For 75 years, Charlie’s Kitchen was a beloved dive bar serving Harvard students and Cambridge community members.
In a weekend statement posted on the restaurant’s social media accounts, owner and head chef David Oshima announced he sold the building after the business was unable to recover from a January flood that caused $2 million worth of damage.
“Getting to run Charlie’s was a dream come true for me, even if it didn’t end the way I wanted it to,” Oshima said in the statement. “I thought Charlie’s could make it for another 75 years.”
Records obtained by GBH News list the new owner as Renato Valentim — a co-founder and part-owner of the local restaurant chain Tavern in the Square.
According to the deed, Valentim bought the building for $2 million.
Both Oshima and Valentim did not respond to GBH News’ requests for more details on what the space will be used for.
Charlie’s is one of several closures of iconic Harvard Square businesses. Whitney’s, a dive bar, closed in December 2024 after 71 years in business, while the Curious George Store closed in 2019 and promised a move to Central Square that has not yet materialized.
“Every time … we have a situation like this, it brings up all kinds of memories from other things that we don’t have here in the Square anymore,” said Harvard Square Business Association Executive Director Denise Jillson.
But, Jillson added, disheartened locals should remember the historic businesses that still remain in Harvard Square.
“Restaurants have a 20-year life cycle, typically,” Jillson explained. “When you think about … Hong Kong or Grendel’s Den, Pinocchio’s Pizza, been here since 1966, Cardullo’s since 1950. That’s unique and unusual, and we hold all of them dear.”
In the same statement from Charlie’s, Oshima said he is planning to open a new restaurant venture in Greater Boston.
People lamenting the loss of Charlie’s can buy restaurant memorabilia at an upcoming auction. The staff says it will share more details on social media.
