After closing last June, the locally famous Charlie’s Sandwich Shoppe reopened as “Charlie’s” on Friday. Evan Deluty, chef-owner of Stella, another popular South End spot, is behind the restaurant's rebirth.
The iconic Columbus Avenue diner opened back in 1927. While the South End evolved and gentrified — from jazz mecca to urban renewal project to one of the hottest real estate and restaurant neighborhoods in the city — Charlie's Sandwich Shoppe stayed pretty much the same. For 80 years, the casual restaurant was known for award-winning turkey hash and star-studded clientele, from Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway to Tom Brady and President Obama. In 2005, the breakfast-and-lunch menu earned the cash-only 32-seat diner a James Beard Foundation “American Classic” award, one of the highest honors in the culinary industry.
Former co-owner Arthur Manjourides — whose family purchased the restaurant in the 1940's — cited the reason for closing Charlie's as “wanting to walk out, not be carried out.” Though in his 70's, the news of his retirement was hard for longtime customers to swallow.
Happily, Deluty promises to retain the same menu that has kept people coming back for decades. His team has big shoes to fill, but someone has to fix the gaping turkey hash-shaped hole in the city's culinary scene. Here's to hoping Charlie's 2.0 lives up to the legendary original.
Charlie's - 429 Columbus Ave., Boston, 617-536-7669, Charlie's on Yelp
Nicole Fleming is the author of
The Girl Who Ate Boston food blog. Follow her on Twitter
@GirlEatsBoston.
