Milkweed on Morrissey Boulevard, the long-awaited restaurant by former Blarney Stone owners/operators Ben Johnson and Dave Cawley, will open to the public Tuesday (May 27) offering breakfast and lunch in a corner location at a strip mall location on the boulevard just beyond Neponset Circle.
Milkweed is already a beloved destination in Boston’s Mission Hill neighborhood and now the team has expanded to Dorchester with a menu that, according to Johnson, includes about “80 percent” of the offerings familiar to patrons of the eatery on Tremont Street – an array of comfort foods, including a smash burger and friend chicken sandwich with fries, French Toast, pancakes, and an assortment of breakfast sandwiches and a smoothie bar.
(Current menu attached below.)
But the Dorchester spot is bigger— with 77 seats, including two diner-style counters— and includes ample parking in the small mall at 1010 Morrissey.
The Milkweed team has been hard at work to renovate the space and get the proper permits over the last year-plus. They are still awaiting approvals for a liquor license— so there are no brunch cocktails on offer just yet. But that’s no reason to pause, since the focus here is on the food, coffee, freshly made juice smoothies, and comfort.
For now, it’ll be open 5:15 a.m.- 3 p.m. Monday through Friday; 7 a.m.-3p.m. on Saturdays; and 8 a.m.-3 p.m. on Sundays and holidays.
The location, Johnson told The Reporter in an interview, was a big part of the decision to open. The new restaurant occupies a corner spot in a block that also includes a branch of the City of Boston’s credit union and a chain barber shop.
Milkweed, Mission Hill – it’s on a corner and it has great lighting and that, in our mind, was one of the main factors here,” said Johnson. “It’s very important. And we thought it helped draw attention to it. It’s a beautiful corner with great windows and a wraparound parking lot. So, whereas Mission Hill gets all the foot traffic here, you can drive and park with relative ease,” he noted.
The location also happens to be situated on one of the region’s busiest commuter routes into and out of the city.
“I can’t believe the amount of cars that go by,” Johnson laughed. “It’s crazy.”
Milkweed in Dorchester will open at 5:15 a.m. daily to try to capture the early-bird commuters who want to build a breakfast stop into their routines. But the kitchen will stay open into the nighttime as well.
“We’re not sure exactly the direction we’re going at nighttime, but it could be a date night spot. It could be a family spot at nighttime. You know, we can dim the lights and make it a nice restaurant feel,” said Johnson.
Milkweed in Mission Hill gets a lot of trade from the medical professionals in the nearby Longwood Medical area, police from BPD headquarters at Schroeder Plaza, and students from Northeastern and other schools within striking distance.
The Dorchester demographics, Johnson expects, will be different.
“I think obviously we’re a neighborhood place,” he said. “We’re residential. We know all the people. I don’t want to say it’s Milkweed’s Big Brother or anything like that. But, it’s a bigger room. We still wanted to capture the same vibe, but I think, you know, it’s a little more of a mature audience overall here with, with families.”
The mimosas, Irish coffees, and a small wine list for dinner (which will likely be added eventually) are all part of the future plans, but that will need to wait until the Milkweed’s petition for one of the city’s newly offered alcohol licenses gets through the approval process, which Johnson says he is optimistic will have a positive outcome.
In the meantime, Johnson and Cawley—both natives of Ireland who spent nearly a quarter-century running the popular Blarney Stone on Dot Ave before closing up shop and selling it last August— are eager to welcome back familiar faces to their latest endeavor.
“I’m not gonna lie, it’s been a juggle,” said Johnson. “It’s almost as difficult to close a place as it is to open one.”
