An upscale Italian restaurant in the South End of Boston is closed for the foreseeable future after sustaining serious damage due to a water main break.
According to a Facebook post from Jeffrey Gates, Cinquecento on Harrison Avenue is shuttered for the time being due to flood damage from a broken water main that also flooded a large part of the SoWa section of the South End on Tuesday night. Gates, who is one of the business partners behind the place, says in the post that "The water was 4 feet high throughout the area and in the restaurant....Unfortunately, the first floor is a total loss exceeding $1M....The water from the broken 36" main was similar to a damn breaking," and he also says that "Lives would have been lost" if the restaurant had been open at the time. There doesn't appear to be any timeline for the possible reopening of Cinquecento, though Gates does say that he believes "insurance and time will solve this particular issue."
Gates and his Aquitaine Group is also behind such restaurants as Aquitaine in the South End, Chestnut Hill, and Dedham, Gaslight in the South End and Lynnfield, and Metropolis in the South End.
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]