One of Boston's most notable restaurants, The Capital Grille, will move to the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center next year from its current location on Newbury Street, enhancing with its presence the convention center's food and beverage offerings, the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (MCCA) announced last week.
At its current location for the past 20 years, The Capital Grille's new restaurant will be larger — 10,300 square feet versus the current 5,500 square feet — and more expansive, featuring a more spacious bar and lounge, an outdoor patio and three private dining rooms equipped with state-of-the-art conferencing technology for small meetings.
"While Newbury has been a great location for us over the last 20 years and in many ways it will be sad to say goodbye, we're very excited about the move to Hynes Center, an iconic building in an area that's a hub of downtown activity," said The Capital Grille President John Martin. "And the fact that it's just a block away from our current location means we wont' inconvenience our existing guests or employees."
According to MCCA officials, the addition of The Capital Grille to the Hynes Center — along with another new restaurant, Towne Stove and Spirits, which opened there earlier this year — enhances the facility's revenue potential.
"In 2004, the MCCA was tasked with enhancing the economic performance of the Hynes, and we've now completed that task with this new lease with The Capital Grille," said MCCA Executive Director James E. Rooney. "The move will not only create economic activity and jobs at a time when Boston needs them most, but it preserves this icon of the Boston restaurant scene and moves it just a short walk from the old location. We couldn't be happier."
Construction on the new Capital Grille is expected to begin in January, with a target opening in summer 2011.