New Lynn burger spot putting on the fixings

LYNN Richard F. Sullivan is ready to set Lynn on fire with his new burger restaurant scheduled to open in less than a month, and to prove his point he made sure R.F. OSullivans includes a fireplace encased in a window where Sutton Street meets Central Avenue.

Ive always loved two-sided fireplaces, so I put one in here, he said.

Sullivan, a Swampscott resident, has pegged the end of this month or early March as the opening date for his new restaurant. With its marine mahogany exterior walls varnished to a golden-red glow and the restaurants interior almost finished, Sullivan is looking forward to becoming the citys latest culinary addition.

Its a great location. I hear people say Lynn is moving, and I have the same feeling about the city, he said.

With a capacity of 88 customers, R.F. OSullivans will offer 30 to 40 different types of burgers, as well as custom-made burgers, with the menu taking a cue from Sullivans Somerville eatery R.F. OSullivan and Son. He also plans to feature 50 to 60 craft beers.

Sullivans Somerville restaurant was formerly called O. Henrys. Sullivan started working there as a bartender in 1975, building on the restaurant skills he learned growing up on Long Island in New York. He bought the O. Henry property in 1991 at a time when people were telling him that a business investment in now-popular Somerville was crazy.

I made the best burger. I made sure the meat was fresh and that quality and consistency were key, he said.

The same hunch that led him to invest in Somerville prompted Sullivan last year to offer Lynn city officials a bid to revitalize 143 Central Ave., the site of a former bar that became city property in a 2013 tax taking.

It was an intense process they went through my whole history, Sullivan said.

He paid $150,000 for the building and began renovation work last year with Nahant-based JP Construction undertaking the exterior wood paneling and interior work that included a marble slab floor and custom-built bar and booth tables.

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New Lynn burger spot putting on the fixings