A trio of upscale Italian restaurants will be opening a fourth location, and this one will be moving into a space where a decades-old South Shore dining spot had been.
The Boston Globe is reporting that Lucca is opening in the former Bella's Restaurant space in Rockland, confirming rumors over the past several weeks that this would indeed be taking place. The article says that the Hingham Street dining spot will likely have close to 300 seats and that it also plans to have a "chef's garden" on the premises where much of the restaurant's produce will be grown. If all goes well, the new location of Lucca--which has other locations in Boston's North End and Back Bay, along with Logan Airport--could be opening this fall.
Bella's closed at the end of May after being in Rockland for 33 years, with its roots actually dating back more than 50 years with the opening of Richardi's Sub Shop in Braintree followed by a number of sub shops in the region. The first Bella's restaurant opened in Braintree in 1974.
The address for the new Lucca in Rockland is 933 Hingham Street, Rockland, MA, 02370. The website for the Rockland location will be at https://luccasouthshore.com/
[December 17 update: A comment on its page from approximately a week ago indicates that Lucca could be opening its Rockland location in the next week or so if all goes well.]
[January 7, 2020 update: The Rockland location of Lucca has unofficially debuted, with its website saying the following: "Shhh. We're open. (Sort of) We are soft opening this week with a sampling of our new menu and limited reservations. We'll be serving from 5pm until 8:30pm until our grand opening later this month."]
[Earlier Article]
Bella's Restaurant in Rockland Is Closing
by Marc Hurwitz (Also follow us on Twitter at @hiddenboston)
[A related post from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): List of Restaurant Closings and Openings in the Boston Area]
