Around Town

Don’t Miss the Final Watertown Farmers Market of the Year

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The season is almost over for the Watertown Famers Market, so don’t miss out on a chance to purchase fresh produce, meat, fish and other items on Wednesday. Market organizers sent out the following infomration:

Tomorrow is our LAST market of the season. It’s a bittersweet end to the season, knowing that we’ve had such a great summer together in Saltonstall Park. Tomorrow, look forward to music from A&W Ukulele Players from 4 pm to 6 pm on the green, opportunities to sign up for Fall CSAs, and a guest chocolate vendor, Sotto Chocolate! Please note that we will close at 6 p.m. tomorrow, due to the much earlier fall sunset. 

Don’t forget to give our Instagram and Facebook pages a follow and like to keep up with any additions or adaptions to the market day!

Around Town

Three New Restaurants Opening in Watertown, One Changing Management

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Flavor Boom!Some of the dishes served up at Flavor Boom!, a new restaurant on Arsenal Street. The restaurant scene in Watertown is brimming with life, with the addition of three restaurants. Plus, an established eatery is changing hands. The three independent restaurants are on or near Arsenal Street, one features barbecue, another serves Central American and Mexican dishes, and a third has a variety of flavorful dishes from around the globe. Flavor Boom!

Arsenal Yards

Star of ‘Bar Rescue’ Opening Restaurant in Watertown’s Arsenal Yards

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The following announcement was provided by Taffer’s Tavern and Arsenal Yards:

Taffer’s Tavern, the innovative new full service tavern concept founded and developed by leading hospitality expert and star of Paramount Network’s Bar Rescue, Jon Taffer, announced today its first Boston area restaurant is headed to Arsenal Yards, the thriving new neighborhood located along the Charles River in Watertown, Massachusetts, just miles from the heart of Boston. The Arsenal Yards team selected Taffer’s Tavern to complement its curated dining experiences, boutique shops, entertainment offerings, 300 contemporary residences, state of the art life science space, 146-room hotel, and more. “We are very excited to welcome Taffer’s Tavern to our unique lineup of restaurant, retail and entertainment offerings here at Arsenal Yards,” said Gary Robinson, Vice President, Leasing at Wilder, developer of Arsenal Yards. “It is one of many new additions to the Arsenal Yards neighborhood, and we know our local community will love Jon Taffer’s vision for bringing a top quality experience to casual dining. This opening will help us further our goal of creating one-of-a-kind experiences for our residents, visitors and guests.”

This marks the first of several Taffer’s Tavern restaurants operated by experienced franchise operators and Boston area natives Marc Magerman and Peter Weber of 8G Hospitality Associates, LLC.

Business

Sweetgreen Opens Friday, Meals Sold on Opening Day Benefit Watertown Food Pantry

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Arsenal Yards is home to the newest location of sweetgreen. The following announcement was provided by sweetgreen:

On Friday, August 27, sweetgreen, the seasonal restaurant with the mission of connecting people to real food, opens its newest Boston-area restaurant at Arsenal Yards (100 Bond Square, Watertown, MA 02472). 

The space will be able to accommodate 24 guests inside, with a spacious patio for an additional 26 diners to enjoy salads and bowls during Boston’s summer months. Sweetgreen features fresh, seasonal food, including salads, warm bowls and plates. Earlier this year, sweetgreen went through a complete rebrand, and the Arsenal Yards space will reflect the company’s newest look decorated with updated posters, graphics and photography. For every meal sold on opening day, sweetgreen will donate a meal to its local impact partner, Watertown Food Pantry, to nourish those who are  food insecure in the Watertown community.

Around Town

Celebrity Chef Opens New Orleans Inspired Restaurant in Watertown

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Charlie BreitroseThe patio seating outside Buttermilk & Bourbon is part of Chef Jason Santos’ vision of bringing a taste of New Orleans to Watertown. One of Boston’s celebrity chefs brought his New Orleans inspired cuisine to Watertown, where he had his first opportunity to build a restaurant from scratch. Buttermilk & Bourbon officially opens on Monday, Aug. 9, but chef and owner Jason Santos hosted an opening night celebration on Aug. 5 at his newest location at Arsenal Yards.

Arsenal Yards

California-Based Super Food Eatery Opening Cafe in Watertown

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Vitality BowlsVitality Bowls will be coming to Arsenal Yards in Watertown. Vitality Bowls provided the following announcement:

Vitality Bowls, the leading health-food restaurant concept which specializes in açaí bowls and smoothies, has signed a lease with local entrepreneur Tim Johnson to open two new superfood cafés in Watertown and Cambridge. Johnson is planning for a 2021 opening at 425 Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge and 113 Bond Street in Watertown’s Arsenal Yards. The health-focused fast casual restaurant will grant local residents, professionals and visitors access to an assortment of nutrient-dense foods not found elsewhere. “I’m thrilled to open my cafés in Central Square in Cambridge and at Arsenal Yards in Watertown, and to bring healthy and delicious food options to the community,” said Johnson, a seasoned professional with a wealth of sales and operations experience.

Around Town

Shoppers, Vendors Happy to Be Back at Opening Day of Watertown Farmers Market

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Anaïs MarkwoodShoppers returned to the Watertown Farmers Market at Saltonstall Park on June 16. The Watertown Farmers Market opened on Wednesday, June 16, with the white peaks of vendors’ tents once again lining Saltonstall Park. After having restrictions last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the market is now fully open once again, and has introduced a handful of new vendors for the 2021 season. 

Shoppers streamed back and forth around the outdoor market and queues even formed in front of some of the more popular vendors, including the stalls for Clear Flour Bread and Boston Smoked Fish Co. Everyone seemed excited to have the market fully open again, whether they be vendors, shoppers, volunteers, or the market manager, Stephanie Venizelos. 

While Venizelos described the 2020 season as “an exceptional year,” saying that the market actually saw an uptick in business as shoppers worked from home and tried to avoid supermarkets, she is hopeful for another successful year. “We love the park, we love the vendors, so we’re confident that the market will do well again this year,” Venizelos said.

Business

Celebrity Chef Opening Restaurant at Watertown’s Arsenal Yards in July

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Buttermilk & BourbonCelebrity Chef Jason Santos will open his second location of Buttermilk & Bourbon at Arsenal Yards. The menu includes buttermilk fried chicken. The following announcement was provided by Arsenal Yards:

Boylston Properties and Wilder proudly announced that they’ve leased 3,000 square feet at Watertown’s Arsenal Yards to local celebrity chef and restaurateur, Jason Santos. Following the success of Buttermilk & Bourbon in Boston’s Back Bay, the nationally-recognized chef will open his second location of the popular restaurant in the new neighborhood in mid-July 2021, bringing a taste of Southern hospitality to Watertown. The New Orleans’ inspired restaurant will be an exciting addition to the eclectic mix of offerings at Arsenal Yards, which will offer a true neighborhood experience with its more than one million square feet of retail shops, residential apartments, life science space, and a 146-room hotel when construction is completed later this year.