Former Boutique Restaurant Chef Babara Lynch Builds Restaurant Complex
by Maggie Battista on November 26, 2007
in chefs, news




Barbara Lynch, a darling of the Boston restaurant scene, has surpassed “boutique” status, or has she? She has been building a restaurant complex in the historic Fort Point section of Boston to the sum of $7.5 million. The development firm building the complex that will house Lynch’s group of restaurants is investing $2.5 million for the extra systems that are needed to support her restaurant complex, while Lynch is working independently to raise the other $5 million. Check out a great article on the details at The Boston Globe. Lynch’s small restaurants include No. 9 Park, B&G Oysters and (my favorite) The Butcher Shop.
I have a tremendous about of respect for Lynch, as she built this little boutique restaurant empire from nothing – but now, as she’s getting money from big business investors, I applaud her success but struggle with calling her a boutique restauratuer. How about you?
No doubt, I will still check out the complex once it opens in the Spring. She has such vision and a unique angle on the Boston restaurant scene.

Maggie, is chief tasting officer and founder of Eat Boutique. She started the site in 2007 as a way to highlight and celebrate the best pure, local and comforting handmade foods, and now sells unique and delicious handmade food in monthly tasting subscriptions and seasonal gift boxes. Fostering vibrant real world communities around food, Maggie now hosts Eat Boutique’s Local Markets, where she spotlights cookbook authors and undiscovered food makers. Maggie is a community evangelist with more than 15 years of Web community building and outreach experience, connecting millions via sites like Lycos, Tripod and TripAdvisor. She’s written for Time Out New York, the former I.D. magazine and Hip Paris, and created retail experiences for the largest floral and event design company in New England. Maggie regularly visits Paris and travels far distances to find the next great chef, farmer, food maker or host. You can follow her worldwide - and homemade - gastronomic adventures on Twitter at @mizmaggieb or @eatboutique.