How long does a South End restaurant space stay empty these days? On Tremont Street this fall, the gap between a closing and an opening has been measured in weeks, and at 560 Tremont the replacement won city approval before the current restaurant announced a last night.
A cluster of South End rooms that opened in the mid-2010s is changing hands right now. Frenchie, Banyan Bar + Refuge and Bar Mezzana have each been part of the neighborhood for roughly a decade. Most of the Tremont spaces already know who comes next. The three that don't are the Ink Block restaurants closing on New Year's Day.
Two Tremont storefronts, refilled in weeks
Start at 570 Tremont. In July, Boston Restaurant Talk reported that Aurora Market & Bakery had closed. A week later, the same outlet reported that Brick Street Bagels would take the space. By a September 18 update, it was open.
Brick Street wasn't new to the neighborhood. Founder Jordan Renouf started the business from his South End apartment before expanding to South Boston. July reporting said a Beacon Hill location was also in the works. The 570 Tremont shop brings the business back to the blocks where it began, in a space that had already been a bakery.
A few blocks away, 416 Tremont moved even faster. Rome Pizza closed after about 30 years, according to a September 24 report. By October 15, Roma Pizza & Company was open in the same space. It serves pizza, salads, sandwiches, pasta, steak tips and chicken milanese for lunch and dinner every day. That is about three weeks between the closing report and the opening report, and the address stayed a pizzeria throughout.
Harrison Avenue had its own quick refill. C'Yool Yemeni Cafe & Bakery opened at 600 Harrison Ave. in the former Atlantico space, as reported September 17.
In all three cases, the next operator arrived quickly and kept the kind of business the address already had.
560 Tremont had its successor approved first
Frenchie goes a step further. The Parisian wine bistro opened at 560 Tremont in January 2017. It took over the room where Kitchen had been, and Pops Restaurant before that.
In early October, a Boston Licensing Board notice showed Frenchie's company, Cazarossi LLC, asking to transfer its license to 562 Tremont LLC for a restaurant called Osteria560, with Matthew Burns listed as manager. The board voted to approve the transfer at its October 15 voting hearing. Frenchie's final service date hasn't been made public.
The person behind Osteria560 has deep roots on Tremont. Seth Woods, founder and executive chef of The Aquitaine Group, told What Now Boston that the restaurant will be a "stripped-down Italian concept" built around "ingredient-driven cucina." The group dates to 1995. Its South End restaurants include Aquitaine Bar à Vin Bistro and Metropolis Cafe, and over the years it also ran Cinquecento, Union Bar & Grill and Gaslight Brasserie du Coin in the neighborhood.
What Now Boston described the plans for the 1,900-square-foot space this way:
- a first-floor dining room with banquette seating, a bar and the kitchen
- a dining area with adjustable overhead shades that can open or close
- a seasonal patio seating 17
- proposed hours running until midnight
The opening target is late 2026 or early 2027, depending on the license transfer. Now that the board has voted, the restaurant faces one fewer step.
Banyan's owner is choosing who comes next
Banyan Bar + Refuge at 553 Tremont opened to the public in July 2015. It is the oldest of this group, and its successor is still an open question, but the owner has said plainly what kind of successor she wants.
Rebecca Roth Gullo of the Gallows Group told the Boston Business Journal that she is selling Banyan as she raises money to grow Blackbird Doughnuts, according to an October 16 summary from Boston Restaurant Talk. She told the Business Journal she is "waiting for the right person, because it's my neighborhood....Some great local operator will take it over."
No buyer has been announced. Still, the stated plan fits the same pattern as 560 Tremont: the current operator is picking the next one, and a local operator is the goal. Banyan remains open while the sale plays out.
The Ink Block trio has a date and no successor
Around the corner on Harrison Avenue, things look different. In July, the Boston Globe reported that Colin Lynch's Traveler Street Hospitality will close three restaurants on New Year's Day.
- Bar Mezzana, the coastal Italian restaurant at 360 Harrison Ave., turned 10 in June.
- Shore Leave, the tropical lounge at 11 William E. Mullins Way, opened eight years ago.
- No Relation, Shore Leave's sushi bar, shares that address.
Colin and Heather Lynch run the group with partner Jefferson Macklin. In the Globe, Colin Lynch framed the closings as a lease decision and said the group has a strong relationship with its landlord, National Development:
"It's a decision based on resigning the lease and whether we thought it was prudent."
He also told the Globe, "We had 10 years, and we're really proud of everything we've done here."
So far, no new tenant or use has been announced for any of the three spaces. Of all the changes on these blocks, they are the only ones with a firm closing date and no named successor. All three are in the Ink Block, run by one group with one landlord, and they close on the same day.
The season's calendar
Here is how the changes fall between now and early next year, based on what has been announced:
- Open now: Brick Street Bagels at 570 Tremont, Roma Pizza & Company at 416 Tremont, and C'Yool Yemeni Cafe & Bakery at 600 Harrison.
- Open, with a sale underway: Banyan Bar + Refuge at 553 Tremont.
- Open, last night not yet announced: Frenchie at 560 Tremont, with Osteria560 approved to follow.
- November 20 through December 27, 2026: the SoWa Christmas Market at the SoWa Power Station, 550 Harrison Ave., a short walk from the Ink Block. SoWa says its 2026 Winter Festival will run 15 days over four weekends, and the dates are still listed as coming soon.
- Late 2026 or early 2027: Osteria560's target opening window at 560 Tremont.
- Through New Year's Eve: the last stretch of dinners at Bar Mezzana, Shore Leave and No Relation.
- New Year's Day: the Traveler Street trio closes, leaving 360 Harrison Ave. and 11 William E. Mullins Way without an announced next tenant.
When a familiar restaurant changes hands on your block, it's natural to wonder how the street is shifting and what that means for your own home. If that's on your mind, Samantha Berdinka can walk you through what's happening on your stretch of the South End. Get your instant home valuation to see where your home stands as these rooms reopen.
