A restaurant and bar in Cambridge is going through another reconcepting, and the plan is to bring back the feel of one of the spots that used to be in the space.
According to an article from Eater Boston, McCabe's Bar & Grille on Mass. Ave. near Porter Square is morphing into Shine Square Pub, with Dave Wells (a McCabe's alum who is one of the people involved with the new concept) indicating that they want to bring back the vibe of Spirit Bar, saying that "We really enjoyed the community aspect of it. It was a place filled with regulars, and if you went in and you didn't know the regulars, it wasn't as if you were an outcast -- you were now the new person and everybody started meeting each other." Eater mentions that the space will include a pinball machine, foosball table, and a jukebox, with some of the food options being wings, steak tips, chicken and waffles, and veggie pasta while drinks will include 17 beers on tap, wine on tap, a cocktail on tap, and house-made sambuca on tap. McCabe's plans to shut down this Sunday and reopen as Shine Square Pub on Saturday, December 29.
Spirit Bar changed over to The Dubliner Pub in 2013, with that place becoming McCabe's on Mass. the following year; a slight reconcept and name change took place in 2016 when it became McCabe's Bar & Grille. (The space had originally been home to the Porter House Cafe, which was owned by the Shine family; the name of the new spot is a nod to those owners.)
The address for McCabe's Bar & Grille--and the new Shine Square Pub--is 2046 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02140.
[December 29 update: A Facebook post mentions that Shine Square Pub will not be opening today, after all; instead, it will open at 11:30 AM tomorrow (Sunday, December 30).]
[December 31 update: A message sent to us from the place indicates that Shine Square Pub is now open.]
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[Related article from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): Slideshow--Ten Good Places to Get Beer in the Boston Area]
