Cafe Barada, the family-run Lebanese restaurant that has served diners hoummos, lebany, and kafta shish kebab for more than four decades, will close its full-service dining operation on Dec. 5. The Salameh family, which has run the restaurant at 2269 Massachusetts Ave. for about two decades, announced the closure Thursday, pointing to aging kitchen equipment and uncertainty over locking down a long-term lease.
According to Boston.com, the restaurant needs a full kitchen makeover, but landlords were unable to offer the kind of long-term lease that would make the investment worthwhile. Charbel Salameh, who runs Cafe Barada with his parents, said the restaurant would need a lease of five or ten years for a renovation to pencil out. He described the restaurant's outcome as not entirely what the family wanted.
Cafe Barada has served Lebanese and Middle Eastern dishes in the Boston area since opening in Arlington, with Boston.com dating that opening to 1985 and Boston Voyager placing it a year earlier, in 1984. The restaurant later moved to its current Cambridge location, where it has built a following for home-cooked Lebanese fare made fresh to order, according to wickedlocal.com. That same account quotes a restaurant owner saying falafel is probably the most popular item, followed by kabob.
A Family Business Built on a One-Year Trial
Charbel Salameh initially expected to run the restaurant for just one year, with plans to sell if the business did not work out, the family told Boston.com. Instead, the trial stretched into a two-decade run that the family has called a joy and a privilege. The owners have described serving customers for more than four decades in similarly warm terms as they prepare to shut the dining room's doors.
The restaurant's challenges have not been limited to its kitchen or its lease. The family has also pointed to New England winters, swings in food costs, and staffing as persistent hurdles for a small operation, per Boston Voyager.
What Comes Next for the Cambridge Staple
Salameh said the family plans to take a break, refresh everything, and decide on next steps, with future updates to be posted on the restaurant's website. Boston.com's report does not specify what, if anything, might follow the dining room's closure beyond that stated plan.
Other Boston-area restaurants are also closing. Elsewhere, Beantown Taqueria is shutting its Massachusetts Avenue storefront as MIT renovates the building and a rent dispute heads to trial, Hoodline reported.
Other Cambridge spots are winding down too. Naco Taco is closing in the city, though its dinner menu will shift to sister cafe The Smoot Standard, which will keep serving breakfast and lunch, according to Boston.com. Outside Cambridge, Needham's Mandarin Cuisine will permanently close Oct. 31 after 37 years, with new owners taking over the Highland Avenue space, masslive.com reported. On Facebook, that restaurant's owners wrote, “We have loved every single moment of serving you over the past 37 years.” Watertown's Belle's, a 22-year burger fixture on Arsenal Street, is also shutting down, per Boston.com.
For now, Cafe Barada's dining room remains open through Dec. 5, giving longtime Cambridge regulars a few more weeks to order the restaurant's popular falafel and kabob.
