A Mexican eatery in Brookline that is the little sibling to a Somerville restaurant is expanding to Boston's South End, and it plans to take over the space where an Italian dining spot resides.
According to a source, Burro Bar is looking to open on Washington Street in La Motta's space, with a hearing notice showing that the group behind La Motta's is indeed petitioning to transfer the license to Burro Bar. A few weeks ago, we were told by another source that La Motta's was going to be leaving the space, but at the time it was not known what might move in.
Burro Bar in Brookline's Washington Square is under the same ownership as the Painted Burro in the Davis Square section of Brookline; Joe Cassinelli, who founded the Alpine Restaurant Group, also runs Posto and Rosebud in Davis Square and Osteria Posto in Waltham.
La Motta's, which is run by the Aquitaine Group, first opened in October of 2015, taking over the space where Union Bar & Grille (which was also part of the Aquitaine Group) had been. Other restaurants run by the group include Cinquecento, Aquitaine, Metropolis Cafe, and Gaslight--all of which are in the South End--as well as Aquitaine at The Street in Chestnut Hill, Aquitaine at Legacy Place in Dedham, and Gaslight at MarketStreet Lynnfield.
The address for the new Burro Bar (and La Motta's) is 1357 Washington Street, Boston, MA, 02118.
[November 3 update: A licensing board hearing page is now up on the City of Boston site, confirming that Burro Bar is indeed seeking to take over the space where La Motta's currently resides.]
[December 21 update: Eater Boston states that La Motta's closes for good on New Year's Eve.]
[April 10, 2018 update: According to a post from BosGuy, signs in the windows indicate that Burro Bar is opening soon in the former La Motta's space and it is now hiring for all positions.]
[May 3, 2018 update: According to a source (Geoff Wong), Burro Bar is now open in the South End, with this being confirmed by the restaurant's Facebook page.]
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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]
