Dave’s Fresh Pasta Opening Second Location

Photo by Dave’s Fresh Pasta/Facebook

Standout Davis Square specialty market, Dave’s Fresh Pasta, will be opening a second location near Tufts University in Medford. Located at 574 Boston Avenue, in the back of Tufts’ new Collaborative Learning and Innovation Complex, general manager Christina Theophanis says the new Dave’s outpost will be a “natural extension of what we’re doing here [in Somerville], but more restaurant-like.”

For Medford residents, that means less of a neighborhood grocery store and more of a focus on Dave’s’ wide selection of prepared sandwiches, grab-and-go items, antipasti, and (new to the business) wood-fired pizzas. The 2,500 square foot spot will have seating for 60, an outdoor patio, and a bar serving beer, wine, and cocktails. Additionally, Theophanis says there will be an in-house baking program, a focal point for their morning cafe serving pastries and other “breakfast breads.”

“Tufts will be our landlord, but we’re not a part of Tufts or affiliated with the university in any way,” Theophanis says. “But they definitely wanted an amenity for the school and the neighborhood in general, because it’s a bit of a food desert up there. Specifically, Tufts asked for a coffeeshop because there are almost no breakfast options.”

When it debuts in the summer of 2016, Dave’s Fresh Pasta Medford will be open Monday through Wednesday 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Thursday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

“We wouldn’t feel comfortable in a spot like, say, Kendall Square,” Theophanis says. “That doesn’t have the same sort of community feel we’re used to. In Medford, we’re in our element. It’s close to here—just a two-minute drive. It would be difficult to do something far away because [Dave’s Fresh Pasta owner] Dave Jick and I are such hands-on people.”

574 Boston Ave., Medford; davesfreshpasta.com.