Photo: James Rojas (WBZ)
SOMERVILLE, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Rosebud American Kitchen & Bar, an iconic Somerville diner operating since the 1940s, will shut down this weekend to implement major changes to its building, menu and staff.
Bindaas Concepts, which purchased the Davis Square diner in June, is laying off the entirety of the workforce, a move which has the 50 or so employees feeling blindsided.
"We got called in by our general manager and they had told us that Rosebud will be closing their doors as of 10/1, and that we will be laid off," bartender Steph Giordano told WBZ NewsRadio Friday. "All my regulars are shocked, sad, confused. A lot of them don’t understand. They’re disappointed."
"It is really surprising to see the entire team let go, and so I think the shock of that has animated a lot of the employee and public reaction to this decision," Rosebud general manager Olivia Papp said.
In a statement posted on Facebook, Bindaas Concepts said, "We acquired Rosebud [a] few months ago with hopes and expectations to turn around the finances, update the menu, and give back to the community. We tried to make it work in the last few months with existing concept, staff, and operations, but we have taken huge, unsustainable losses each month. As a small business we couldn’t take more debt, and if we kept things as they were going, we would have been out of business in another few months."
The new owners added that the updated Rosebud will introduce a new menu with Indian cuisine while keeping some classics.
"As soon as it was clear that we needed to shutdown and revamp the space to accommodate the new concept, we let our existing Rosebud team know about the situation and gave them an ample notice," Bindaas said.
The company said it hopes to bring some of the staff back in the future when the revamped Rosebud reopens its doors.
WBZ's James Rojas (@JamesRojasMMJ) reports.
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