Hallelujah, Spoke Wine Bar Will Return This Spring

Spoke Wine Bar, a cozy restaurant and bar that had delighted Somerville’s Davis Square for almost four years, bid farewell to the neighborhood at the end of 2016; it was one of the year’s most heartbreaking closures. At the time, owner Felicia “Flea” Foster explained how important it was for her to “be in the trenches every night sharing this experience with each and every one of [her] guests and staff,” but “very serious health issues” kept her away, and it was not ideal trying to run the restaurant from afar.

And so the little wine bar said goodbye, with Foster noting that perhaps “someone in the industry [would] buy the restaurant and continue what [the Spoke team] started.” Now, Spoke is returning.

“After a brief hiatus, the neighborhood favorite will reopen this spring,” announces a job posting on BostonChefs.com seeking bartenders and servers. At this point, it is unclear to what extent, if any, Foster will be involved with the new Spoke, but co-owner Dave Jick (who is also the “Dave” of Dave’s Fresh Pasta next door) is almost certainly involved. A licensing commission hearing agenda from late November states that Jick notified the commission of his “intent to temporarily close the restaurant...with the intention of reopening in late January or February 2017 with a new concept for the establishment.”

Stay tuned for more information on whether the new Spoke will differ from the old Spoke and who’s involved.

Spoke opened in early 2013 in the long, narrow 89 Holland St. space, serving up a short menu of lovely small plates from chef John daSilva, a No. 9 Park alum. He remained at Spoke until the end. Some of the final menu items included duck meatballs with smoked almond ajo blanco, grapes, jicama, and mint; sweet pea spaetzle with chicken, chanterelle, and creme fraiche; and sweet tea-brined pork with apricot, king trumpet, crispy polenta, and red eye brodo.

Update, 4/7: Former Spoke bartender Mary Kurth is behind Spoke’s rebirth, Jick told Boston Magazine, and he indicated that she’d be keeping things largely the same, including the name, concept, and the look. (Jick is “a partner, but not a principal decision-maker” in Spoke.)

• Spoke Wine Bar — Servers & Bartenders [BostonChefs]
• Spoke Wine Bar Coverage on Eater [EBOS]