One of Boston’s most powerful chefs has suddenly closed five of her restaurants.
Less than a year after Barbara Lynch was accused of workplace misconduct by more than 20 employees, she has closed the majority of her restaurants, blaming rent increases. Lynch is one of Boston’s most revered fine dining chefs, Lynch started with her flagship restaurant, No. 9 Park back in 1998.
Over the next 20 plus years, she put Boston on the map as a culinary destination, and was part of a wave of chefs including Todd English, Lydia Shire and Jasper White, that made diners around the country realize there’s more to dining in Boston than lobster rolls.
Which Barbara Lynch restaurants are closing?
Lynch’s restaurant group, the Barbara Lynch Collective, announced the shuttering of three locations: the upscale Menton, fun trattoria Sportello, and Drink, all housed in the same Fort Point building on Congress Street. This not only means the loss of these restaurants, but the loss of about 100 restaurant jobs in Boston.
Which Barbara Lynch restaurants are staying open?
Over in the South End, Stir and the Butcher Shop have also shut their doors, and are apparently under agreement for sale. Still reportedly in business at this time are No. 9 Park, B&G Oysters, and The Rudder, Lynch's latest ode to seasonal cooking, which isn’t open at the moment.
Why are the restaurants closing?
In a statement published in the Globe, Lynch took aim at Boston’s real estate scene claiming that independent chefs are getting squeezed out by sky-high leases. “Boston is no longer the same place where I opened seven restaurants over the last 25 years,” Lynch said in the press release. “Properties have been flipped and flipped and the landlords just want the rents that only national chains can sustain.” She also said in the statement that she will now focus expansion efforts on the North Shore.
The accusations against Barbara Lynch
The release, and follow up statements, did not make any mention of Lynch’s alleged behavior toward her staff, including alcohol abuse, verbal abuse of staff, sexual contact, and violent threats, that made waves back in April. The Globe’s reporting at the time detailed her outbursts that were somewhat of an open secret in Boston’s kitchens.
On top of this alleged behavior, which Lynch has denined, in March 2023, former staff also filed a lawsuit accusing her of pocketing tips during the pandemic, which Lynch also denied.
Though the economy has taken a toll on restaurants over the past few years, people are disappointed in how the chef and restaurateur handled the closings. Globe restaurant critic Devra First wrote, “Lynch’s press release is an exercise in deflection, blaming the closures on landlords, middle management, Boston itself—everyone but the boss, whom it praises for handing out toilet paper to staff during the pandemic.”