The fascinating thing about today’s openings and closings roundup is that none of the three new restaurants are, strictly speaking, new restaurants. All are new branches or expansions of restaurants that already exist. Once again, we have more openings than closings, but our closing is an exceptionally sad one. Let’s jump right on into it all, yes?
Openings
•Boston Condo News continues to be a lesser-known but fantastic source for restaurant info. They report that Tapeo will open a second restaurant in the new Allele condos in Southie, which are slated for a 2008 opening (there’s a sentence no one could have imagined twenty years ago!). The new restaurant may well be called Sapeo and will likely feature the same yummy tapas as the Newbury Street location.
•The Dish brings us the exciting news that Stella is expanding into the space next to the restaurant. The newly acquired space will feature numerous amenities (ooh, fireplace!), most notably a cafe that will open at 5am and feature espresso and Italian pastries.
•The Harvard Crimson is reporting that burrito mega-chain Chipotle is poised to make its entrance into Cambridge with a branch on Brattle Street under Eastern Mountain Sports. (Here’s how old we are: we heard this and immediately thought “in the Express?”) Harvard Square already has four burrito options (Felipe’s Taqueria, Qdoba Mexican Grill, Border Cafe, and Boloco). We would say that Chipotle makes a better burrito than at least half of those options, but it also makes a burrito that is a whole lot more expensive. We’re fascinated to see how this goes down.
Closings
•Last weeks saw a rumor buzzing around Chowhound that Cha Fahn was closing. We called and indeed, the rumor is true. The doors will close in mid-October, so get your noodle on while you still can!
[Photo: Flickr: thestateofindependence]
