Waving Goodbye, With Jazz Hands

From Dave Brigham:

I only went to Ryles Jazz Club once, because jazz isn't really my thing. But I liked the fact that the joint, located in Inman Square in Cambridge, Mass., was there. I suppose it's attitudes like mine that, in part, resulted in the venerable nightclub and restaurant closing its doors in the summer of 2018.

Opened in 1977 by Jack Reilly, who had run the rock club Jacks in Harvard Square, Ryles hosted jazz legends such as Pat Metheny, as well as students from Boston's Berklee College of Music and everyone in between. In 1994, Reilly sold the club to the Mitchell family that has owned and operated the S&S Deli across the street for 100 years. I enjoyed many a meal at the S&S back in the '90s. I saw former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich there once. Exciting, eh?

The Mitchell family decided to close the club after nearly a quarter century of ownership in order to focus on the S&S, according to this Eater Boston article. "The Ryles building was put up for sale with a deed restriction 'that prohibits the new owner from opening a restaurant, bar, gourmet food store or music venue,'" per the Eater article. The Mitchell family may sell the Ryles name, so it's conceivable that another club using that moniker could open one day.

Reilly died three years ago at age 98.

So what's become of the building since I took these pictures a while back?

The property, which was built in 1862, is undergoing renovations to add eight residential units within two new floors above the commercial space, per this Bldup web page.

Keep your eyes peeled for a more comprehensive post about this area of Cambridge, known as Inman Square, in the near future.