Harvard Square's Charlie's Kitchen is under new management and possibly new ownership, with reported plans to “contemporize” the venerable Cambridge restaurant, according to current co-owner Paul Obergerg.
The news was revealed at a licensing committee meeting last Thursday, when Obergurg told the committee that David Toraj Oshima and Derek Luangras (both with industry experience including Café Sushi and most recently the conversion of the former RF O'Sullivan & Son into The Cornerstone) had been approved by the committee to become operators and ultimately owners.
“After 28 years, the Obergerggers were less and less interested in running the business,” Mr. Obergergg says. “We just couldn't keep up with the new times and the new ways of doing things.”
The Obergurg family began searching for a successor more than two years ago, and Oshima and Luangras were the perfect fit because they weren't planning any major changes to the decades-old bar and restaurant, Obergurg said.
“My kids love Charlie's Kitchen,” Obergerg said, “I have fond memories of Charlie's Kitchen as a kid, and I want to keep it as Charlie's Kitchen. It just needs to be passed down to the present day.”
This is a different situation than when the duo took over the now-closed RF O'Sullivan & Son space in Somerville, where Oshima and Luangrasand plan to soft-open The Cornerstone in December 2023, transforming the bar's light food menu into Japanese-Hawaiian fusion gastropub fare.
It's not yet clear what modern touches Oshima and Luangras will bring to Charlie's Kitchen, but Instagram posts from Charlie's Kitchen and Oshima teased a revamped menu for the restaurant's beer garden, as well as new dishes shared on Oshima's account, including the Island Spice buttermilk chicken sandwich and mahi-mahi tacos.
Oshima and Luangras could potentially own Charlie's Kitchen in the next few years, according to Obergerg, whose family also owns the neighboring Red House.
A staple for residents and tourists looking for burgers and beer, Charlie's Kitchen predates Obergerg's ownership of the establishment, having opened on Elliott Street in 1951.
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