WALTHAM, MA - Shawmut Design and Construction today announced the completion of Moody’s The Backroom located at 468 Moody Street in Waltham, Massachusetts. Scheduled to open on April 8 the high-end restaurant underwent a 2,200 square-foot interior fit-out to accommodate a new wine bar and fully operational charcuterie.

Shawmut’s scope of work on the 50-seat wine bar included the installation of a limestone feature wall, 200 hundred-year-old wooden beams the team found and salvaged, hand-blown custom light fixtures from California, and sliding steel-plated butcher bathroom doors. To help create the French aesthetic of the restaurant, Shawmut worked with Le Panyol to install and build the centerpiece: a wood-fired brick oven. The team built the oven on-site, brick by brick, and covered it with a ceramic clay dome with a copper finish overlay. To enhance the authenticity of the space, the bricks were sourced for the oven from a vineyard in the Rhone Valley of southern France and the limestone for the 30-by-14-foot feature wall from a French abbey.

The team outfitted the bar with an island that holds an Enomatic wine dispensing system and two custom butcher block charcuterie machines, as well as installed individual USB charging stations underneath each bar stool. To accommodate the extra weight from the concrete bar top and custom-made 440 bottle metal wine rack, Shawmut installed additional structural support on the roof and basement levels.

“Collaborating with Chef Joshua Smith to add to the popular dining scene on Moody Street has been a highlight of 2015,” said Randy Shelly, vice president of Shawmut. “The team’s hard work and creativity allowed us to execute the challenging and extensive structural work that was needed to ensure the Chef’s vision came to life.”

The team worked with designer MGa, architect Prellwitz/Chilinski Associates, Inc. and Le Panyol to turn the space adjacent to Moody’s Delicatessen and Provisions into the sophisticated wine bar that the Chef envisioned.