A Pizza-Filled Arlington Restaurant Will Close This Week

An Arlington restaurant that’s been around since 2016 will bid farewell, leaving a space for a Brookline Village pop-up to take its place. Commune Kitchen will close following service on June 28, passing the torch on to Breadboard Bakery, whose founder Daisy Chow just last week announced that she would conclude her pop-ups at Brookline Village’s Cutty’s sandwich shop this month in preparation for opening a place of her own.

The incoming and outgoing businesses share a connection: Commune Kitchen co-owners Justin Demers and Richard Niedzwiecki used to work at acclaimed Brookline bakery Clear Flour Bread, where Chow has worked for nearly 15 years, including during her Cutty’s and Breadboard years.

Commune Kitchen has made a name for itself with stellar pizza; it also serves tartines, poutine, bread, and cafe beverages, as well as beer and wine. In an August 2016 review for The Improper Bostonian (RIP), restaurant critic MC Slim JB made note of the pizzas’ long-fermented dough, which produced “a fantastically bubbly, lightly charred crust.” The vegetarian pie was “surprisingly fierce,” he wrote at the time, while the meatball pizza was a “stunner.”

A member of the Commune Kitchen team, Megan Langelier, answered some questions from community members in an Arlington Facebook group, noting that the Commune Kitchen owners were moving onto different projects, which would be announced on Commune’s social media channels in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, Chow hasn’t yet announced a timeline for Breadboard’s opening, but Arlington can anticipate the arrival of Chow’s kolaches made with fillings like strawberry rhubarb, lime, poppy, cream cheese, and raspberry, as well as other pastries and cakes.

• Commune Kitchen in East Arlington Is Closing [BRT]
• Brookline’s Breadboard Bakery Pop-Up Will Open a Permanent Location [EBOS]