Two Cambridge eateries will end decades in business, as the owners of Cambridge Common and the Lizard Lounge will close the businesses next year and Lebanese go-to Cafe Barada said it would close its North Cambridge spot this December.
News of the closing of the Cambridge Common and Lizard Lounge, which opened in 1996 and 1997, respectively, has been a street murmur for weeks — the staff was informed of the plan, but no public announcement had been made. The venues were part of the Cambridge Eats & Beats Group owned by Sally Heslop and Charlie Christopher. Heslop told Cambridge Day the establishment’s last day of operation would be the end of May. She also said a sale of the building, at 1667-1673 Massachusetts Avenue, is under discussion. City records assess the one-story property at just over $3.5 million.
“This is not anything I wanted to do,” said Heslop, 77. “I’m pretty much heartbroken about this. Neither of us wants to retire, but it seems to be time.”
Heslop said the catalyst for the closure of Cambridge Common is the decision by its longtime chef, Arcesio Suarez, to move back to Colombia. Suarez has been with Eats & Beats for 28 years. Heslop said Suarez was “a god in the kitchen and a natural leader,” and said he had been a key in the direction of the food at all of its locations. The couple opened Christopher’s Restaurant & Bar in Porter Square in 1981 and Toad nightclub next door in the early 1990s. Christopher’s and Toad closed at the start of the pandemic and never reopened (they were sold to Tommy McCarthy and Louise Costello, owners of The Burren in Somerville’s Davis Square, who re-opened it last year as McCarthy’s.) Eats & Beats at one point also owned the West Side Lounge, now the Indian restaurant Nirvana.
The Common, one of the few affordable family and college dining establishments in the area, serves casual pub fare including burgers, grain bowls, fish tacos and an array of fries — most notably tater tots and sweet potato fries. After the closure of Christopher’s, the menu at the Common added some of its popular and vegetarian-leaning cuisine, including a grilled chicken and avocado sandwich and buffalo tofu.
The Lizard Lounge, a subterranean music venue, has been a vital part of the local arts scene for nearly 30 years. In its heyday, it drew local rock royalty like Peter Wolf and Morphine’s Mark Sandman, and hosted long-term residency acts Club D’Elf and the Dresden Dolls. It also has hosted held a Sunday night poetry slam for nearly a quarter-century.
Heslop said it was unlikely someone would buy the building and restart the restaurant and lounge. Built in 1938, she said it “is so old and so held together with duct tape that I don’t know who would want to do that.”
The building is a few blocks from both the Doble Campus of Lesley University and Harvard Law School. It has a parking lot behind it and could be a prime candidate for development.
As far as to what is next, Heslop said, “I think we both kind of imagined that we would just go on forever. I’ve never not worked nor had a hobby, so I’m taking suggestions.”
Barada’s hits a crossroads
Similarly, Cafe Barada, in North Cambridge at 2269 Massachusetts Ave. for nearly 25 years, after starting in Arlington in 1985, has also arrived at the proverbial crossroads. Its building got a new landlord three years ago, and the Salameh family has been operating on a year-to-year lease. Its kitchen needs upgrading, according to Charbel Salameh, who co-owns the restaurant with his father Sami.
“We need a lot of work in our kitchen. We need a new walk-in,” said Charbel Salameh. “So, we sat and did the math. It would cost too much. You’d never make back the money in a year.”
Moving to a new space was also going to be a challenge, because his mom, Claude, is the cook and may be close to retiring. A landlord will want at least a 10-year commitment, he said. “My mom, she’s the brains of the kitchen. She doesn’t likely have 10 more years of work.”
He said most of what they source is imported from the Middle East, and costs have risen sharply with the ongoing war and rising oil prices.
Charbel Salameh said establishing a catering kitchen might be a possibility. But pausing their 60- to 80-hour work weeks is a welcomed break, especially since his sister Therese, who also works at Café Barada, is starting a new full-time job and will be less available.
In an email to customers, the Salamehs said Barada will close December 5. So there is a bit more than a month left to get homestyle Lebanese dishes and some of the best hoummos and labneh you will ever have.
For Cambridge, the closing of two more restaurant pillars on Mass. Ave. north of Harvard Square extends a trend of longstanding, budget-friendly restaurants leaving or being forced to pivot. This has often seen them replaced by more costly fine dining options.
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