Raider Tavern in Watertown Has Closed; New Restaurant Taking Over Space

A neighborhood dining and drinking spot has closed a bit more than two years after it replaced a decades-old dive bar, and a new spot is moving in, with the ownership of the new place having a connection to a long-closed eatery.

According to a source, Raider Tavern in Watertown is no longer in business, with the source mentioning that someone involved with the former Ritcey's Sea Food Kitchen in Waltham is behind the upcoming restaurant. A page within the Watertown website seems to confirm this, showing that Michaela Ritcey had worked at the Moody Street spot as a server and in the kitchen while she was in her teens. The post mentions that the new place will be an "upscale" street food spot that will be open for dinner at first, adding lunch service at a later date.

The Raider Tavern first opened in the summer of 2014, replacing the Orchard Park Grill, a watering hole that had been around since 1950. Ritcey's Sea Food Kitchen got its start in 1911 as a seafood market, becoming a restaurant in the 1940s and remaining open until a bit more than a decade ago, according to a post on the Waltham Community website.

The address for the now-closed Raider Tavern (and upcoming restaurant, which does not yet appear to have a name) is 208 Waverley Avenue, Watertown, MA, 02472.

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A related post from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): List of Restaurant Closings and Openings in the Boston Area