Trendy restaurant didn't make the cut

South Kitchen and Wine Bar, in South Boston’s Perkins Square, opened to huge fanfare. But after 10 months, it has closed its doors.

The white tablecloths are still neatly pressed. Silverware, wine glasses, and a candle sit on each table. Wine bottles are neatly stacked on a rack in the back, and martini glasses are lined up as though ready for use.

When it opened 10 months ago, the trendy restaurant — offering organic soybean pasta, wild venison rack, and dried fruit chutney to go with vintage wines — was thought of as somewhat of a milestone for South Boston. But South Kitchen and Wine Bar has closed, and some are reading it as a sign that South Boston — despite an influx of money, skyrocketing real estate, and restaurant makeovers all around the neighborhood — wasn’t ready for it .

„This place is changing for the better, but the crowd stays the same,“ said David Sousa , a longtime manager at McGoo’s Pizzeria around the corner. „Not a lot of people go sit down and eat. They want their fast food: in and out, quick.“

South Kitchen stood out in Perkins Square , across the street from Skip’s Barber Shop and next door to Dunkin’ Donuts .

When its doors opened, advertisments for the restaurant went up on taxi cabs, television, and billboards.

„South will change the way people dine out in Boston,“ president and founder Dan Kaufman said before South Kitchen opened last September. „We expect this concept to set new levels of food preparation and create new heights of service that diners simply won’t be able to do without.“

But residents and nearby business owners said the running bet in the neighborhood was that the restaurant would last six months.

„If you go from wood to tablecloth, it’s just not going to work,“ said Jeff Person , as he tipped back a $3.50 bottle of Bud Light at The Junction , a nearby bar. „People like going to a place in flip-flops and T-shirts. They want TVs. You’re not going to put some frills and a napkin out and get me away from this bar.“

Some faulted bad management or the lack of parking. The location has also had rapid turnover, with three restaurants in four years. Others said the neighborhood simply isn’t ready to trade a pint of Guinness for a bottle of pinot noir.

„People around here would just as soon have fried clams to lobster,“ said Ralph , a bartender at L Street Tavern , who declined to give his last name. „You’re going out to eat in Southie, you don’t want to pay $100 — apiece!“

In a hard-working neighborhood, some residents said South Kitchen didn’t employ enough locals. The head chefs — Jerome Watkins and Oji Scurry — had worked in New York and at the Cafe at Boston’s Ritz-Carlton .

Watkins said sales were brisk for the first several months, but began to drop off in March. He said South Kitchen averaged about $970,000 in monthly sales and spent about half of the earnings on food and staff. He said the restaurant miscalculated the tastes in South Boston, particularly when it came to wine. „We weren’t selling the high-end stuff,“ he said.

Michael Devlin , the landlord, said that since locking the doors last month he’s received approximately 10 phone calls from businesses interested in the property. He’s hoping another restaurant will come to the area.

Devlin’s lawyer said the restaurant owed $30,000 in unpaid rent.

The fate on the unpaid bills, and of the wine cellar, is unclear .

Kaufman, the restaurant’s founder, said he left in March and handed the business over to Watkins, who is now listed as the president in state corporation records. Watkins said that was an error made by Kaufman and that a lawyer is working it out .

„You have so many new people in Southie who were happy to see us there . . . It’s just really unfortunate that it had to close,“ Watkins said.

Source: Boston.com