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Viale team is bringing a backyard party to their next Central Square restaurant
Althea, Greg Reeves's and Shauna Reyburn's second restaurant, is taking over the spot of The Dial, which closed in January, in Central Square.
Outdoor dining season is nearly here, soon to take you out of your winter blues and transport you to the backyard parties of spring and summer in Boston. But one new eatery in Cambridge wants to be your backyard party destination all year long.
The team from Viale — Shauna Reyburn and Greg Reeves — are taking over the spot that once held The Dial at the 907 Main Hotel with new neighborhood restaurant and bar Althea.
“The only reason we’re really doing another restaurant is because we had the ability to do it here in Central Square and work with the hotel and still be a bigger part of the community that we really do love,” Reeves said.
Reyburn and Reeves, married co-owners of Viale, said they learned a lot about hospitality in the 10 years since they opened the Italian restaurant in Central Square, about a block away from their new venture.
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And that was the importance of establishing and keeping regulars.
“We really learned at Viale specifically how far having regulars goes,” Reyburn said. “The kinder you are to people, the more you remember their name, where they sat the last time, people around here really appreciate that. We’re taking exactly what we’ve gathered for the last 10 years … and bringing the same energy times 10.”
They want the same to be the case for Althea, but that’s the end of the similarities between it and Viale.
The Dial, which announced its closure in mid January, left behind a solid outdoor dining space and a shipping container bar — an area Reyburn said would be perfect for live music.
It also reminded them a little bit of home and how much time they spend outside when hosting parties, cooking up food on a smoker and next to a fire pit.
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So then the mission became bringing their real-life backyard parties to a restaurant, to their regulars — smoker and fire pits included.
“Our house is not the best for having people inside,” Reyburn said. “So every chance we have, we have a bunch of people over. We have a giant smoker, and Greg mans the fire. We drink, we party, we have physical fires, so we’re trying to literally bring that into a restaurant scene.”
Reeves, who is also the chef at Viale, wouldn’t reveal too much about Althea’s menu yet but said it was important for them to not feel pigeonholed with this project. The weather and creativity will play a role in what shows up on the menu.
That being said, expect some seafood, Reeves said, and the smoker will definitely play a role. As for the drinks and their full bar, they’re keeping it “approachable.”
Althea is likely opening in late April, just in time for spring temps. But come the inevitable months-long stretch of winter, they still plan to keep the backyard party going.
“We have the ability to do literally anything we want because it’s on private property: live music, fires, hot beverages, fun,” Reyburn said.
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Guests can stay up-to-date on Althea’s opening at Viale’s website and Instagram.
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