The Tap Trailhouse Taps Out Near Faneuil Hall

A restaurant along Boston’s Freedom Trail closed down over the weekend. The Tap Trailhouse (19 Union St.), known for its pub fare and revolutionary ambiance, had operated near Faneuil Hall for 12 years, undergoing renovations and a rebranding a few years ago from its original identity as the Tap. It was a member of Boston Nightlife Ventures, the same group that runs several other restaurants in the area.

BNV announced the restaurant’s closure on Monday, March 5, indicating that the move would allow the group to focus on opening Akinto, a forthcoming Southeast Asian restaurant in the South End next to another BNV entity, Wink & Nod.

The Tap, which opened in 2006, became the Tap Trailhouse following renovations in 2014. The Tap was BNV’s first hospitality project.

“It was a school of hard-knocks,” CEO Euz Azevedo said in a release. “The Tap was our team’s first shot at the business. We had our hands full from the get-go, pulling long hours learning the a-b-c’s of Boston’s hospitality.”

While the Tap kicked off the group’s development into a prominent restaurant operator within Greater Boston, BNV acknowledged in a release that its own internal development and goals “no longer aligned” with the demographics of Faneuil Hall, and it would instead focus on “scalable concepts,” like Southern Kin Cookhouse, which is located at Somerville’s Assembly Row.

The group plans to add a second Southern Kin location in the area, and though a location for the expansion has not been announced, it will not replace the Tap Trailhouse. A different restaurant under new management is slated to take over the Tap’s Union Street space, per Boston Restaurant Talk. It may be called Sons of Boston.

BNV also operates Griddler’s Burgers & Dogs and Certified Meatball Company, along with the under-development Little Owl Tavern, which doesn’t have a location yet.

• Sons of Boston May Replace The Tap Trailhouse Near Faneuil Hall in Boston [BRT]