Charlie’s Kitchen, the burger-and-beer institution that has anchored Harvard Square since 1951, is clearing out everything inside its building this weekend. A fire sale set for 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, will offer up the restaurant’s furniture, signs, and dinnerware, nearly nine months after the space was gutted by water damage that has kept it shuttered ever since.
The restaurant has sat vacant since January, when, according to The Boston Globe, it suffered “catastrophic” water damage after a dishwasher malfunctioned overnight, causing flooding and a ceiling collapse. In a social media post announcing the sale, Charlie’s invited longtime patrons to “own a piece of Historic Harvard Square,” the paper reported.
Everything inside the building has to go before owner David Oshima can even begin deciding what happens next. Oshima told the Globe that the restaurant’s future is still unclear, adding: “Everything has to come out of that building.”
Repairs Hinge on Insurance Money Still in Limbo
Oshima said he hopes to bring Charlie’s back if the building can be repaired, but that decision depends entirely on insurance payouts still owed to him and to the building’s landlord. “If we can repair it and then put Charlie’s back in, that’s what we’re going to do,” he told the Globe, though he said the timeline hinges on the insurance payment that he and his landlord ultimately receive…