The Old Scobie's Space in Adams Village Is Being Built Around One Microphone

"It's basically what the Burren does in Somerville," Frank Delaney told the Boston Licensing Board on September 24. "Where there could be one to five, ten musicians, but one general microphone in the middle to pick up."

That day the board approved Delaney and Teresa Murphy's plan to turn 782 Adams St. into Session House, with a 1 a.m. closing time. The single microphone is the most important detail in the plan. A room designed for one mic in the middle is a room built for a circle of players, not for a band facing a crowd. It tells you what kind of place is about to fill a storefront that has sat dark since February.

What one microphone actually means

In Irish music, a seisiún is an informal gathering of musicians playing together. The owners picked the name on purpose. "Session" refers to that tradition, and "House" is meant to suggest a welcoming neighborhood home.

Delaney was direct about what the room won't be. "It's very civilized," he said at the hearing. "We're not talking about DJs and big bands, etc, etc." Murphy described the audience she has in mind: "We're really interested in having like a family-friendly restaurant that you can bring kids to see, you know, live music." The plan calls for traditional Irish music along with some contemporary acts.

The detail that matters most for a neighbor is where the musicians come from. The Licensing Board's approval describes Irish seisiún music "much of it by local musicians." Delaney put a question to board Chairwoman Kathleen Joyce, who lives nearby: "I'm sure living in the area you're aware of how many musicians, Irish musicians live in this area, and how many musicians have reached out to us looking to play here?" So the pitch is not that Session House will bring music to Adams Village. The players are already here and already asking for a place to play. Session House is planning to be that place.

The rest of the concept supports the same idea. The owners call it "SOUL CEÓL," Irish for "soul music," and frame it around the link between Irish music and the communities that keep it alive. Artist Vincent Crotty is helping redesign the interior. Plans call for rich dark tones, warm gold accents and traditional musical imagery, aiming for a room that feels "less like a brand-new restaurant and more like a well-established gathering space." The kitchen will serve elevated pub fare drawing on Irish and New England traditions. The bar will pour whiskey, cocktails, wine and a seasonal beer list.

Why the storefront went quiet

782 Adams St. has hosted an Irish pub before, and recently. Scobie's Cafe & Bar, a family-run pub owned by Anne and John Lydon, opened there in September 2024. In January 2026 the Lydons announced a temporary closure starting February 2 for renovations, planning to reopen in the spring. That reopening never happened. The Dorchester Reporter noted the space stayed closed with little activity until Esteemed Hospitality put up signs looking for staff.

Session House is being run by Esteemed Hospitality, LLC. Murphy is the managing partner, and the venture is led by local restaurateur Frank Delaney, whose other restaurants include Broadside Tavern and The Merchant Kitchen & Drinks. Delaney has deep roots on this street. "I know I'm from Ireland, but I say I grew up in this area because my first apartment was on Adams Street," he told the board.

So the same address is hosting a second Irish pub concept in about two years. The first one built itself as a family-run café and bar. The second is building itself around the music.

What still has to happen before the first tune

The September 24 vote cleared one hurdle, not all of them. Here is where things stand as of early October:

1. Licensing Board plans and hours: approved by the Boston Licensing Board on September 24, with a 1 a.m. closing.
2. Entertainment license: still needed. The music requires separate approval from the city's entertainment licensing division, which Kathleen Joyce also chairs. We found no reported decision yet.
3. Build-out: in late August, Murphy said light renovations were underway.
4. Opening date: not announced. In August the target was "early fall," then "early to mid-fall 2026."

Since the music is the whole idea, the entertainment license is the step to watch. A Session House without that license would just be a pub.

The session already has a monthly home on Gallivan Boulevard

If you want to hear the kind of music Session House is planning before its doors open, there's already a regular option nearby. The Irish Pastoral Centre at 540 Gallivan Blvd. holds a traditional Irish music session on the third Sunday of every month. The next one is Sunday, October 18, from 2 to 4 p.m. Musicians, singers, dancers and listeners are all welcome.

That's an afternoon, once a month, open to anyone with an instrument or just a seat. Session House plans to bring the same communal format into a pub that's open until 1 a.m., on a stretch of Adams Street where people already go for a pint. If Delaney is right about how many local players have reached out, the music will be the same as on Gallivan Boulevard. What changes is how often there's somewhere to play it.

Elsewhere around the corner, McGonagle's at 367 Neponset Ave. advertises live music every weekend, including bands from Ireland and local musicians. The Eire Pub is just down Adams Street at 795. Things are shifting near McGonagle's too. On September 22 the Zoning Board of Appeal approved Paul Adamson's plan to replace the parking lot at 372 Neponset Ave., which has served McGonagle's, with a four-story building of ten two-bedroom apartments and 13 parking spaces.

Your October, while the license is pending

Fall Fest is next Saturday, and it will give Adams Street a few hours of live music at the corner of Adams and Minot before Session House adds any of its own. Everything Adams Village posts updates on its Instagram.

Espresso East is run by Najma and Naima Mohamed. They moved their mobile café from Quincy to the back of CrossFit 617 near the Neponset Greenway this spring after their temporary Quincy permit wasn't renewed. The Reporter said in April that hours would be posted on the café's Instagram, and a September spotlight also sends customers there for updates, so check it before you go.

For Session House, the next real news is the city's entertainment license decision. After that, the owners will announce an opening date.

At Joyce Lebedew, we keep track of the corners that are changing, from the reopened storefronts on Adams Street to the empty lots on Neponset Avenue. If you live near Adams Village and want to know how places like Session House fit into your plans for your home, book a consultation and we'll talk it through.