Eastern Standard Team is Bringing Branch Line to Watertown

A press release today announced more details about a project from some notable Boston-area restaurateurs that Eater reported last week. Branch Line is the name of the new concept, and first joint partnership, from Garrett Harker and Andrew Holden, the duo behind Eastern Standard Kitchen. Slated for a fall 2015 opening in the Arsenal on the Charles, Branch Line will be "an urban rotisserie with a focused beer and wine program."

Holden, a Watertown native, has been general manager of Kenmore Square's Eastern Standard since 2006. He will continue to hold that position, and he will also oversee operations at Branch Line. "I can’t wait to bring the guest experience that we’ve strived to create [at Eastern Standard] to my hometown while continuing to guide Eastern Standard into its second decade," Holden said in the release. Harker owns ES, as well as Island Creek Oyster Bar, the Hawthorne, and Row 34, and is currently working to open a Row 34 outpost in Portsmouth, N.H. He was a 2015 James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Restaurateur.

The release does not give an address for Branch Line, but last week, a city of Watertown employee said it will be in a new building erected at 311 Arsenal St. The release says Branch Line will have "extensive outdoor space" for year-round dining, and it will also have a seasonal bocce court.