An Italian restaurant may bring life back to a Somerville building vacant since the pandemic closings of caterer Cuisine En Local and Once Somerville, a nightclub that featured local and national artists.
Anthony’s takes the same name as the function hall that inhabited the two-floor venue at 156 Highland Ave., Spring Hill, from the 1960s to 2014, when Cuisine En Local and Once took over. Paying homage to the former wedding hall, owner Anthony Quiles – working with property owner and license holder Richard Di Girolamo – dubbed his business Anthony Function Hall Too.
For a time, it seemed the Lord Hobo’s brewing company would take over the “funky facility,” as WBUR called it. Despite receiving Cuisine’s licenses in 2021, the brew pub never renovated or opened. The licenses were simply passed along to Anthony’s at a July 16 meeting of the Somerville Licensing Commission.
A sensation in the 2010s, Hobo’s star began to fade around 2019. Production fell from 47,000 barrels of beer in 2019 to 17,000 by last year, according to the website All About Beer, as chief executive Daniel Lanigan faced allegations of sexual harassment and a court case related to breach of contract. The Cambridge location, in operation since 2010, closed permanently in 2023 and is for sale.
Cuisine En Local remains a catering company offering local, farm-fresh food; Once is “itinerant,” promoting shows and small festivals around Greater Boston including the Somergloom festival running Aug. 22-25.
According to plans presented at the commission meeting, Anthony’s will serve food on two floors for 311 seated patrons, including out of a sidewalk pizza window, and host live bands and DJs. It would be open 11 a.m. to midnight Mondays through Wednesdays and 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Thursdays through Sundays.
This post was corrected July 26, 2024, to clarify the relationship between Richard Di Girolamo and Anthony Quiles.
A stronger
Please consider making a financial contribution to maintain, expand and improve Cambridge Day.
We are now a 501(c)3 nonprofit and all donations are tax deductible.
Please consider a recurring contribution.