Somerville Restaurant Closing Temporarily, Will Return With New Menu

SOMERVILLE, MA — Rosebud American Kitchen & Bar, a Davis Square restaurant, has announced it is closing temporarily and that it will return with an Indian-infused menu.

The announcement was made by Rosebud's new owners in a Facebook post on Sunday. The owners said additional announcements would be made with closing dates and reopening dates.

The owners did not identify themselves in the post, but said they had purchased the restaurant, located at 381 Summer Street, a few months ago.

After trying to "make it work" under the existing concept and with the current staff, the ownership group has taken "huge, unsustainable losses each month."

"As a small business, we couldn't take more debt, if we kept things as they were, we would have been out of business in another few months," the owners wrote about the restaurant, which has been around since 1941.

The owners continued: "Recognizing the potential of losing Rosebud if we continued along the same path for a few more months, we faced a challenging yet indispensable choice."

That choice involves shutting down and revamping the space to accommodate a new concept, the owners said.

In the social media post, the owners said they will be introducing a fresh new menu "infused with some Indian twists while honoring the history and keeping some classics."

A new chef has been hired who has a "fervor, admiration and love for Indian cuisine," according to the owners.

The owners said that as soon as they realized a shutdown was necessary, they let the existing Rosebud team know about the situation in order to give them ample notice.

'This is probably the hardest part about our job as small business owners and about this industry, even harder than losing money, and we hope to have some of the staff back in the future if they want to rejoin the revamped Rosebud team," the owners wrote.

The owners said they had planned to make an "official announcement" with more detailed plans about the restaurant. However, somebody had shared the information prematurely, so the owners were forced to make their Facebook post.

The owners said they are excited about the restaurant's future.

"We can confidently say Rosebud will return to its glory days and we will do everything in our power to make it happen," the owners wrote. "We can't wait to open our doors with all the upgrades/changes and pour our Mango chili mimosas for your favorite brunch spot in the square."