Behind The Brand

Local touches appear throughout our design, paying homage to the North End and New England in clever ways...

Our bar is named for the pine tree symbol on the New England flag, as well as a variation on the bartending colloquialism “behind the wood.” The flag’s red, green, and white color scheme influenced our palette (also the colors of the Italian flag). Continuing the theme, our actual bar boasts a live-edge, pine countertop crafted by Brandon Gatti of Grain Architectural Millwork in East Boston, our draft menu is listed on a VestaBoard—a modern version of the information boards once ubiquitous in train stations all over Boston and the world, and soon a map of New England will be painted behind the bar on sliding barn doors.

The most striking feature, however, is our marquee, custom-made by Somerville’s Neon Williams. Our team designed it as a tribute to the iconic sign of The European, a bygone North End eatery that may have been New England’s first Italian restaurant when it opened around 1920. “We really want to be a tie between the macro and the micro” of New England and the North End, says owner Philip Frattaroli.