Joe’s American Bar & Grill on Newbury Street in Boston’s Back Bay reopened on Tuesday for lunch and dinner, after closing in response to the explosions that occurred near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday.

Owned by Tavistock Restaurant group, Joe’s American Bar & Grill also provided food on Tuesday to the firefighters and police officers who continued to investigate the attacks. "We fed about a hundred first responders at lunch and around another hundred at dinner," says Tavistock spokeswoman Sara Barker. 

Two of Tavistock’s other restaurant concepts, Abe & Louie’s and Atlantic Fish Co., both located on Boylston Street, remained closed Tuesday. One of the explosions occurred approximately two doors east of Atlantic Fish Co. on Boylston Street.

Barker told FSR they did not know exactly how many people were in the restaurants at the time of the explosions, but on a typical spring day they serve about 1,600 guests at the three Back Bay locations and on any given shift the restaurants have 40 to 60 people working. "We are so thankful that none of our employees or guests were harmed," she says. 

Business was softer than normal at Joe's Bar & Grill on Tuesday, probably because so many people had vacated the area.  However, Barker says Tavistock restaurants in the outer areas of Boston experienced a "slight uptick on Monday," which she attributed to concerned diners seeking a sense of community.

Providing that sense of community is important for restaurant employees as well as diners. “We are glad to be able to open Joe’s today for the community,” says Tom O’Brien, local resident and 20-year Back Bay Restaurant Group veteran for Joe's American Bar & Grill.  “It’s important for us to be here for each other and our guests, especially in times like these.”