Fat Biscuit Is Opening at MarketStreet Lynnfield

It looks like a Southern-style restaurant is on its way to a mixed-use development north of Boston.

According to a Twitter post from today, Fat Biscuit Southern Table and Taps is planning to open at MarketStreet Lynnfield, with a source indicating that the dining spot is currently seeking a common victualler and weekday entertainment license to operate within the complex. The source mentions that the name of the manager is Dale Broach, who--according to a LinkedIn page--has been involved with TGI Fridays and Ignite Restaurant Group (parent company of Joe's Crab Shack and Brick House Tavern +Tap).

Little other information can currently be found on Fat Biscuit. other than the fact that its website says it plans to open later this month--and also that it is opening a location in North Conway as well [update--now open]. As soon as we find out more, we will post an update here.

The website for Fat Biscuit Southern Table and Taps is at http://fatbiscuit.com/

[December 28 update: Fat Biscuit is not yet open in Lynnfield, but a Craigslist post indicates that it is now hiring to fill all FOH and BOH positions--and an earlier Facebook post hinted that it was planning to open in late December. A check on the menu for the now-open North Conway location indicates that it offers such items as biscuit sandwiches, sausage balls, shrimp and grits, burgers, brick chicken, a fried chicken picnic salad, sweet potato casserole, biscuit holes, and sweet tea.]

[January 23, 2017 update: A Facebook post from the restaurant indicates that Fat Biscuit Southern Table and Taps opens in Lynnfield on Thursday, January 26.]

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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]

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Chez Henri to Pop Up at Parsnip in Cambridge July 28, 2016

A now-closed Cambridge restaurant that featured a legendary sandwich is returning to the city for one night only later this month.

According to a press release, Chez Henri chef/owner Paul O'Connell, along with alums John Hendron, Rembs Layman, Mark Thompson, and Jason Tom, will be reuniting on July 28 at Parsnip on Winthrop Street in Harvard Square for a special dinner that will include Chez Henri's famed Cuban sandwich along with such items as ribs, empanadas, and cocktails. The event is also a fundraiser, with 25 percent of proceeds going to O'Connell's new organization NECAT, whose Culinary Arts Job Training Program helps chronically unemployed/underemployed adults as well as at-risk young adults by way of employment services and job training. The dinner costs $48, with tickets being available at the link below:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/chez-henri-reunion-at-parsnip-restaurant-tickets-26563437958

Chez Henri, which had been located on Shepard Street between Porter Square and Harvard Square, closed in late 2013 after being in business for nearly 20 years.

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[Related article from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): Slideshow--Twelve Great Food Items from Now-Closed Boston-Area Spots]

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The Savage Wiener Debuts within Sandwich Works in Newton Centre

A pop-up dining spot with an interesting name has come to a cafe in the western suburbs of Boston.

Eater Boston mentions that The Savage Wiener has set up shop within Sandwich Works in Newton Center, with the business launching today from 5:30 to 7:30 at the Beacon Street eatery. The article says that Savage Wiener owner Jim Lowenstern will be offering gourmet hot dogs as well as muffin tops, and while the pop-up will be located inside Sandwich Works "indefinitely," there is a chance that The Savage Wiener could turn into a standalone spot at some point. (The hot dogs can also be ordered by mail.)

The address for Sandwich Works--and The Savage Wiener--is 827 Beacon Street, Newton Centre, MA, 02459. The website for The Savage Wiener can be found at https://thesavagewiener.com/

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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]

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Big Y to Replace Eight Hannaford Markets in Eastern Massachusetts

An independent chain of supermarkets based in Springfield is looking to have much more of a presense in the Greater Boston area at the expense of another grocery chain that is going through a merger.

CBS Boston is reporting that Big Y plans to take over eight locations of Hannaford in the eastern part of the state, with this being part of a divestment resulting from the proposed merger of Royal Ahold NV--which owns the Quincy-based Stop & Shop--and Delhaize Group--which owns the Scarborough, ME-based Hannaford (the merger could be finalized by early September). The article says that the Hannaford stores slated to become Big Y outlets includes shops in Easton, Kingston, Milford, Norwell, Norwood, Quincy, Peabody, and Saugus, and that Big Y hopes to keep as many employees from the Hannaford stores as it can.

Currently, the only location of Big Y in the Greater Boston area is in Walpole, while the closing of the Hannaford stores mentioned above will mean that the Waltham location will be the only shop remaining in the Boston area.

[September 13 update: A new post from CBS Boston indicates that all eight of the local Hannaford markets that were slated to close have shut down, with the Easton, Kingston, Milford, and Norwood locations already being converted to Big Y stores, while the locations in Norwell, Quincy, Peabody, and Saugus will become Big Y stores this week.]

[Earlier Article]
Parent Companies of Stop & Shop, Hannaford to Merge

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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]

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BurgerFi by Boston University Remains Closed; Location in West Roxbury Now Closed As Well

A Florida-based chain of burger places that once had two locations in Boston now has none, as one remains closed more than a half year later and the other has recently shuttered as well.

A poster on the Boston's Hidden Restaurants Facebook page recently asked about the status of BurgerFi in West Roxbury, to which the chain responded on a Twitter post, simply saying that the Spring Street eatery is "currently closed." That same Twitter thread indicates that their other location on Commonwealth Avenue by Boston University may be done, as they say "Don't get your hopes up. We have started marking it permanently closed on social media if that's any indication." Neither of the two outlets shows up within the locations section of the BurgerFi website anymore, and the site shows that only two can be found in New England at this point in time--in Avon and Manchester, CT.

The BU location of BurgerFi first opened in February of 2014 but closed for what they said was renovations in the fall of 2015; the West Roxbury shop debuted in December of 2014. The website for BurgerFi can be found at http://burgerfi.com/

[March 7, 2017 update: Nearly a year and a half after it closed for renovations, a tweet shows that the sign has finally come down for BurgerFi, giving further proof that it will not be reopening. (It is not yet known what might be taking over the space.)]

[Earlier Article]
BurgerFi by Boston University Closed for Renovations

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[Related article from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): Slideshow--Ten Burgers from Restaurants in the Boston Area]

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Boca Grande Changes Ownership, Will Open New Restaurant in Cambridge

What was once a local group of Mexican restaurants is now down to just one, but that will apparently be changing as it comes under new ownership.

According to an interview in the Cambridge Chronicle and Tab, Boca Grande has changed hands and is now owned by longtime employee and district general manager Silvia Whitman, who took it over from original owner Mariko Kamio who recently made the decision to retire. In the interview, Whitman says that renovations will be coming to the sole remaining location on First Street in East Cambridge, while a second shop is in the works in an undisclosed location in Cambridge, with that one possibly opening in November. Whitman also says the menu will be expanded to include more vegetarian options while also keeping existing menu favorites, and daily specials will also be offered as well.

Boca Grande, which started out in 1986, is known for its Mexican and Tex-Mex dishes; there were once locations of the eatery near Cambridge's Porter Square, Brighton Center, Brookline's Coolidge Corner, and Boston's Kenmore Square, but all of those have closed, with the Porter Square shop shutting down a couple of weeks ago.

The website for Boca Grande can be found at http://www.bocagranderestaurant.com/

[Earlier Article]
Boca Grande Near Cambridge's Porter Square Has Closed

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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]

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