According to a source, Raider Tavern in Watertown is no longer in business, with the source mentioning that someone involved with the former Ritcey's Sea Food Kitchen in Waltham is behind the upcoming restaurant. A page within the Watertown website seems to confirm this, showing that Michaela Ritcey had worked at the Moody Street spot as a server and in the kitchen while she was in her teens. The post mentions that the new place will be an "upscale" street food spot that will be open for dinner at first, adding lunch service at a later date.
The Raider Tavern first opened in the summer of 2014, replacing the Orchard Park Grill, a watering hole that had been around since 1950. Ritcey's Sea Food Kitchen got its start in 1911 as a seafood market, becoming a restaurant in the 1940s and remaining open until a bit more than a decade ago, according to a post on the Waltham Community website.
The address for the now-closed Raider Tavern (and the new restaurant) is 208 Waverley Avenue, Watertown, MA, 02472.
[August 2 update: A job post on the Craigslist site indicates that the new restaurant will be called Ritcey East and that it will open at the end of August, with lunch service coming in December.]
[September 6 update: A Facebook post from the place indicates that Ritcey East may be opening tomorrow, though they were having problems with alarms today so keep checking back for more updates.]
[September 8 update: A tweet from @eatboston indicates that Ritcey East has "quietly" opened.]
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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]
