The culinary landscape of Boston's Fenway district has experienced another shift with the closure of celebrity chef Tiffani Faison's Tenderoni’s, a pizza parlor located at 1363 Boylston St. Faison has shuttered the Fenway location, which was an extension of the original pizza place nestled in the High Street Place food hall, still operational to this day.
Faison's Tenderoni’s was noted for its eclectic menu including chicken parm nuggets, crab rangoon dip, and the mega-sized, two-and-a-half-foot long pizzas, in a space that was imbued with a vibe of yesteryear and plates laden with pepperoni-topped fries; it's a vibe that seemingly resonated with the patrons who have now to bid adieu to this particular culinary hotspot. Announced on May 31 via the restaurant's Instagram account, Tenderoni's thanked its team, neighbors, and customers, encapsulating the space's last decade as equal parts honor and adventure, as per the boston.com.
Prior to being Tenderoni's, the 1363 Boylston St. address housed Faison's Southeast Asian restaurant, Tiger Mama, which closed in 2021, and then, her Italian restaurant, Orfano, sealed its doors in 2022, even as other establishments under the Big Heart Hospitality umbrella, such as Sweet Cheeks and Fool's Errand, continue their operations in Fenway in addition to Bubble Bath and Dive Bar at High Street Place.
Regarding the future prospects of the now-shuttered Boylston Street locale, Faison has indicated not having immediate plans for introducing a new restaurant in that space; this comes amidst a flurry of closures indicating the challenging nature of the restaurant industry, which has seen even established names like Faison having to make tough decisions about their ventures, said choices underscore the dynamic and often unpredictable business environment that restaurateurs must navigate in urban gastronomic scenes.
