Common Ground Owner Bob O'Guin Jr. Passes Away

ARLINGTON, MA — Bob D. O'Guin Jr., owner of The Common Ground Bar & Grill in Arlington and Allston, passed away April 14 at the age of 50.

According to his obituary, O'Guin "paired his entrepreneurial passion with the food industry and established himself as a successful and well-respected restaurant owner."

A service to celebrate O'Guin's life was held Monday, April 22 in Newton, followed by a funeral mass.

Read his full obituary below, courtesy of Burke Family Funeral Homes.

Bob D. O’Guin, Jr, 50, passed away unexpectedly April 14, 2019 in Newton MA.

He will be greatly missed by his family and friends, especially his wife of twenty years Laurie and his children Bobbi, Ben, and Brendan. Son of Bob O’Guin and Bernadette O’Guin (deceased); Sibling of Mark Branch, Venita Fortune, Jude Branch and his wife Laura, and Donna Ladd. Also survived by nieces and nephews and his friends Jerry Quinn, John McClure and Keith Briand.

Bob was born on July 21, 1968 in Dallas, Texas, attended high school at Northern Burlington County Regional High School (Columbus, NJ- 1987) and graduated from Bentley University with a degree in International Business and Marketing (Waltham, MA- 1991).

He quickly paired his entrepreneurial passion with the food industry and established himself as a successful and well-respected restaurant owner. The success of The Common Ground Bar & Grill in both Allston and Arlington is the result of Bob’s vision and hard work. Visits to the pubs are enjoyed for the relaxing Irish ambience, fun entertainment, comfort foods, and Bob’s ongoing hospitality. Bob treated his staff like family, and one his favorite parts of the business was working alongside his son Ben, who plans to follow in his dad's footsteps.

Bob’s greatest joy was being a father to his three children. He often told stories of all his wonderful family memories including camping trips and time spent at Squam Lake in New Hampshire. The whole family enjoyed road trips and had their own version of carpool karaoke, belting out “In the Jail House Now”. Bob was particularly proud of Bobbi’s soccer accomplishments, Ben’s academic success, and Brendan’s future football career. Most of all he was happy to watch all of them working hard and enjoying life.

Always the first person to reach out on holidays with a cheerful text or tell a joke, Bob will be missed by his friends who very much treasured his friendship.

Family and friends will celebrate Bob’s life on April 22 at Our Lady Help of Christians Parish, 573 Washington Street, Newton. An hour of visitation will be held from 11-12, followed by a Funeral Mass at noon. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the O’Guin Education Fund (made payable to Laurie O’Guin, c/o Rockland Trust 40 Austin Street, Newtonville, MA 02460) or to https://www.gofundme.com/fundr...