Dryft Revere plans to open second location in mid-July in Wellesley's Linden Square

Tom Benoit, The MetroWest Daily News
·3 min read

WELLESLEY — Miami meets Boston.

That's how Michael Aldi, a Boston-area restaurateur, describes his restaurant, Dryft Revere. And he's getting ready to expand Dryft to Wellesley, after his waterfront restaurant made a splash in Revere.

Aldi operates two other Revere restaurants, Fine Line and Vivi's Tapas Bar.

"It's industrial contemporary," Aldi said of Dryft. "There's a lot of lighting, there's a lot of texture, we use a lot of tile metal in our build-ups."

The Wellesley location will be in Linden Square, and while it will be similar to Revere, Aldi said look for features unique to Wellesley to be added.

Mike Aldi is owner of Dryft Wellesley, which will open later this month at 165 Linden St. in Wellesley, July 2, 2024.
Mike Aldi is owner of Dryft Wellesley, which will open later this month at 165 Linden St. in Wellesley, July 2, 2024.

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"We're trying to elevate it a little bit," he said. "It all depends too on what sells and what doesn't, the cocktail menu will tell us a lot in the first month."

Currently, Dryft's menu offers Italian food and seafood. The Revere location has a patio menu featuring raw oysters and shellfish, as well as brunch and specialty drinks.

Faroe Island salmon, which includes shrimp fried rice, baby bok choy and sesame vinaigrette, is among the dishes that will be on the menu at Dryft Wellesley, which opens later this month, July 2, 2024.
Faroe Island salmon, which includes shrimp fried rice, baby bok choy and sesame vinaigrette, is among the dishes that will be on the menu at Dryft Wellesley, which opens later this month, July 2, 2024.

Aldi thinks Dryft has something for everyone.

"We thought it'd be a great idea to bring something else down there and our type of menu is really eclectic," he said. "So it attracts all types of people and it's approachable for almost everybody."

Dryft will join a burgeoning restaurant scene in Wellesley

Dryft Revere opened in 2019. Aldi said Wellesley was chosen for its second new location due to some similarities to Revere. Both municipalities (Revere is a city) are near Boston, and each has a growing restaurant presence.

"We're definitely intrigued by the area," Aldi said of Wellesley. "We just noticed a lack of full-service restaurants in the area, and we saw it to be a great idea to bring something new and interesting to Linden Square."

Octopus and asparagus on the grill at Dryft Wellesley, a new restaurant opening later this month at 165 Linden St. in Wellesley, July 2, 2024. Dryft Wellesley will be modeled after one of its owner's other restaurants in Revere.
Octopus and asparagus on the grill at Dryft Wellesley, a new restaurant opening later this month at 165 Linden St. in Wellesley, July 2, 2024. Dryft Wellesley will be modeled after one of its owner's other restaurants in Revere.

Linden Square — which sits adjacent to the Wellesley Square Commuter Rail stop — is already home to numerous retail and restaurant spaces, including The Cottage, Oath Pizza and Playa Bowls.

Kate Barrett, marketing director for Aldi Companies, echoed this, saying: "We've seen a lot of information post-COVID that there were a lot of opportunities that opened the restaurants."

Both Aldi and Barrett have friends and family in MetroWest. Barrett, who grew up in Wayland, said that when Dryft opened in 2019, they knew they were getting into a growing restaurant market.

Dryft Wellesley will open later this month at 165 Linden St., July 2, 2024.
Dryft Wellesley will open later this month at 165 Linden St., July 2, 2024.

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"We knew that we were ingratiating ourselves into a community that had a mainstay, but also that was emerging, and I think we’re going to see that with Wellesley," Barrett said. "You have a lot of young families, you have a lot of restaurants coming in and there’s just a good market for it."

Restaurants like Black and Blue Steak and Crab and Karma each plan Wellesley openings, putting the town on the map for a new Dryft location.

"There was a lot of new and fun things happening, so we thought it would be great to be part of it," Aldi said.

Aldi said that if Dryft does well in MetroWest, he'd like to expand further.

Aldi's team plans for a soft opening in mid-July at 165 Linden St.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Dryft Revere owner says Wellesley restaurant will open in mid-July

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