Boston's 2024 restaurant industry rollercoaster
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Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
Boston-area restaurants saw ups and downs in 2024, with some long-time favorites shuttered, a star chef in peril, some ambitious openings and a political win that industry leaders say saved countless jobs.
Why it matters: Around 344,000 people work in Massachusetts' restaurant industry, one of the state's largest employment sectors that accounts for 9% of total jobs in the state.
Openings: 2024 saw several high-profile openings and renovations that are quickly becoming favorites for locals:
- La Padrona at the Raffles Hotel in the Back Bay from James Beard Best Chef winner Jody Adams
- Somaek, a new Korean concept from chef Jamie Bissonnette
- Baleia, bringing Atlantic coast Portuguese food to Ink Block
- Temple Records, modeled after a Japanese listening bar, also from Bissonnette
- Bluefin expanded from its Bow Market digs to a full space in JP
- Dani's Queer Bar, the first femme bar to open in Boston in decades
Closings: Some stalwarts closed their doors for good, including:
- The Continental Restaurant on Route 1 in Saugus
- King & I, a veteran Thai spot, on Beacon Hill
- Fajitas & 'Ritas, downtown's go-to casual Mexican stop
- Basement classic Silvertone downtown
- Tavern in the Square in Allston, much-missed by hordes of newly minted 21-year-olds
- Whitney's, the last dive bar in Harvard Square
What they're saying: "Inflation and labor costs and food costs that household budgets are experiencing, that same thing is happening in the restaurant industry," Steve Clark, CEO of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, told Axios.
- Some of the high points in 2023 were new openings in Boston neighborhoods hurt by the lack of post-pandemic traffic like Downtown Crossing and the further expansion in cuisine concepts across the city.
- Clark pointed to lows like the closure of some favorites, the stubborn refusal of the market to bounce back to pre-pandemic levels and the trend of owners closing or selling when they reach retirement age.
2024 also saw the fall of one of Boston's original celebrity chefs, Barbara Lynch, who lost her seven-location empire and now owes $1.7 million in back taxes, according to the city.
- Lynch's The Butcher Shop, Menton, Drink, Stir and Sportello all shuttered this year, with flagships No. 9 Park and B&G Oysters set to close at the end of the month.
Follow the numbers: Full-service restaurants are struggling, according to a November report by the restaurant association.
- 38% of full-service operators in Massachusetts said they were unprofitable in 2024.
- 66% reported decreased customer traffic.
- Nearly all operators cited food and labor costs as major challenges.
- There are still around 12,000 fewer restaurant jobs in Massachusetts than in February 2020.
The big picture: Restaurant workers and owners banded together to defeat a November ballot measure that would have raised the tipped minimum wage from $6.75 an hour to $15.
- Proponents argued the move would boost pay for kitchen workers.
- But most workers that customers encountered sided against the change, saying it would lead to increased prices, reduced tipping and lower take-home pay for servers and bartenders.