Two decades ago, few New York restaurateurs even considered opening in Boston, a city long viewed as too small and insular for celebrity chefs. Those who did in the early 2010s — Daniel Boulud, David Chang, Mario Batali — ultimately shuttered, reinforcing the perception that Boston wasn’t worth the risk.
Now, Boston is emerging as a magnet for big-name restaurateurs eager to expand.
In the years since the pandemic, an unprecedented wave of more than a dozen nationally and internationally known hospitality groups have descended on Boston. New York restaurateur Danny Meyer already has two restaurants open, with more on the way. Manhattan’s Major Food Group has planted Parm and Contessa. Soon, Dubai’s LPM Restaurant & Bar will debut in the Back Bay, as Hawksmoor, of London, will open in Fort Point. More are expected to follow.
Behind the boom is a fundamental shift in how Boston is viewed. Once considered an afterthought to New York or Chicago, Boston has become a must-stop for national hospitality groups. Some groups are even choosing Boston as the first city for expansion outside of their home market. Developers are increasingly recruiting them to anchor their swanky projects, while local investors are more apt to back brands with proven track records. Out-of-town restaurant executives see affluent, well-traveled diners, a growing population of young professionals staying in the city, and an opportunity to expand at comparatively lower costs than some of the country’s largest markets.
In short, some of Boston’s hottest new restaurants already exist elsewhere.
While walking into a restaurant space under construction inside the Four Seasons Hotel One Dalton Street, LPM Restaurants’ CEO Nicolas Budzynski said Boston was a better opportunity for his group’s expansion into the United States than Manhattan.
“We’ve been looking in New York for five years,” said Budzynski.
Boston offered a more attractive entry point with fewer operational hurdles and lower development costs than Manhattan. LPM Restaurant & Bar will open this fall with a French Riviera-inspired menu. It’s the company’s second location in the US, following its first in Miami.
“We rather favor affluent niche markets,” Budzynski said, “before going into larger cities.”
Not just any restaurant can afford to move into these premium locations. With developers increasingly viewing food as an amenity to elevate their properties, landlords are becoming proactive in courting restaurant powerhouses with proven track records instead of simply collecting rent.
“Landlords’ days of relying on scrappy, gritty startups with chefs might be over for now,” said said Ray Camillo, founder and CEO of Blue Orbit Restaurant Consulting, a national hospitality consulting firm.
That’s the case at Winthrop Center, a billion-dollar downtown skyscraper that partnered with New York chef John Fraser to run Vermilion, a steakhouse; The Lineup, a ground-floor food hall; and residents-only restaurant Winnie’s. The building’s developers “own the restaurants with me,” said Fraser. “It’s not a rent-type situation.”
“We are literally their partner,” said Fraser, who said he couldn’t have expanded to Boston without the arrangement.
While this new wave may give Bostonians access to restaurants once found only in New York or other far-away cities, local operators worry it could intensify competition for customers, workers, and real estate.
“If all of a sudden there’s too many of them, then it could certainly affect the Boston market in a negative way,” said Babak Bina, partner with Boston hospitality group BCB3, who explained that while he appreciates the outside investment, he’s concerned about the lasting effects on the dining scene.
In fact, the groups behind some of America’s most beloved restaurants, which have long been synonymous with New York City, are now planting roots in Boston.
Real estate investment company Highgate Hotels formed a partnership with Major Food Group — the team behind New York City destinations such as Carbone and The Grill — to open Contessa, a rooftop restaurant atop The Newbury Boston hotel in 2021. A year later, MFG opened Parm at Copley Place, a casual spot serving chicken parm and pizza knots.
Legendary New York restaurateur Danny Meyer and his Union Square Hospitality Group have opened two Daily Provisions locations, all-day cafés in Cambridge’s Harvard Square and in the Seaport District. A third is under construction in the Back Bay. Other than Boston, USHG has only opened Daily Provisions locations in New York City and Washington D.C.
“We only want to go into markets where we believe we could add six to eight Daily Provisions,” said Chip Wade, USHG’s current CEO. “Boston fit that market.”
Over the past four decades, Meyer founded many of Manhattan’s most beloved institutions, from Gramercy Tavern to Eleven Madison Park. In 2004, he also founded burger chain Shake Shack. Soon, USHG will also open Ci Siamo, the popular Italian concept that’s only ever been in Manhattan, in late fall on the second level of the Seaport’s newly renovated Commonwealth Pier.
There was a time when “Danny did not have the appetite to grow fine dining beyond New York City,” said Wade. “But Boston has grown over the past 15 to 20 years.”
New York chefs find Boston has lower saturation than Manhattan, said Rick Camac, the director of Industry Relations at the Institute of Culinary Education.
“There’s more opportunity in secondary and tertiary cities,” said Camac.
Canadian chain Cactus Club Cafe opened its first American outpost in Boston in December, followed by Miami in February. Boston has exceeded expectations, and now executives are scouting for spaces for a second location in the city, said company president Andrew Latchford.
National brands also have an easier time raising capital.
When the Chicago-based steakhouse chain Maple & Ash decided to open in Boston, the group assembled a roster of 11 local backers who were already familiar with the brand, said managing partner Danny Grant.
“They said, ‘I went to this one in Scottsdale. I went to this one in Miami. I was in Chicago. You guys are going to kill it in Boston. I want to be part of it,’” said Grant.
Others have found cheerleaders of Boston to help make up their minds.
For Dallas restaurateur Kevin Kelley, Boston had already been a required city for his fast-growing Southern restaurant chain, Kitchen + Kocktails by Kevin Kelley. A chance encounter with former mayor Marty Walsh and his wife, Lorrie Higgins, while vacationing in Turks and Caicos reinforced that decision. Walsh and Higgins touted Boston to Kelley, whom the couple described as a “class act” who was working on his laptop while sitting on a beach.
This fall, Kelley will open his restaurant in the former Salt Bae space in Back Bay, one stop in his ambitious national expansion plan.
As restaurant groups race to plant flags in Boston and dozens of other cities, operators like Kelley reject the idea that growth inevitably diminishes a brand’s appeal.
Asked whether there’s a point where a restaurant risks becoming so ubiquitous that it’s viewed more like the next Olive Garden or TGI Friday’s than destination dining, Kelley shrugged off the comparison.
“I don’t know if that’s a bad thing. I love Olive Garden,” he said. “I love concepts that have had that type of success.”
“It seems cool to create something that’s all the buzz and a one-off,” added Kelley. “But when you truly believe in hospitality, then why would you not want to serve the entire country?”
Alexa Gagosz can be reached at alexa.gagosz@globe.com. Follow her @alexagagosz and on Instagram @AlexaGagosz.