Copyright Boston.com
The bar located at the Charles River Speedway poured its final drink Oct. 31. A popular cocktail bar at the Charles River Speedway in Brighton has permanently closed. Birds of Paradise announced on Instagram that its last day of service was Friday, Oct. 31. “FAREWELL,” the Oct. 29 post read. “We’d like to thank the Brighton community for the last couple years at the Speedway @charlesriverspeedway. To all of the staff, past and present, thank you for taking part in our journey around the world.” The travel-inspired cocktail bar opened in 2022 by Ran Duan, known for The Baldwin Bar in Woburn, Blossom Bar in Brookline, and C-Side Bar at CanalSide food hall in Cambridge. His Brookline restaurant and oyster bar, Ivory Pearl, closed in March 2024. Birds of Paradise was known for its globally-inspired cocktail menu, with drinks themed after destinations like the “Chengdu, China” made with Empirical Cilantro spirit and Ming River baijiu. In September, The Boston Globe reported on an ongoing investigation into the death of a woman at Duan’s home on New Year’s Day. No charges have been filed and Duan was “unable to comment” due to the police investigation. The Globe noted that Duan transferred oversight of Birds of Paradise to two longtime colleagues. The bar’s concept, according to director of bar operations Will Isaza, was about escapism. “It was more about taking people to a place that felt normal again, or pre-pandemic, where there were no travel restrictions,” he told Boston.com in 2022. “You could go wherever you wanted at any time.”
