Last week, we reported that the person behind an award-winning deli was no longer involved with the place, and now we have learned that the deli has closed, at least for the time being.
According to two sources within the restaurant industry, Moody's Deli in Waltham is shuttered, with one of our sources sending a photo showing a "closed for renovations" sign out front at the Moody Street spot. It is not yet known if The Backroom--which is next door--is also closed, and it is also not known whether the Moody's location in Boston's Back Bay or New England Charcuterie (which is connected to Moody's) is affected as well, nor is it known for sure why Moody's has closed, so keep checking back for updates.
As mentioned earlier, Joshua Smith recently said farewell to Moody's, The Backroom, and New England Charcuterie, and his other business--El Rincon de Moody's--remains closed after shutting down around the beginning of the year.
[April 24 update: Eater Boston states that The Backroom is also closed for now, while both Eater and a source of ours say that the Back Bay location of Moody's is open for business. (Our source also says that New England Charcuterie remains in operation as well.)]
[April 25 update: A Facebook post from The Waltham Channel page mentions that Moody's and The Backroom were shut down by the city because Joshua Smith--and not the company officials who now run the places--is the licensee who is named on the food and liquor licenses but because Smith is no longer involved, the businesses have been operating illegally and cannot serve food or drink. A video sent to us by a source shows the meeting between the company officials and the city, with the video also showing that they have to remain closed until they apply for a license transfer and then get approval to receive the common victualler licenses so they can at least serve food while they are working out the liquor license issue which will take longer. (The owners will also need to change the legal names of the businesses.)]
[May 3 update: The Tables section of the Boston Globe mentions that Moody's in Waltham is planning to reopen and that it will be a "new and expanded" version of the deli that will include a private event space (it is not yet known if the latter will be taking over part or all of The Backroom space). In addition, the adjacent El Rincon de Moody's space will become home to a new restaurant, though no name or concept has been given for it as of yet.]
Joshua Smith No Longer Involved with Moody's, The Backroom, New England Charcuterie
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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]
