Barbara Lynch Gruppo Alumni to Open Italian Restaurant at Ink Block in the South End

Bar Mezzana, a "coastal Italian restaurant," is slated to open in spring 2016 at 360 Harrison Ave., within the Sepia condo building in the Ink Block complex, the forthcoming restaurant's owners announced via press release today. The team — married couple Colin Lynch and Heather Kennaway Lynch, along with Jefferson Macklin — have all put in lots of time within Barbara Lynch's empire. Colin Lynch (no relation to Barbara) was most recently executive chef for the whole Gruppo, Kennaway Lynch was Sportello's general manager, and Macklin was president and chief operating officer of the Gruppo. Lynch departed in early 2015, announcing his intention to open his own place, and he was replaced by Michele Carter, who moved up from her role as chef de cuisine at The Butcher Shop, also part of the Gruppo.

Bar Mezzana will seat about 105 in the dining room and 25 in the bar area, and there will be a 40-seat patio outdoors.

"After spending over ten years cooking primarily Italian and French food, and being lucky enough to eat at amazing restaurants all over the world, I realized that I kept gravitating towards the honesty and simplicity of Italian food," Lynch said via press release.

A new location of Fuji, a Japanese restaurant, is also in the works at Ink Block.