Palmer Matthews and Devin Adams have a successful restaurant in Quincy called The Townshend. Palmer is a Quincy native. Devin and his family live on the South Shore. They are immersed in the culture of the neighborhood and the clientele.

Before starting The Townshend they had both worked, among other notable venues, at Drink, a space that C&J Katz Studio designed. A location around the corner on Hancock Street in Quincy became available and they decided to try their hand at running a tequila and rum bar with Latin-inspired food.

The space had been built out two years earlier, and while the aesthetics were all wrong, the basic layout was more or less correct. As we reviewed the food and drinks menus, and looked at precedents, it became clear that pirates, skull & crossbones, and iron barrel staves—which might have been the obvious direction for the concept—fortunately were not. Palmer and Devin chose another aesthetic entirely: think warm weather, a veranda in the Caribbean, natural wood, and clear colors like the sea. They skipped over a sinister aesthetic in favor or a light, comfortable, joyful space.

Palmer and Devin’s friend Savvas Spyridopoulos, who had built The Townshend and had just completed his MFA at RISD, built this space. He brought an unparalleled sense of craft to ordinary elements like breeze blocks, jalousie windows, walls made of simple wood closure strips, Tectum ceilings, and porcelain lampholders with Edison bulbs.

While opening during a pandemic could have spelled disaster, as restaurants all over the Boston area were failing, they persisted. Pearl & Lime has been a success since it opened. Stay tuned for the next version.