

In DTX, Falafel King is open (just went: Very good fresh falafel, standard grape leaves, chicken shawarma was tasteless and kind of had the texture of solid white canned tuna). Potbelly's says "in training," and Qdoba is "coming soon." Qdoba, Chipotle and Boloco in one block seems excessive, but both Chipotle and Boloco were busy at 1pm today.

[Beachowolfe]

is this a new Falafel King? Never had anything tasteless from the original, maybe just a bad day?

[Bob Dobalina]

Long live the King - stopped by the Falafel King which moved into Eat Kitchen, apparently so fast that they did not even take down the old wallboard menus, just papered over with the new menus. The owner was there flying through lunches, dispensing the trademark free falafel dipped in hummus.

My falafel wrap was as good as the Winter Street Arcade kiosk. Line to the door, as was the line across the street at Potbelly's. Though I will bet that it took me a lot less time to get in and out with my sandwich than the folks over there - the King was REALLY hustling!

[Gordough]

Thanks for the report. He is a very nice man. I used to go to the original Winter St. location back in the late 90s when he first opened there. It's great to see him grow his business and achieve success.

[MC Slim JB]

Does this mean the Arcade FK is no more?

http://mcslimjb.blogspot.com/

[Bob Dobalina]

I assumed there were now two Kings - I will try to find out.

[camberville]

Potbelly's opens tomorrow, according to their Twitter account.

[opinionatedchef]

FYI,Serious Eats did a report on ALL the Potbelly sandwiches:

http://chicago.seriouseats.com/2012/0...

[mats77]

Went today and got the A Wreck sandwich. Nothing memorable however they do have Zapp's potato chips (BBQ, S&V, Sour Cream and Onion) but sadly none of the fun flavors (Voodoo or Crawtator).

[Boston_Otter]

Oh man, I would've gone just for Crawtators.

[Guinness02122]

Ditto. I had a Wreck on the multigrain roll. Slightly a notch above Quizno's. Just so so. I won't run back there.

[devilham]

Just came back from a vacation in DC, and you can't throw a brick in that town with out smashing a Potbelly's window....hope that doesn't happen around here

[kimfair1]

Fuel - coffee shop and snacks is now open on Chestnut Hill Ave in Brighton (Next to Moogy's),. Haven't been in, but noticed they were open on Saturday when the wife and I took a walk.

[QuakerInBoston]

+1 Open and pretty neat looking. It'll take 0.02 seconds before it turns into a crappy dive for BC students and other random BU/Emerson/NEU students that live in the area, though.

[enhF94]

DooWee and Rice is hiring, but not yet open. He has about three days before Tufts classes start.

[BostonZest]

The paper is off the windows and there is furniture in Steve's Greek on Newbury. So it looks like they will reopen at some point.

Penny
http://www.bostonzest.com/

[bear]

Eater reports that the Thinking Cup is opening a second location on Hanover St. in the North End next to Mike's Pastry. This is great news for me, since I love their cappuccinos and haven't found one I really like in the NE. Boston Common is decent, but I suspect the Thinking Cup will give them a run for the money.

They are also going to focus on Italian-inspired pastries.

[Beachowolfe]

Which storefront?

[bear]

I don't know. Boston Restaurant blog says 236 Hanover. Google street view has a truck parked and blocking out the view.

[Gabatta]

Also on my side of the river:

- it looks like they are making progress on the Tasty Burger in Harvard Square, so that looks probable for this month. Looking forward to this one.
- as I mentioned in last month's thread, Osushi is opening a branch in the old Conga Tapas Bar (we hardly knew ye) space in the square. I'm not a huge fan of Osushi copley, but talking myself into the fact that it is better than anything currently in the neighborhood.

[ebaba]

For sushi don't overlook Cafe Sushi on Mass Ave heading towards Central. We had a superb lunch there last weekend.

[dulce de leche]

Are you sure this Osushi is part of the/a chain? Last I'd heard, this was the same owner who'd tried the panAsian idea, then Conga, that was going to be doing a sushi restaurant. He owns one of the Thai restaurants in HS, either Smile or 9 Tastes.

[Gabatta]

It's the same owners as the original, and the font and logo on the coming soon are exactly the same as the Copley branch. I heard, there was a license to another sushi place after Conga, but that never materialized. It is possible this other guy could be involved on some level.

I still have yet to try Cafe Sushi.

[dulce de leche]

Well, that's relatively good news then. The only time I've sent food back to a kitchen was at the pan-Asian iteration. It was dreadful, every single thing in the bento box was perplexing or awful. I wanted to peek in the kitchen and see if it was actually a monkey or robot back there.