The Rosebud Diner As We Know It is Now Closed

Photo via Sackton on Flickr.com

For the iconic Rosebud Diner in Somerville, “business is done.” At least, the restaurant is changing hands, and some of the staff is heading out.

According to an employee at the restaurant, who didn’t want to give her name before quickly hanging up the phone on Tuesday morning, employees were “just cleaning up and clearing out” all of their belongings and “trying to get out of [there].”

“After 15 years at the same job, that’s it. It’s done. I’m in a bad mood,” the employee said.

The closing of Rosebud Diner, which has been a staple in the Davis Square community since the 1940’s, and later put on the National Register of Historic Places, includes shuttering the Rosebud Bar and Grille, located behind the diner car, which has served as a prime karaoke spot and venue for bands to play. “Well it’s time to say goodbye to the Grande Dame of Davis [Square]. Tonight we close our doors for good. So come down say goodbye to the club and staff and have one last song,” employees at the Bar and Grille wrote on their Facebook page over the weekend. Staff members were raffling off items from the bar so that regulars could keep a memento before the space undergoes changes.

But according to Somerville city officials, the new owners that purchased the diner  plan on keeping the name and just reconfiguring the restaurant’s insides, including switching up its menu. The Rosebud was purchased by restaurateur Martin Bloom and the establishment’s license was transferred at a January Licensing Commission meeting, according to a spokesperson from Mayor Joe Curtatone’s office. The transfer was approved by the state on April 11, as the plans for the closing of the restaurant in its current state remained in limbo. In January, Bloom told the licensing board he wanted to keep the exterior as is, and just focus on revamping the interior.

Employees from the Rosebud wrote their farewells on local blogs over the Memorial Day weekend, and mourned the food spot’s impending closure. “The Rosebud has been a ‘home away from home’ for a lot of people over the years, especially [me]. [It’s been] one of the first venues I’ve ever truly felt ‘at home’ in. The great personalities of the staff, and the awesome mix of great food, drinks, and music, has been one of the reasons why this venue holds a special place in our hearts (and livers),” said Mike Gordon, an employee at the bar and grill section, in a blog post. “The guys of the Rosebud are a part of my family. I have never been apart of something so cool, and something so fun in my entire life.” Gordon said working at the restaurant “never actually felt like work,” but more like “hosting cool parties with your friends.”

There is no word yet on what may happen to the beloved restaurant and bar, but at least the diner-style exterior will remain standing, sticking out in Davis Square amidst the new developments cropping up all the time.