EAST NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — An East Nashville restaurant hit hard by the March 2020 tornado has finally reopened nearly a year later.
Boston Commons has been around for years. But the restaurant on Woodland Street was closed for most of 2020 after it was hit by the tornado.
That morning started with a phone call.
"A manager was telling me that, 'Matt, this is bad," owner Matt Charette explained. "You know, one of your buildings is completely destroyed. We've got broken glass everywhere. We've got people hurt."
Charette said the entire front of Boston Commons was destroyed in the storm. As he was driving to check the damage, all he could think about was his staff and customers.
"My first thought was, I need to see everybody first," he said. "I need to make sure everybody is okay."
He's thankful no one was seriously hurt. But, he was left with the task of reopening Boston Commons.
Now, nearly a year later, it's coming back even stronger.
Boston Commons, a seafood restaurant in #EastNashville, was hit hard in the tornadoes of March 2020. Now a year later, their doors are back open.
— Mo Haider (@mhaider_NC5) March 3, 2021
I spoke to the owner about what led up to the re-opening. Hear from him on @NC5 pic.twitter.com/OHLJGJyVvg
"Some of this has given us the opportunity to improve our model," Charette said. "Just learning the lessons and being able to make whatever changes and upgrades we've been able to make."
Charette said he's happy to be back together with employees that he calls family.
"It's the restaurant business," he said. "It's a lot of really great people, who have great personalities and are just fun to be with."
Charette also owns another restaurant and a bar just behind Boston Commons. They were also damaged from the tornado. There's no timeline of when those will reopen.
Boston Commons is open from Wednesday through Sunday for dinner, by reservation.
