Local Brahm Callahan has a dream to bring fine dining to South Boston. Their 40 West Third Street location would serve higher-end, coursed meals and come complete with a 50-seat patio, wine bar, speakeasy, and an Eataly-styled package store.

Callahan himself has worked in fine dining for almost 20 years at award-winning restaurants across the city, including Grill 23 & Bar, Harvest, and Grand Bank. He is one of 279 people in North America to receive a Master Sommelier’s Diploma from the Court of Master Sommeliers. He refers to his team as “not some big conglomerate.”

“We are all smaller, independent entrepreneurs,” he said. “We are all putting our own money into this. This is really trying to be built into something that is unique for Boston, but also that is a great community fixture in South Boston.”

At a July 10 abutter’s meeting, Callahan explained that they have applied for a new common victualler all-alcohol license with a 2 a.m. closing time from the city, but are ready and willing to make the $600,000 purchase on the private market.

The timing was a point of tension for community members who remembered the commotion caused by the location’s previous tenant, Coppersmith. Callahan assured first and foremost that what they are opening is explicitly not a bar and will not tolerate belligerent behavior. He also added that the 2 a.m. closing has been standard throughout the restaurants where he has worked.

“It’s not that we’re planning to operate till 2 a.m. in any shape or form. We’re going to serve alcohol based on our dining room time and schedule,” he said. “So on a Saturday night, people could, in theory, order a glass of wine or a cocktail until 12:30 a.m. – 1 a.m.”

He added that the later closing time would also allow for greater flexibility with private events that would otherwise require a single-day license each time.

Lacking a Southie driveway himself, Callahan has committed to keeping parking as managed as possible. The restaurant will feature a 40-space parking lot located off West Second and Bolton Street, with valet service available to the State Street Garage if it becomes full. He also plans to assign the locations’ geotags to the parking lot so that Uber and Lyft drop-offs congest traffic as little as possible.

If everything goes Callahan’s way, he hopes to have the restaurant up and running by late summer 2026—a date for Callahan to go before the Licensing Board has yet to be determined. Questions, comments, and requests to be alerted when a date is set can be sent to Jonson at [email protected].