Casual Italian Restaurant to Take Over Long-Vacant B&D Deli

A Washington Square storefront that has stood stubbornly vacant for five years – even as the surrounding neighborhood experienced a culinary renaissance – may have finally found a tenant.

James Hamelburg, the owner of a South End pizzeria called Joe V's, said he plans to close shop and move his operation to the infamously empty storefront that once housed the B&D Deli in Washington Square. The Brookline native has already filed for building permits and hopes to open his new venture – an Italian restaurant he's calling Jimmy's – within a few months.

"I'm so excited to be coming back here and opening a casual Italian restaurant – no frills, inexpensive, big plates, big portions, great staff, great atmosphere," said Hamelburg, who grew up in Washington Square and attended the Driscoll School. "We're putting our money where our mouth is."

Rumors about the future of the B&D site have persisted throughout its five-year vacancy, especially after a restaurateur filed paperwork to open a high-end sushi restaurant in the space in 2008. The project apparently fell apart before any work could be done on the site.

Hamelburg said the Taw family, which owns the building that houses the B&D Deli and adjacent Golden Temple, was very particular about who moved into the storefront.

"I'm tickled to death that they considered me the right candidate," he said. "They didn't just give it to anybody."

Jimmy's will be built from scratch in the gutted storefront, with floor-to-ceiling chalkboards advertising the restaurant's daily specials, a full bar along one wall and a semi-open kitchen with a stone-hearth oven. Once completed, Hamelburg said the high-ceilinged restaurant would have 92 seats and a "very minimal, very industrial" look.

Hamelburg plans to preserve most of his menu from Joe V's, which serves up Italian dishes ranging from salmon over risotto to gnocchi in tomato vodka sauce, as well as a selection of high-end "ultra thin" pizzas. A sample menu for Jimmy's also features a selection of beers, wine and martinis, though Hamelburg said he doesn't expect it to be a place where people go to drink.

"I don't want to be a late-night barroom," he said. "It's a restaurant."

Jimmy's will be vying for customers in an increasingly competetive restaurant district that has already seen several new additions in just the last year, including American Craft, Umami and the upcoming Abbey bistro. But Hamelburg said he's not afraid of competition, and noted that despites its wealth of dining options, Washington Square hasn't had an Italian restaurant since Vinny T's closed in early 2008.

"I'm coming from a place that has more than their fair share of great places," he said. "We've battled away for eight years in my teeny-tiny place there and we've done well. There's always room for another guy."