Is Massachusetts Ready For Nashville Hot Chicken? | Eat Mass

MASSACHUSETTS — Welcome to Eat Mass, Patch's weekly round up of food and restaurant news in Massachusetts. Scroll down for more, including:

• A Cape Cod restaurant owner remains fed up after unruly customers forced her to temporarily close her restaurant after they berated staff to the point some employees cried.
• Several kinds of muffins sold at Stop & Shop, Walmart and 7-Elevan in Massachusetts have been recalled after it was discovered the items may have listeria contamination.
• A look at the long-lasting changes the coronavirus pandemic brought to the Massachusetts restaurant industry.

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Restaurant Openings, Closings

• Boston (Allston): Boston Restaurant Talk reports Flat Top Johnny's, which closed its Cambridge location last year, is looking to reopen in Allston.
• Boston (Fort Port): Mooo... is gaining a second location, moving into space on Melcher Street that had once been home to Bastille Kitchen. Mooo.... is an upscale modern steakhouse open seven days a week for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and for brunch on Sundays while settled adjacent to the luxurious XV Beacon Hotel.
• Braintree: The South Shore Plaza added patio seating for Davio's Northern Italian Steakhouse, The Cheesecake Factory and Uno Pizzeria & Grill.
• Framingham: A Brazilian bakery and pizza shop was damaged over the weekend when afire broke out in the eatery's restaurant, according to the Framingham Fire Department. The fire struck the Padaria Brasil bakery overnight Saturday. The fire department said the fire was small and contained quickly, but the flames appear to have badly damaged an oven and stove in the bakery's kitchen. It's not clear how long the bakery will be closed.
• Malden: A hot spot for chicken in Allston is opening a second location. BBQ Chicken plans to open at J Malden Center, a mixed-use development on Pleasant Street.
• Plymouth: T-Bones Roadhouse in Plymouth has closed, according to multiple media reports.
• Revere: Eater reports Bianchi's is back!
• Wayland: Wayland has waited patiently for its cream cheese for eighteen months, but now the time has come: the Wayland Bagel Table has opened.

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Top Story: Get Ready For Nashville Hot Chicken

Dave’s Hot Chicken, which previously said it would open 10 Boston-area stores, doubled that plan to 20 on Wednesday.

According to the Boston Business Journal, which first reported this story, the additional locations will be in Middlesex County. The companies previously-announced expansion plans included 10 locations in Suffolk and Norfolk Counties

The Los Angeles-based company, which is riding the recent popularity of Nashville-style hot chicken, plans to open the first Massachusetts locations in January.

Read more on the Boston Business Journal Website.

Eat fresh: Patch's 2021 Massachusetts Farmers Market Guide

Eat With Your Eyes

Cape restaurant owner talks about rude customers on national TV: A Cape Cod restaurant owner remains fed up after unruly customers forced her to temporarily close her restaurant after they berated staff to the point some employees cried. And now, she's using the incident to draw national attention to a post pandemic trend of impatient customers verbally abusing workers at understaffed eateries. Brandi Felt Castellano, the co-owner of Apt Cape Cod in Brewster, went on MSNBC and shared her frustration with anchor Stephanie Ruhle, about what Castellano calls the worst customer behavior in 20 years.

More Massachusetts Food News

Rethinking paper bag fees at grocery stores: The Framingham City Council may soon prove that the customer is always right. A new city law went into effect July 5 that allows businesses to charge 10 cents per single-use paper bag. Just two weeks later, a City Councilor wants to repeal the fee after backlash from unhappy shoppers. The ordinance was first approved by City Council in December 2019 and was an update on the city's 2018 single-use plastic bag ban. The law allows businesses to charge 10 cents per paper bag and keep the money. The law was supposed to go into effect in January, but was delayed due to the pandemic. On Thursday, At-Large Councilor Janet Leombruno drafted a proposal to repeal the 10-cent fee, leaving the rest of the ordinance intact. The proposal will likely be sent to the Ordinance and Rules Subcommittee for deeper discussion after Tuesday's Council meeting.

Muffin recall: Several kinds of muffins sold at Stop & Shop, Walmart and 7-Elevan in Massachusetts have been recalled after it was discovered the items may have listeria contamination. The voluntary recall was issued by Give and Go Prepared Foods and shared Tuesday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It affects 26 different kinds of ready-to-eat muffins sold at 7-Eleven, Stop & Shop, Walmart or Sam's Club.

Quick bites: Commonwealth looks at the long-lasting changes the coronavirus pandemic brought to the Massachusetts restaurant industry.

Upcoming Food Events

Thursday, July 22:

• Framingham Restaurant Rush
• Farmers Markets: Falmouth, Foxborough, Harwich, Melrose, Milton, Stoneham, Tewksbury, Worcester, Yarmouth

Friday, July 23:

• Georgia Peach Truck stops: Chelmsford, Wayland
• Framingham Restaurant Rush
• Farmers Markets: Osterville, Quincy, Worcester

Saturday, July 24:

• Framingham Restaurant Rush
• Farmers Markets: Andover, Braintree, Marblehead, Newton, Orleans, Provincetown, Wakefield, Waltham, Worcester

Sunday, July 25:

• Encore Boston Harbor's Garden Champagne Brunch (Everett)
• Framingham Restaurant Rush
• Farmers Markets: Acton-Boxborough, Canton, Needham, North Andover, Swampscott, Weymouth, Wilmington

Monday, July 26:

• Framingham Restaurant Rush
• Farmers Markets: Beverly, Billerica, Truro, Worcester

Tuesday, July 27:

• Framingham Restaurant Rush
• Farmers Markets: Chatham, Lexington, Newton, Sandwich, Worcester

Wednesday, July 28:

• Framingham Restaurant Rush
• Farmers Markets: Arlington, Brewster, Dedham, Scituate, Wayland, Wellfleet, Worcester

Thursday, July 29:

• Framingham Restaurant Rush
• Farmers Markets: Falmouth, Foxborough, Harwich, Melrose, Milton, Stoneham, Tewksbury, Worcester, Yarmouth

Dave Copeland is Patch's regional editor for Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island and can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).