Two Somerville Powerhouses Team Up for Cambridge Wine Bar

Familiar faces from the Somerville dining and drinking scene are teaming up for a new venture in Cambridge. Lauren Friel of Bow Market’s Rebel Rebel natural wine bar (a 2018 Eater Boston bar of the year nominee) and Andrew Brady and Sara Markey of Union Square’s Field & Vine (Brady was a 2017 Eater Boston chef of the year nominee) will open Dear Annie near Porter Square in Cambridge, taking over a former boutique space at 1741 Massachusetts Ave.

Building off the teams’ success in their existing businesses, Dear Annie will showcase natural wines and pescatarian dining in a pub-style neighborhood bar.

Customers can expect rotating dishes in four main categories, including toasts featuring house-made bread; cheese plates; dips and salads; and seafood; the last of which will run the gamut from oysters to ceviche and caviar. Aside from seafood, there will be no meat on the menu, at least according to the current plan.

The space will be divided into a front bar and an open kitchen with a chef’s counter in the rear, with accommodations for roughly 30 in each section. Friel will bring her vast wine knowledge to the bar, focusing on natural wines as she does at Rebel Rebel. Her partner, architect Brian Militana, will design the space.

“Dear Annie is a project that encompasses the things we love most: intimate, communal spaces, thoughtful design, sustainable foodways, and natural wine,” the team wrote in a GoFundMe campaign launched to cover assorted costs through permitting and beyond. “We plan to be a wine bar, it’s true — but if we do this thing right we’ll really be a center for community.”

Dear Annie could open as early as summer 2020. Keep apprised of its progress on Instagram.

• Cambridge Will Get a ‘Big Sister’ Wine Bar to Two Somerville Spots [BM]
• Dear Annie [Official Site]
• Dear Annie Fundraiser [GFM]

Disclosure: Lauren Friel has contributed to Eater Boston in the past as a freelance writer.