Rosebud revival? The latest on the changes coming to the iconic Somerville diner

[This story first appeared on Boston Restaurant Talk.]

A Somerville restaurant that has been the subject of much chatter over the past several days is going to be going through some changes.

Based on information from the restaurant itself along with multiple social media posts, Rosebud American Kitchen & Bar in Davis Square has temporarily closed, with the plan being to soon reopen with an updated menu that will include a mix of Indian dishes and at least some of its current food items (which lean toward classic American fare with global influences). The people behind the place have issued the following official statement to us:

To everyone who loves and cares for Rosebud! 

We acquired Rosebud few months ago with hopes and expectations to turn around the finances, update the menu, and give back to the community.

Through the acquisition we retained Rosebud’s staff 100%. We tried to make it work in the last few months with existing concept, staff, and operations, but we have taken huge, unsustainable losses each month. As a small business we couldn’t take more debt, and if we kept things as they were going, we would have been out of business in another few months.

Recognizing the potential of losing Rosebud if we continued along the same path for a few more months, we faced a challenging yet indispensable choice. We resolved to introduce a fresh new menu infused with some Indian twists while honoring the history and keeping some classics. The new menu, meticulously crafted by our very own Chef Keith who grew up in New England showcases Chef Keith's fervor, admiration, and love for Indian cuisine. This passion compelled him to immerse himself in its fundamentals, honing his skills through sheer passion. 

Anyone who knows this industry knows that a chef always relies on their team to give their best. As soon as it was clear that we needed to shutdown and revamp the space  to accommodate the new concept, we let our existing Rosebud team know about the situation and gave them an ample notice. 

This is probably the hardest part about our job as small business owners and about this industry, even harder than losing money, and we hope to have some of the staff back in the future if they want to rejoin the revamped Rosebud team. 

Upon gathering all the pertinent details surrounding the evolving situation, our intention was to issue an official statement regarding the altered plans. We sincerely appreciate the anonymous individual who took it upon themselves to share the information, relieving us of that responsibility. However, we regret that their actions inadvertently presented a new set of challenges as we navigated the process of disseminating this update. 

We hope this message helps everyone to have a little insight of the situation and we can confidently say Rosebud will return to it’s glory days and we will do everything in our power to make it happen. We will announce the dates of closing/reopening when we have them. We can’t wait to open our doors with all the upgrades/changes and pour our Mango chilli mimosas for your favorite brunch spot in the square! 

Rosebud

There has been an abundance of chatter about layoffs of the workers at Rosebud, though it has not been confirmed as to exactly how much of the staff could be returning.

The owners posted an additional update on their Facebook page Friday in an attempt to clarify their earlier statement.

The statement said Rosebud "is not becoming an exclusively Indian restaurant," but they are instead introducing a new concept -- "Indian-inspired American diner."

"Our direction with the menus is to merging classic American diner elements with the Indian train-car food culture and culinary influences many members of our team grew up on. We're excited about the Indian culinary influence our team brings, but please know that your cherished classics will remain an integral part of our menu."

The statement also included an update on staffing, indicating that at least some employees were let go.

"Obviously, it is painful to have to let anyone go and it is not something we took lightly. We would like to let you know that we spoke to the staff management and proposed several ideas to help along the way. We're committed to assisting them."

Rosebud American Kitchen & Bar first opened in 2014, taking over the space that had been home to the Rosebud Diner which had shuttered the previous year. As indicated in the statement above, Rosebud American Kitchen & Bar came under new ownership sometime in the late spring or early summer.

The address for Rosebud American Kitchen & Bar is 381 Summer Street, Somerville, MA, 02144.