The Dot Tavern, a popular gathering spot for young adults since re-opening under new
ownership in 2023 after a seven-year hiatus, turned off its taps and locked its doors for the last
time on Wednesday night (Feb. 18) as the building’s owner prepares to sell the three-story
property at 840 Dorchester Ave.
The bar’s manager and part-owner, Maeghan Driscoll, announced the sudden closure via an
Instagram post last Friday. Driscoll, who has been the youthful face of the tavern in recent years,
called it a “difficult decision” but “the right one for the long-term success of the Dot and me
personally.”
On Wednesday, the final night included a 7 p.m. toast that drew a packed house of mainly 20-
something regulars and a line out the door.
Inside, the building owner, Doug George, told The Reporter it was time for a change.
“It’s time to turn it over,” he said. “I’m selling the building, the business. I’m not in the hospitality business; I’m in the real estate business. Meaghan’s done a wonderful job; she’s run the place, and she’s done a lot. A real community was created [here].”
As patrons sipped on mixed drinks like the Happy Jack and Bittersweet Blues, as well as cold beers and spiked seltzer, George said he hoped the bar might re-open with a new owner.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen. I hope it becomes very much the same,” said George. “It’s turnkey; someone could come in and operate and open tomorrow. Someone else might decide they want to come in and do something a little different. We’ll see what happens in the next six to eight weeks.”
From left: Hailey Toolin, Regan Paterson, and Emma Lewandowski. Cassidy McNeeley photo
Among the crowd were roommates Regan Paterson, Emma Lewandowski, and Hailey Toolin, who moved from Franklin to Dorchester three years ago and quickly made the Dot their spot. “We moved in when they were opening up, and now we are here when they are closing,” said 24-year-old Paterson, who would like to see the bar reo-pen as soon as possible.
“I don’t want anything to change,” added Lewandowski, who celebrated her 24th birthday at the bar last year. Along with Toolin, the girls sipped on wine and reminisced about the fun times they’ve had thanks to the bar, including weekday outings for Wednesday night trivia and a Friendsgiving crashed by a Dot Tavern bouncer.
Nearby, James Trentos took over a booth with a group of about ten “heartbroken” friends, some of whom went as far as to call out of work for the last night on Dot Ave.
“We live a block away. This is like our living room,” Trentos told the Reporter. “We come here all the time. We come here to watch football, to relax when the house is stressful, or whatever. Honest to God, it’s like our living room.”
The 25-year-old said that the Dot Tavern is the first place he’s become a “regular,” happy to drink whatever the bar is serving up for $3 that night.
James Trentos (far right) and his friends considered The Dot Tavern “their living room.” Cassidy McNeeley photo
Other customers, like Mike Folan, said they’ve been coming to the bar for decades. Folan told the Reporter that the Dot was the first “pub” he went to after moving to the US from Spiddal, County Galway. He even did some work at the bar, joking that the walls he painted look bad when you first walk in, but get better with each drink.
Jake Colson said he first came to the bar for the cheap drinks and pizza, but stayed for the people.
“Best staff in Boston,” Colson, 27, proudly proclaimed. His friend Brennan Reed quickly agreed, adding that the joint was a great place for residents to meet up and hang out, whether that be after a long day of work or on the weekend.
Billy Drummond, 27, put his feelings about the closing simply: “Devastated,” referring to the bar as his “home away from home” for the last few years.
The staff seems to feel much of the same. Bartender Imaan Ali, 21, started working at the Dot when she was just 18. Having spent the past few years growing up behind the bar, Ali said that the people standing beside her and sitting on stools in front of her have become her family.
“I love everyone here,” the UMass student said in an interview with the Reporter. “Everyone. My customers. I love my customers so much.”
At 8 p.m., Brandon Wahlberg, nephew of Dorchester-born actor Mark Wahlberg, started up the last trivia game.
“The past couple of years, I’ve hosted trivia here, but that actually started from sitting here with a friend of mine. Meg said, ‘You’re funny, do you want to do trivia here?’ The rest is history,” Wahlberg said with a smile.
Michela Gardner and Brandon Wahlberg. Cassidy McNeeley photo
He continued, “I hope they reopen. It’s a neighborhood bar feel, not many places around here still have that.”
After the first round of questions, Wahlberg passed the mic to Driscoll who wore a jacket with Rosie the Riveter and “We can do it!” on the back. The bar quickly went quiet.
“I wasn’t sure how to start this because summing up three years of your life into a few minutes is definitely not easy to do. Especially when it was not an ordinary three years at all,” Driscoll said, standing behind the DJ booth. “This place changed me, made me stronger, made me more compassionate for people, and it brought out a younger side of me, a much less jaded version of myself that I didn’t realize was in there.”
She added that working in the industry, “You meet every kind of person, every walk of life, every kind of personality, and you realize that underneath it all, people really just want connection. They want someone to remember their name, care about how their day was, and to put it simply, they want you to remember the details.”
With the crowd that showed up last night and the support displayed online, it’s clear that Driscoll didn’t just remember the details; she cared about them too.
Today, she will bring that same attitude to Fenway, where she is beginning a new journey at Loretta’s Last Call. “I’ll be starting there bartending and then hopefully will ease myself into their marketing team,” said Driscoll.
In the meantime, she said she hopes to help George find a buyer or investor for the Dot.
“I would like to keep it the same, but give it the love and renovations it deserves,” she said. “Dot Tavern deserves some TLC.”
Maeghan Driscoll outside the Dot Tavern on Wed., Feb. 18, 2026. Cassidy McNeeley photos
