Takeout restaurant Johnny Pomodoro opens in Charlestown

Meals

The homestyle menu consists of consolation meals like pizzas, meatballs, and subs, together with seasonal salads and tons of gluten-free choices.

Chef Johnny Burke lately opened Johnny Pomodoro, a takeaway homestyle Italian spot in Charlestown. The restaurant takes over the previous New Speedy Chen’s location at 297 Important St.

Burke additionally owns and operates Johnny Burke Catering & Occasions, which used to run Johnny’s Takeaway in West Roxbury.

The homestyle menu consists of consolation meals like tray pizzas, meatballs, and subs, together with seasonal salads and tons of gluten-free choices.

After working within the Boston fine-dining scene for over a decade for famend cooks like Barbara Lynch, Burke formally launched his personal full-service catering firm in 2017. Johnny’s Takeaway operated out of their West Roxbury spot from 2018 till lately, getting inventive to remain open throughout COVID-19 shutdowns.

They’d the benefit of the takeout growth throughout these indoor months of 2020. However “we had been pondering, ‘How can we get everybody to eat with us weekly?’” mentioned Burke. “So each week we modified the menu.”

Johnny’s Catering launched new pop-up ideas each week—Johnny’s Smokehouse, Johnny’s Cantina, and Johnny Pomodoro amongst them.

“Johnny Pomodoro was the one we liked doing probably the most,” mentioned Burke. “It introduced out probably the most shoppers and we liked cooking it,” he mentioned, so that they began searching for a everlasting spot for the operation.

When the staff discovered concerning the out there area in Charlestown, “It simply felt proper,” mentioned Burke, noting that the neighborhood’s small restaurant scene means they are often a part of a neighborhood of consumers whom they get to serve usually.

Their Important Avenue nook location with hovering home windows makes for a shiny and alluring area—they usually even added a 3rd window on the nook of the constructing that wasn’t traditionally there.

“In the event you’re not stopping in, we hope we get a wave,” mentioned Burke.

“We do what I name grandma’s-style tray pizzas,” mentioned Burke. They serve a form of thick, rectangular Sicilian pizza, crunchy on the skin and fluffy on the within. Burke’s different favorites embody their salads, that are massive and seasonally impressed, and their tacky garlic knots.

Their menu isn’t enormous, but it surely hits all of the candy spots—starters like meatballs, a couple of subs and pasta dishes, a handful of youngsters’ choices, and cookies for dessert.

They’ve a formidable gluten-free lineup, together with mozzarella sticks, sandwich bread, and, in fact, pizza. All of their pasta is gluten-free, they usually hold one fryer and one pizza oven utterly gluten-free to keep away from cross-contamination.

Johnny Pomodoro is takeout solely, with a bench inside for ready however no formal seating. They’re open for lunch and dinner every day, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days every week. 

Burke says they plan to open up different takeout spots sooner or later, probably alongside the traces of Johnny’s Cantina or Johnny’s Smokehouse, so their staff members have higher job stability, mentioned Burke, citing the craziness of the meals service trade throughout the early COVID-19 days. Johnny’s Takeaway was lucky to remain in enterprise these days, added Burke, and much more lucky to rent some new staff who had been out of labor on the time.

He encourages of us to cease in and say good day in the event that they’re within the space. 

“Charlestown’s a very cool neighborhood and we’re simply excited to be part of it,” mentioned Burke.