A Source for Southern Food and Live Music Opens in Medford

A restaurant filled with Southern food, live music, and games debuts in Medford on Monday, July 15, completing its relocation — and massive expansion — from Wakefield. The Porch (tag line: Southern fare and juke joint), from chef and owner Jonathan Post, has completed its buildout of nearly 9,000 square feet of space at 175 Rivers Edge Dr., and it begins dinner service this week.

The restaurant, designed to seat 250 inside, has a substantial bar, a stage for live performances, and an outdoor patio with 50 additional seats. There’s also space for private events, as well as pool tables and other games.

Brian Samuels Photography/The Porch

Much as it did in Wakefield, the Porch serves a lineup of food from the South, including smoked meats, soul food, and Cajun dishes. The menu includes items like barbecue pork, shrimp and grits, Nashville hot fried chicken, skillet cornbread, and a whole hog barbecue. Drinks at the Porch include craft beer, whiskey, and cocktails.

Post — who is originally from Nashville and spent time at Boston-area restaurants Blue Ginger, 80 Thoreau, and Moody’s Delicatessen before opening the first Porch in Wakefield — is working with partner Cenk Emre, executive chef Alex Horowitz, bar manager Oliver Castro-McClung, and assistant general manager Dacia Boston.

The Porch is starting out serving dinner from 5 to 11 p.m., and it will add lunch later this summer. A handful of musical acts are already booked to play at the restaurant, including the Minks on July 20 and Popa Chubby on August 9. Further details on musical acts will be available on the restaurant’s website.

The Porch is one of several new restaurants opening in Medford this year, and it’s accessible by a shuttle that runs from the Wellington MBTA station to the Rivers Edge development every 15 minutes.

“We want to be to Medford what we’ve always wanted to be to everyone: the metaphorical porch,” Post previously told Eater. “We want to be a gathering place for all people, where differences are set aside and people come together over great food and great music.”

Brian Samuels

• A Southern Food and Music Oasis Is On Its Way to Medford [EBOS]
• The Porch Southern Fare and Juke Opens in July in Medford [BM]
• The Porch Southern Fare and Juke [Official Site]