Here’s what’s next for the Thirsty Scholar Pub space in Somerville

Food News

The team behind High Street Place’s cocktail bar Daiquiris & Daisies said they purchased the Thirsty Scholar Pub and have plans to open a restaurant and bar.

It turns out the Thirsty Scholar Pub will not reopen as is, and instead a new concept is coming to the Somerville spot from the team behind Daiquiris & Daisies at the High Street Place food hall downtown.

Daren Swisher, co-owner of the food hall’s cocktail bar, told Boston.com that he and business partner Joe Cammarata purchased the Somerville pub and have plans to turn it into Tall Order. They plan to open the new spot in late 2024.

“It’s the style of place we were looking to take over: an already existing space, and in an area that we were excited about,” Swisher said.

It would be the duo’s first stand-alone concept, following their success at Daiquiris and Daisies and working together as co-managers at Hojoko prior to joining High Street Place.

Swisher and Cammarata are still in the early stages of conceptualizing the menu and feel of the space, but he described it as a neighborhood bar and restaurant, a place that will hopefully earn regulars, and will be approachable in its offerings and price point.

“I remember hanging out [at Thirsty Scholar] and really enjoying myself — the casual vibe they had,” Swisher said. We definitely want this … to be a place that people feel comfortable coming as often as they want to go out.”

In its offerings, Tall Order will be different from Daiquiris & Daisies in that it will serve food, which Swisher described as modern American. They also hope to keep the late hours Thirsty Scholar had — open until 1 a.m. every day — and serve food late to fill a gap in Greater Boston’s late-night offerings.

The duo will of course have a cocktail menu made up of contemporary drinks and the classics, but Tall Order will also serve craft beer and have a “value-driven” wine list.

The confirmation of the duo’s purchase of the Thirsty Scholar comes just days after news broke that the Somerville pub, which opened in the 1990s and was featured in The Social Network, had quietly closed and was sold by The Corbett Restaurant Group.�

The tavern had shuttered again as recently as 2021, until it was purchased by Greater Boston Bar Co., a group that has purchased other dive bars around town. The Thirsty Scholar reopened in 2022 before its final closure last week.