Three Greater-Boston restaurants close in February, longtime neighborhood employers and staff affected

Three neighborhood institutions in Greater Boston closed their doors in February, with Ciao Restaurant and Bar in Lynn confirming a Feb. 21 shutdown, Olympia Restaurant in Lowell identified as a nearly 75‑year‑old Greek gathering place, and The Dot Tavern in Dorchester listed among the month’s closures.

WhatNow’s Feb. 26 roundup named the three venues. Ciao Restaurant and Bar posted a social‑media announcement saying thank you to customers and noting the space is in the midst of changing to new ownership; WhatNow recorded Ciao’s five‑year run and listed its menu specialties as wood‑fired pizzas, house‑made pastas and craft cocktails, with the final service dated Feb. 21.

Olympia Restaurant in Lowell was described by WhatNow as a longtime Greek institution that opened in 1952 and as a "multigenerational gathering place" for the city; WhatNow’s gallery caption included a Yelp image credit for a Chicken Kebab Salad served at Olympia. The WhatNow excerpt does not provide a specific final service date for Olympia, only that it was among Greater Boston closures in February.

The Dot Tavern in Dorchester also appeared in WhatNow’s roundup; local reporting aggregated by Bostonrestaurants described the bar as a long‑running neighborhood spot near the Southeast Expressway. WhatNow and Bostonrestaurants did not include an owner statement or a precise closure date for The Dot Tavern in the supplied excerpts.

The February cluster sits alongside other recent exits across the region. Boston Eater reported that Brownstone in the South End closed after 15 years, sharing the venue’s social line "The old girl is tired" and listing the address as 111 Dartmouth Street. Boston Eater also noted Crudo in the North End had closed (78 Salem Street) and that Davio’s in Braintree was removed from the chain’s site (250 Granite Street). Boston Chops’ South End and Downtown Crossing locations were listed as closed after CEO Brian Piccini announced a sale in October 2025; an Instagram post on Jan. 1, 2026 thanked the community and confirmed new ownership for those spaces at 1375 Washington Street and 52 Temple Place.

Smaller local trackers flagged additional shifts: Bostonrestaurants reported Not Your Average Joe’s in Norwell with a last day reportedly Feb. 21 and a Framingham Baking Co. closure after more than a century. Hungryonion’s roundups sketched future openings around Greater Boston — including Swingers in Back Bay on Feb. 27 and other 2026 arrivals — while also noting larger departures such as Time Out Market’s Jan. 23 closing (date listed without a year in that roundup) and the end of The Dugout after a 92‑year run.

WhatNow summed up the pattern bluntly: "These closures mark the end of longstanding chapters for their respective communities." For now, Ciao’s announced transition to new ownership is the only explicit change-of‑hands detail among the three named February closures; Olympia, The Dot Tavern and the array of other shuttered venues leave unanswered questions about employees, leases and who will replace these neighborhood employers. The mix of confirmed sales, social‑media thank‑yous and terse closure notices underscores the continued churn in Boston’s food and beverage landscape as openings and exits proceed simultaneously.