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Banyan Bar + Refuge will not reopen after 2025 kitchen fire

Banyan Bar + Refuge will not reopen after 2025 kitchen fire

Money Moves Boston, MA local

The Gallows Group closes its decade-old South End gastropub and shifts resources to Blackbird Doughnuts

Yesterday: Banyan will not reopen

Overview

Updated 1 hour ago

Banyan Bar + Refuge, an Asian gastropub at 553 Tremont Street in Boston's South End, will not reopen. The restaurant has been dark since a kitchen fire broke out in the early morning of June 30, 2025. Its owners, The Gallows Group, said on Tuesday they will put the group's time and money into growing Blackbird Doughnuts instead.

The announcement closes a decade-long run for a restaurant that opened in July 2015, and it converts a temporary fire closure into a permanent one. It also marks a shift in strategy for owner Rebecca Roth Gullo: from running a group of full-service restaurants to scaling a doughnut brand she has said she wants to take national.

Why it matters

A fire that looked temporary became permanent, and the owner is now betting her group's future on doughnuts rather than restaurants.

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Key Indicators

10
Years Banyan operated
Opened July 2015; permanently closed November 2026.
3
Gallows Group brands
The Gallows, Banyan Bar + Refuge, and Blackbird Doughnuts.

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People Involved

Rebecca Roth Gullo
Rebecca Roth Gullo
Owner and founder, The Gallows Group
Operating Blackbird Doughnuts and The Gallows; closing Banyan

Organizations Involved

The Gallows Group
The Gallows Group
Restaurant and hospitality group
Closing Banyan; expanding Blackbird Doughnuts

Boston hospitality group behind The Gallows, Banyan Bar + Refuge, and Blackbird Doughnuts.
Blackbird Doughnuts
Blackbird Doughnuts
Doughnut shop chain
Growth focus of The Gallows Group

Doughnut brand owned by The Gallows Group and now the group's main expansion target.

Timeline

July 2015 November 2026

6 events Latest: Yesterday
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. Banyan will not reopen

    Latest Closure

    The Gallows Group confirms Banyan is permanently closed and shifts focus to Blackbird Doughnuts.

  2. Group seeks investment to expand Blackbird nationally

    Business

    The Gallows Group looks for outside money to grow Blackbird, starting in Maine and New Hampshire, and plans to sell Banyan.

  3. Reopening tentatively slated for that month

    Statement

    The restaurant had been closed nearly a year; a reopening was tentatively set for June 2026 and never happened.

  4. Shuttered restaurant is burglarized

    Crime

    The closed restaurant is burglarized while repairs are underway.

  5. Kitchen fire closes Banyan

    Fire

    A blaze breaks out in the early morning; the owner says no one was inside the building.

  6. Banyan Bar + Refuge opens in the South End

    Opening

    The Asian gastropub opens at 553 Tremont Street, part of The Gallows Group's Boston footprint.

Scenarios

1

New operator takes over 553 Tremont Street

Possible Resolves by Q3 2027

Discussed by: The Gallows Group and Boston.com

The group said Banyan's space drew interest from other restaurateurs and expressed confidence the storefront's future is in good hands. If a new operator signs a lease or announces a concept at 553 Tremont, the location gets a second life under a different brand.

2

Blackbird secures outside investment and opens outside Massachusetts

Uncertain Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: The Gallows Group and Boston Restaurant Talk

In October 2026 the group said it was seeking investment to expand Blackbird into Maine and New Hampshire, with an eventual goal of major cities. A funding announcement or a first out-of-state Blackbird location would confirm the pivot is real and financed.

3

Blackbird's East Boston location opens

Likely Resolves by Q1 2027

Discussed by: Boston.com and MassLive, via The Gallows Group

When Banyan's closure was announced, the group said a new Blackbird Doughnuts location in East Boston would open very soon. An opening would show the growth plan is proceeding at the neighborhood level even if national expansion stalls.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

2020

Momofuku's pivot to retail products (2020)

As pandemic closures hit full-service dining, David Chang's Momofuku group pushed packaged goods and pantry products, including a line of chili oils and sauces, into retail and online sales.

Then

The group leaned on packaged products as dining rooms stayed closed.

Now

Retail goods became a durable revenue line for the company, separate from its restaurants.

Why this matters now

Momofuku shows how a restaurant group under pressure can redirect capital toward a scalable product brand, the path The Gallows Group is choosing with Blackbird Doughnuts.

2001-2015

Shake Shack's growth out of Union Square Hospitality Group (2001-2015)

Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group launched Shake Shack as a hot dog cart in Manhattan's Madison Square Park in 2001. It grew into a chain and went public in 2015, while the parent group continued to run full-service restaurants.

Then

The cart drew long lines and expanded into permanent locations.

Now

Shake Shack became a large public company, eventually outgrowing the restaurant group that started it.

Why this matters now

The split between a group's scalable fast-casual brand and its sit-down restaurants is the same tradeoff The Gallows Group is making by focusing on doughnuts over a gastropub.

Sources

(3)
Boston.com Boston Restaurant Talk Hoodline