We are now approaching the two-week period of the shutdown in which all Massachusetts restaurants can only allow takeout/delivery options due to the coronavirus outbreak, and early last week, we mentioned that some restaurants in the Boston area that had been offering takeout and/or delivery decided to shut it down, while others that initially decided against takeout/delivery ended up doing it after all. Both of these trends seem to be continuing this week.
According to multiple sources, at least a handful of dining spots including Royal India Bistro in Lexington and locations of Halfway Cafe in Dedham, Marlborough, and Watertown have stopped their takeout/delivery options, effectively shutting their restaurants down for the time being, while Rox Diner in West Roxbury plans to reopen, offering takeout and curbside pickup starting tomorrow. A Facebook post from Royal India Bistro says that "Based on all we know about federal, state, and city-wide mandates, CDC guidelines and science strongly suggesting minimizing non-essential social contact, we have made the hard decision to temporarily close our restaurants for two weeks. Starting Tuesday March 31" while an article from Universal Hub mentions that Halfway Cafe has shuttered because "our people's well-being and safety is our most relevant concern." Meanwhile, Rox Diner mentions in a Facebook post that they had "paused our service because we weren't comfortable changing our business model on the fly in the middle of a global crisis. Since then, we researched, sanitized, strategized and we are now confident that we have taken every available precaution to protect your health and ours."
Other restaurants in the region are making similar decisions on both ends as well, so keep checking back for updates as they come in.
[April 1 update: Eire Pub in Dorchester is opening back up as well (starting at 11:30 AM today), but only for takeout--and as always, it is cash only.]
[April 3 update: Universal Hub tells us that two more restaurants have decided to shut down--Mandarin Gourmet in Chestnut Hill, which plans to close at the end of business hours on Sunday, April 5 and remain so for two weeks, and DeNo's Pizza & Subs in West Roxbury, which has closed for an unspecified amount of time.]
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]
