According to a poster on the Chowhound site, Village Smokehouse in Brookline Village has a sign that says "Magnolia Smokehouse," with the poster indicating that it is open and it is "business as usual" within the space. A check on the new restaurant's website and social media pages shows that it indeed appears to be open, and it offers such items as fried dill pickles, muffalettas, shrimp po'boys, brisket, a fried green tomato BLT, smoked turkey, pork schnitzel, Memphis ribs, fried chicken, and more.
Last fall, we had mentioned that Village Smokehouse owner Alan F. Kaplan was facing arson charges connected to a fire that destroyed a home back in 2013; since then, a few sources have told us that the dining spot was coming under new ownership and would possibly get a new name but would remain a BBQ spot.
Village Smokehouse had been in business for nearly 30 years.
The address for Magnolia Smokehouse (and the Village Smokehouse) is 1 Harvard Street, · Brookline Village, MA, 02445. The website for Magnolia Smokehouse can be found at http://www.magnoliabrookline.com/
[July 13 update: Eater Boston mentions that Magnolia Smokehouse indeed has different ownership than Village Smokehouse--it is the group behind Carrie Nation, Emmet's, and Scholars, which is called East Coast Tavern Group. (EB also says that Magnolia Smokehouse is in the process of getting up and running.)]
[August 5 update: According to an article in the Brookline TAB, the restaurant is now under new ownership but is still being run as Village Smokehouse, but the place will soon be closing for about a week and will reopen as Magnolia Smokehouse around mid-September, with some renovations made and a new menu that will focus more on Southern-style BBQ rather than Texas-style BBQ.]
[September 7 update: According to one of the people behind the place, Magnolia Smokehouse is now open.]
[Earlier Article]
Owner of Village Smokehouse in Brookline Village Arrested on Arson Charges
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[A related post from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): List of Restaurant Closings and Openings in the Boston Area]
