The Bearded Pig Closes Shortly After Opening

Brand new Somerville BBQ spot The Bearded Pig has closed, according to a tweet from the restaurant. Initial reports from Chowhound indicated a temporary closure due to the need to move the smokehouse, and the restaurant's website had removed the menu and posted: "We're temporarily closed due to having to move the smokehouse. We will be back open soon! Thanks for your patience." But the reopening is not to be, Eater confirmed with owner Michael Schmidt, who said that a suitable kitchen could not be found.

The Bearded Pig opened just three weeks ago in a small building near Union Square that is also home to vegetarian, southern Indian restaurant Dosa Temple and upstairs apartments. Before the brick-and-mortar location opened, The Bearded Pig offered catering services.

While it's unclear what prompted the need to move the smokehouse, one Chowhound poster has a guess: "Barbeque + dense urban residential neighborhoods = conflict. Remember the same kind of thing with that bbq place on Beacon Street in Brookline?" He's referring to the ill-fated Roadhouse, a restaurant with a two-ton custom-built smoker that required a second lease and prompted neighbor complaints, ultimately contributing to its 2010 closure.

Let's have a moment of silence for our fallen porcine companion.

· @thebeardedpig [Twitter]
· August 2012 openings and closings [CH]
· The Bearded Pig in Somerville is closed until further notice [BRT]
· Owner: Brookline's Roadhouse 'had to go' [WL]
· All coverage of The Bearded Pig on Eater [~EBOS~]