Boston Eatery's Mob Mugshots Aren't Going Over Well

Locals say pics of Whitey Bulger, Stephen Flemmi at Savin Bar & Kitchen cross a line
Posted Oct 21, 2025 12:53 PM CDT
Boston Eatery's Whitey Bulger Decor Sparks an Outcry
This booking photo shows James "Whitey" Bulger on June 23, 2011.   (US Marshals Service via AP, file)

A Boston restaurant's decision to display mugshots of notorious mobsters Whitey Bulger and Stephen Flemmi has stirred up a storm in the city's Dorchester neighborhood. The photos, installed at Savin Bar & Kitchen as part of a recent renovation featured on Gordon Ramsay's reality show Secret Service, were meant, according to co-owner Kenneth Osherow, to recognize a "complex, gritty" chapter in local history, not to glorify violence or crime, per the New York Times. But for many residents, the images hit too close to home, reopening wounds from decades of trauma linked to Bulger's reign over Boston's underworld. Backlash has been swift, with residents voicing outrage at civic meetings—the Columbia-Savin Hill Civic Association calls the mugshots "offensive," per NBC Boston—and in letters to newspapers.

"There are people still living here who are the daughters and sisters of people Whitey Bulger killed," lifelong resident Donna McColgan tells the Times. "It's crass and insensitive, and it has done nothing but harm." The Dorchester Reporter notes the establishment is located in a part of Boston more frequented by locals than tourists. Some found the owners' response to the criticism—including Osherow labeling detractors as "local busybodies"—particularly dismissive.

Boston's fascination with organized crime is hardly new. Mob tours draw hundreds of visitors each year, and Bulger's legacy looms large in popular culture, inspiring films like The Departed. But the restaurant's owners say their connection to the city's darker history is personal: The site was once home to a tavern whose proprietor was killed in a mob hit linked to Bulger. The restaurant's owners say recognizing uncomfortable history is a way to measure how far the neighborhood has come. Amid the controversy, they have added a laminated note to Bulger's photo clarifying that the mugshots aren't tributes, but reminders of consequences.

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