OUR STORY
A PLACE FOR OUR FAVORITE THINGS
Juliet opened in Somerville’s Union Square in 2016 with a simple idea: that a restaurant could be more than a place to eat.
A neighborhood gathering place. A home for ambitious cooking and generous hospitality. A stage for stories told through food, music, art, and imagination.
Over the years, Juliet has taken many forms. But at its heart the idea remains the same: we make something meaningful, welcome people into it, and give them a reason to return.
It Started Over Coffee and Conversation
Katrina Jazayeri and Josh Lewin spent hours dreaming up their future restaurant over coffee and lunch at the little Sherman Café in Somerville’s Union Square. When their favorite meeting place closed, they did what any reasonable pair of aspiring restaurateurs would do: they rented the place and decided it was the perfect spot to build their dream.
Of course it took a little longer than expected.
Josh had spent more than a decade working in restaurants, developing his culinary voice and questioning some of the industry’s conventions along the way. Katrina brought a background in public health and social justice, a fascination with hospitality, and an instinct for design and the details that make an experience more than what is expected.
Together, they imagined a restaurant that would pursue extraordinary food, service, and creativity without treating the people behind those experiences as an afterthought . A place where professional ambition and personal development belonged to everyone, not just the people whose named appeared on the door.
On February 29, 2016—Leap Day, naturally—Juliet was born.
Named for Katrina’s middle name (Josh’s is David, which somehow didn’t have the same right to it), Juliet began as a tiny neighborhood restaurant with a much bigger imagination.
History of Juliet
From a fourteen-seat restaurant on Leap Day to immersive dinner operas, a second restaurant, a pandemic, a new home for the original flagship, and a decade plus of extraordinary people—Juliet has never been particularly good at standing still.
We’ve collected a few of our favorite chapters along the way.
The people who made Juliet.
Katrina Jazayeri
Founder - Wine Commander/Set Designer, Keeper of the detailsKatrina’s path to hospitality began with a fascination for the restaurant experience and a background in public health and social justice. Her work brings together thoughtful service, design, wine, and a commitment to creating meaningful opportunities for the people who work in restaurants.
Her influence can be found in the smallest details of Juliet’s dining room and in the larger ideas the guide the company.
Founder - shaper, creative instigator, culinary director Josh Lewin
Josh’s culinary career began as a teenage dishwasher and has taken him through acclaimed restaurant kitchens, pop-up experiments, and original productions that bring together food, history, travel, and the performing arts.
His work at Juliet reflects a lifelong curiosity about the stories behind what we eat—and the people who make it possible.
The people who make Juliet
Katie Rosengren - Director of Operations
Andexso Duque - Executive Chef
Ferney Castrillón - Chef de Partie
Nicole Lawrence - Service Captain
Meghan Lethem - Service Captain
A Little Room for Imagination.
We never believed a restaurant had to stop at the edge of the plate.
From the beginning, JULIET has been a place for sharing a few of our favorite things: food, certainly, but also music, poetry, history, travel, theater, and the unexpected connections between them.
What began as a tiny restaurant serving a single dinner menu grew into a calendar of original productions. Whole roast fish gave way to stories of Normandy, ancient Rome, and faraway places. Menus became programs. Dining rooms became stages. Sometimes there was even an opera.
And while Juliet has changed over the years, that spirit of curiosity has never gone away.
Today, through JULIET Presents, we continue to bring together food, performance, culture, and community. Sometimes it's an elaborate dinner. Sometimes it's music, dancing, or an evening with an artist. Always, it's an invitation to experience something together.
There's always another story to tell.
THE STORY CONTINUES
Ten years later, Juliet is still here because it matters.
To the people who dreamed it up. To the people who bring it to life every day. And to the people who have made it part of their own lives.
The next chapter is already underway.
There's always room for one more.
