Coming Soon: Is the Seaport turning into Nantucket North? Asian-meets-Latin spot Nautilus Pier 4 (NP4) will open in 2020 from Liam Mackey, Clinton Terry, and Stephen Bowler, the team behind the Nautilus and Gaslight restaurants on the island. It joins Nantucket exports Cisco Brewers and Lola 42.
Nautilus is part of the Seaport’s Pier 4 residences (300 Pier 4 Blvd.), overlooking the waterfront. Pier 4 will also welcome restaurateur Kristin Canty from Concord’s Adelita and Woods Hill Table. She’s slated to open a Woods Hill outpost at Pier 4, highlighting ingredients from her New Hampshire farm.
Closings: Seta’s Café (271 Belmont St. at Newton Street), a beloved Belmont institution for Mediterranean food, closed on Sept. 7 after six years in business. It was known for succulent mezze, homemade breads, and excellent shakshuka. Owner Seta Dakessian — who made everything from scratch — attributed the closure to a staffing shortage.
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“The main reason why I closed is because I was running the café by myself; we had no help. There’s a huge staffing shortage, and it affected me greatly. When you’re a kitchen that makes everything from scratch, plus day-to-day operational responsibilities, and keeping up with the demand, I reached my threshold,” she says.
Dakessian plans to take time off to figure out next steps, though she does plan to host pop-ups in the coming months.
“My community and customers felt like family to me, and such a big part of my life. It was the hardest to tell my customers and the community that I was closing. I can’t go away that quickly,” she says.
Waltham’s Red Bird (361 Moody St. at Taylor Street) has closed after five years in business, says general manager Geoff Arvanitis. The team is currently on the hunt for a larger space, he says.
Expansions: Asian fast-casual sandwich bar Fóumami will open in Harvard Square this winter, says owner Michael Wang, replacing Flat Patties (33 Brattle St. at Church Street). It should open by March. The original downtown location caters mainly to a lunchtime crowd, but Wang plans to expand service and offer more menu items, including all-day snacks and a beefed-up beverage menu, at the new branch.
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“There’s a more diverse population with tourists, residents, visitors, students — people are searching for more than to satisfy their hunger, but food that’s interesting and more entertaining. But too much creativity in the Financial District doesn’t work,” Wang said, laughing.
He also hopes to open a Back Bay location.
KARA BASKIN