Harrison Avenue's Last Winter With Bar Mezzana, and the Market Opening Down the Block

The SoWa Christmas Market's FAQ page has a question that's easy to skip: "What are the nearest restaurants?" Bar Mezzana and Shore Leave appear in the answer, along with Myers + Chang, Toro, Coppa, Kava and 11 others. The list will hold through December 27, when the market closes. Five days later it won't. Bar Mezzana, Shore Leave and the sushi bar No Relation close on New Year's Day.

So the market's whole run falls inside the last weeks of three restaurants that have anchored the Ink Block end of Harrison Avenue since 2016. That changes how the season should be planned. The market is the part that will come back next year. The dinners won't.

Ten years at the Ink Block, with a New Year's Day end date

Bar Mezzana opened on June 1, 2016. Shore Leave and No Relation followed at the end of 2018. All three belong to Traveler Street Hospitality, which chef Colin Lynch, Heather Kennaway Lynch and Jefferson Macklin own and operate. The Boston Globe reported in July that the group would close all three on New Year's Day. It described Bar Mezzana as an acclaimed coastal Italian restaurant that celebrated a decade in business this June.

The Globe tied the decision to a lease renewal. Lynch told the paper that "financial realities prevailed" and that the new lease "would have entailed a strain on the business." He was proud of the run, too:

"We had 10 years, and we're really proud of everything we've done here. We have unbelievable employees who are still here; all the guests are the reason we do it."

Boston Restaurant Talk covered the closing on July 24 as an end-of-year shutdown. In August, Boston Magazine reported that Lynch had "no plans for the next step yet" and was "not quite planning a move to the suburbs yet." The group's Black Lamb is staying open.

Bar Mezzana's homepage currently advertises turkey dinners and sides for groups.

A Lao kitchen gets Shore Leave's final months

The goodbye isn't only about the three original menus. Since September 15, chef Veo Robert's Phaeng & Phiu has been in residence at Shore Leave, 11 William E. Mullins Way. The residency runs through December 31, Tuesday through Saturday from 5 to 10 p.m., with takeout and delivery. Robert worked for Traveler Street Hospitality from 2021 to 2024, and the pop-up's own page calls the invitation back "a real homecoming."

Boston Magazine's October roundup described the cooking as classic Lao dishes built on local sourcing, such as pad kee mao talay, a rice noodle dish made with New England seafood. BostonChefs listed laap moo tod, a crispy pork belly with cara cara orange and herbs, along with a wild mushroom soufflé with truffle and a whole fried black bass with ginger and tamarind. Shore Leave's tropical cocktails stay on through the residency. The posted menu notes that dishes are gluten-free unless marked otherwise. Desserts include mango cheesecake, coconut ice cream and tamarind sorbet.

Five nights a week matters for the market calendar below. The residency serves Tuesday through Saturday, and the market is closed every Monday. Their open days line up almost exactly.

The market's calendar fits inside the restaurants'

The 11th Annual SoWa Christmas Market opens Friday, November 20, at the SoWa Power Station, 550 Harrison Ave. It runs through December 27 with more than 100 makers, artists, designers and specialty food vendors. Opening night runs 4 to 9 p.m. In November, weeknights run 4 to 8. Starting December 1, Tuesday through Thursday runs until 9 and Fridays until 10. Saturdays run 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. in November and to 10 p.m. in December. Sundays are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. all season. The market is closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, and it closes at 4 p.m. on Christmas Eve.

Take the Tuesday-through-Saturday dates inside the market's run and remove Thanksgiving and Christmas. That leaves 25 dates when both the market and the Phaeng & Phiu residency are on their posted schedules. Here is how they fall:

After opening night, every tasting on the posted schedule falls on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. Those are the market's shortest nights and also nights when the residency is serving. On those nights the market works as a 4 p.m. start and dinner comes after. The posted entertainment schedule adds Country Night on three Thursdays, December 3, 10 and 17, with JP Line Dance and a mechanical bull. Musicians on the posted roster include Anna Daley Young, Kaliloops, Stefan Couture, Maddi Ryan and Matt Koelsch. Better Late Boston plays November 27 and December 19.

Sundays are different. The market is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and the residency doesn't serve. A Sunday at SoWa is a daytime visit.

Getting in, and what's inside

Admission is $10, and children 12 and under get in free. SoWa says the fee covers operating costs, including more than 20 staff, heat and City of Boston real estate taxes, so it can charge local vendors less. Leftover funds go toward free programming such as the SoWa Open Market and SoWa First Friday. Fire Department capacity limits mean no re-entry. That is the main logistical point for anyone planning to walk to dinner and come back. Parking is $10, cash only, at 540 and 500 Harrison Ave. and at 365, 324 and 274 Albany St. The 540 Harrison lot is the one SoWa lists as wheelchair and stroller friendly. Only service animals are allowed inside.

The food vendors on the posted roster include Big Little Pies, Celes Confections, Chicken & Rice Guys, Lucy and Jane Matcha, Moyzilla, Palak's Chai Cart and Uncommon Ice Cream. Gift makers include Alliecaps, Eight Acorns Floral Design & Preservation, Fiorella Soapery, Irene Lynch Art and The Hermit on Green Street.

The SoWa Artists Guild studios at 450 Harrison stay open year-round on their usual schedule, First Fridays from 5 to 9 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. That makes December 4, the First Friday during the market's run, the evening when the studios, the market and the residency all line up.

The four days after the market closes

The market closes Sunday, December 27. Monday, December 28 falls on Phaeng & Phiu's dark day. That leaves three Shore Leave services on the residency's posted schedule, Tuesday the 29th, Wednesday the 30th and Thursday the 31st, before the Globe's New Year's Day closing date for all three restaurants. Those three nights are the end of the season, and they come after the market has packed up. The residency books through OpenTable.

The daytime side of the neighborhood carries on into January. SoWa's own coffee list names The Buttery. Boston Magazine reported in August that South End Buttery had added a tea room to its café and bakery at 314 Shawmut Ave. Farther down Harrison, the October roundup listed C'Yool, a Yemeni café and bakery at 600 Harrison Ave.

By the first week of January, the market will be gone and the Ink Block trio will be closed. The SoWa FAQ's restaurant list will need updating for next year's market.

If you'd like a quiet conversation about what the end of Bar Mezzana, Shore Leave and No Relation means for your building or your corner of Harrison Avenue, Easter Entwistle Advisors is glad to help. Schedule a consultation.