The Team Behind Hit Greek Spot Kava Is Taking Over the South End

A new gastropub, called Louis Corner, is opening in the South End, and it’s taking over former Boston chef Barbara Lynch’s onetime neighborhood hot spot, the Butcher Shop. The Mazi Food Group, the team behind hip South End spots Desnuda Cocina & Bar, Gigi, Ilona, and Kava Neo-Taverna, is officially opening the doors to their fifth restaurant in the neighborhood, at 552 Tremont Street, on Wednesday, August 6.

What does gastropub mean in 2025 Boston dining terms? A little bit of everything, and a lot of comfort, Mazi Food Group executive chef Jesus Preciado tells Eater. “We’re doing classic dishes, I call it traditional because it’s what people crave. People crave grandma’s dishes.”

Preciado says that the focus at the Tremont Street restaurant will be on a diverse selection of small plate appetizers. Louis Corner will offer starters like cheddar croquettes filled with potato and ham, spicy chicken sliders with pickled onion, baked wings with a spicy root marinade, and shrimp and grits made rich with guanciale. The restaurant will also offer the de rigueur raw bar, with seafood towers, oysters, shrimp cocktail, and caviar service.

For larger appetites, there’s a decadent mac and cheese made with elbow pasta, bechamel, cheese, smashed broccoli, and crispy panko. There’s also a classic roast chicken, hanger steak, and of course, a grass-fed burger with caramelized onions.

And, Perciado’s favorite, the fish and chips fried in crispy beer batter. “I remember when I got to New England, one of the first dishes I tried was fish and chips, and I fell in love with it,” the Colombian-born chef tells Eater. “I was [always] the person who doesn’t like fried food, but it’s amazing.”

Perciado is almost equally excited about the jambalaya risotto, with shrimp, chicken, andouille sausage, and Creole spices. While Creole-style jambalaya is traditionally on the spicy side, the chef explained that Louis Corner’s version is a bit milder, although they can adjust it to be spicier on request.

The restaurant plans to serve lunch as well. Perciado is hopeful that an array of sandwiches, including a Cubano, a salmon burger, and a chicken club, will appeal to the foot traffic in the South End. On weekends, the restaurant will serve brunch, including classics like eggs Benedict.

Louis Corner will open with a beer, wine, and cordial program, with wines by the glass, bottles, and beer selections like Luppolo Pilsner, from Oxford Brewing in Maine, as well as cold pours of Guinness. The cocktail menu is heavy on spritzes, including a refreshing Lychee Blush spritz with oleo citrate, pamplemousse, and lychee.

It’s a pretty extensive reboot from the restaurant’s former life as the Butcher Shop, the full-service butcher shop and neighborhood wine bar run by the once-prominent Boston chef Barbara Lynch. The interiors, too, have seen a major overhaul; now, the place has the feel of an elegant bistro. The long bar is still in place but has been refurbished, and a tin ceiling hangs overhead, affixed with glass lamps dangling like art deco jewels.

The Butcher Shop, one of Barbara Lynch’s five Boston restaurants, closed last year amid accusations of rampant workplace harassment from multiple Lynch employees. Since then, all of the chef’s restaurants have shuttered. Mazi partner Irakli Gogitidze confirmed with Eater late last year that the group was taking over 552 Tremont Street. And, another former Lynch spot, No. 9 Park, will see a new restaurant, Nine, open soon.