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His newest location is inside Lovestruck Books in Harvard Square, not far from his original 1970s cafe.

By Kara Baskin Globe Correspondent,Updated February 11, 2025, 6:00 a.m.

Before there were coffee chains on every corner, there was Acton’s George Howell. The 80-year-old coffee legend founded Coffee Connection in the 1970s, opening his first café in Harvard Square in 1975 instead of completing his degree at Yale.

His lightly roasted coffees drew a following; in 1994, Starbucks bought the company. Today, Howell runs eponymous cafes with beans sourced from around the world at the Boston Public Market, on the ground floor of Downtown Crossing’s Godfrey Hotel, in Newtonville, and now at the new Lovestruck Books in his original neighborhood: Harvard Square.

Howell continues to roast the coffee a few miles from his home in Acton, and his daughter Jenny — one of six kids — helps to run the business. He paused to chat while overlooking the Pacific Ocean from a balcony in Oaxaca, Mexico, while on vacation.

Why coffee?

I’m writing a book about that very question. I got started in coffee kind of sideways, really. I started drinking coffee seriously when I was in the San Francisco area in the ‘60s and ‘70s.

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That was sort of a renaissance in California culture, really. All kinds of specialty food shops were opening up. It was a farmers’ market kind of world, more than anything you’d see on the East Coast. Specialty coffee started in the Berkeley and San Francisco area in the late ‘60s, with the birth of Peet’s Coffee.

I found that coffee was on the bitter side for me. I don’t love dark roasts. I got a French press and started brewing coffee from a cafe that was selling lighter roasted coffee, and that became my way of life every morning.

What drew you to California? What a time to be there.

I had a small trust that was making life a little bit easier — not very big, but just enough. I was working in an art gallery, exhibiting the Huichol art that you can still see at our cafes in Boston and in Newtonville. In 1974, I moved East, thinking I’d resume my studies at Yale. I arrived in Boston, visiting a friend, and discovered that the coffee was dreadful, to put it mildly.

What did it taste like?

Wooden pellets painted dark brown to look like beans. It was like drinking sawdust. I realized that there was real possibility in opening up a cafe much like we had already experienced in the San Francisco area, and also possibly exhibit the art that I was so interested in.

So did you return to Yale?

Nope. I stayed here. My wife came up with the name “Coffee Connection,” based on the popularity of a movie back then called “The French Connection.”

We opened up in Harvard Square, and we roasted coffee in Burlington. Twice a week, we’d roast and then drive the coffee into the Harvard Square cafe.

What distinguishes your coffee from others?

That was exactly the question I asked myself when we opened: How do we distinguish it, and how do we make it clear to people that we actually roast our coffee right in Burlington? That’s where I came up with an innovation, [putting] the roast date on every bag. Every barrel of coffee had the roast date on it, and then we wrote the date on the bag itself. That made it clear to people that we were the ones roasting it, and I also made people very aware of freshness as being a key ingredient in the coffee. That was number one. There was not a place in the country, and perhaps not even in the world, that did this for decades to come.

We also made French press on the spot for people. That way, if I had 15 coffees available, you could taste any one of the coffees right away. It really excited people. Within three to four months of our opening in April 1975, we became a media darling.

How so?

Oh god, what’s his name? Chuck Kraemer. He was on the 6 o’clock news. He did “a portrait of a coffee connoisseur,” which lasted from 10 to 15 minutes. It was an interview with me, first at the Coffee Connection in Harvard Square, and then at a Dunkin’ Donuts on Boylston Street, as I recall.

Dunkin’ Donuts! Aren’t they the enemy?

I wondered the same thing when he interviewed me, and here I was drinking a cup of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee! He asked me: What did I think of the coffee? And I’m thinking to myself, “Well, I’d better be nice.” I said, “Pretty good.” And then the next shot that I see, when I’m watching the actual video, is me walking out the door and throwing the cup, with coffee spilling into the garbage can.

The media always has the last word. What was Harvard Square like back then?

It was fantastic. The Garage, where we were, had Baby Watson’s selling cheesecake and all kinds of pastries. And it was the early days of Formaggio [Kitchen] in another corner. The Garage was full of other types of places; Newbury Comics, I think, was there from day one. You had lots of small shops everywhere.

And now you’ve come full circle at Lovestruck. What brought you back?

[Owner] Rachel Kanter approached us, and the idea of opening up a cafe within her bookstore really appealed to us. We worked with her to really create a spot that worked well with her concept: We will make it educational. We can actually treat people to various tastings at different times in coordination with the bookstore.

Why do bookstores and coffee go together so well?

Well, what a history. Coffee becomes really important in Europe in the 18th century, the Age of Reason, wasn’t it? It’s very connected to literature, literacy, gatherings of literary groups and such. It has that history from day one. This is where Jean-Paul Sartre, the philosopher, would sit and write his books. [Cafes] have always been associated with intellectual pursuit is really the answer, I think.

Since you’re now in a bookstore, this is only fitting: Favorite author?

In more recent times, probably Gabriel [García] Márquez.

Are we oversaturated with too many coffee places?

You know, from a point of view of competitors, we always feel pressure, to be honest. It’s a matter of trying to separate ourselves within the Godfrey, which is our key location in Boston. We have a tall table. We invite people to come in pretty much every day, certain hours, and taste coffees with us. We do tastings for them black. We even have times where we offer people to bring in their own coffees, and we’ll brew that alongside ours, and taste them blind.

What’s the verdict?

I wouldn’t be doing it if we didn’t win most times.

There’s a new study that says people who drink coffee in the morning have something like a 31 percent reduced risk of cardiovascular problems.

I love that, but I stay as far away from health claims as I can, because that’s not the business I’m in. I’m in the business of high-quality, flavor, taste, and complexities in coffee. Coffee drip, that’s like wine. Coffee espresso, that’s like a cognac or a whiskey. You take it in really small doses, and it’s way more powerful.

Where do you like to eat when you’re not working?

At my age, I don’t go into Boston that often. But closer to home is 80 Thoreau in Concord; that’s a place I really like to go. And Giulia in Cambridge — [owner Michael Pagliarini], he actually appreciates coffee. Most restaurants simply cannot afford a barista. They get run of the mill coffee, and that’s that.

You’ve been here a long time. Are there restaurants that you really miss?

I used to love going to L’Espalier, especially when they were off Newbury Street. And I used to go to [Jody Adams’s] restaurant in the Charles Hotel, Rialto. But, as I say, most of the time I spend at home at this point.

What’s your favorite food?

Oh, boy, just about everything. I really span the spectrum, everything from oysters to French food to Italian, you name it. It’s more the exploration. I’m here in Mexico right now, and I just had breakfast with mole sauce and two fried eggs. Oh, my God. And, of course, plantains. Just delicious. I’m exploring the food.

Oh, and this is a major thing of mine: I really don’t like tortillas that use wheat and such. It needs to be a corn tortilla, one. Two, the Mexican tortillas are very flat. If you go to Guatemala or El Salvador, they’re thicker. They’re handmade. There’s texture and flavor that’s mind-bogglingly good. I would love to serve them in one of our cafes sometime.

Let’s talk about coffee faux pas. Shots of hazelnut. Foams. What annoys you?

Flavored coffee was big in the ‘80s. That was like 30 percent of many cafes’ sales. We refused to do that. We never did that. There’s a new type of flavored coffee happening now, where farms, especially larger ones, are doing all these crazy combinations. They’re cooking the coffee, fermenting it in different ways. Now you have infused coffees that are starting to happen … mixed with pineapple or some other fruit to add exotic flavors.

That’s just awful to my mind and does no service for farmers who really try to make a high-quality beverage. Outside of that, the big mistake for consumers is they should not buy ground coffee. They really would improve their coffee a heck of a lot by getting a grinder. And I really wouldn’t recommend a blade-type grinder that rolls around, but a genuine grinder. It will cost typically over 100 bucks, but it’s a one-time purchase. In the long run, it’s really worth it. Grind the coffee pretty much on the spot and brewing it.

Once you’ve opened the bag of coffee, which has a one-way valve and is sealed, you’ve opened it up to oxygen. Seal the bag and freeze it. This stops the oxidation process in its tracks, which is what stales coffee and makes it lose a lot of its nuance. The first sip, you may not notice a difference. But, if you really drink the coffee over 15 minutes, especially black over 15 minutes, as it’s cooling, the nuance and the dimension of a coffee will have really diminished. It’s like watching a tire slowly flatten.

Woman talks to customer at the Chili Cook Off in Brattle Square.

By Jaya N. Karamcheti and Kevin Zhong, Crimson Staff Writers

3 days ago

{image id=1376218 align=left size=large byline=true caption=”The “Some Like It Hot” Chili Cook Off hosted its 15th annual events in Brattle Square on Saturday.}

El Jefe’s Taqueria cooked their way to success Saturday to win the Harvard Square Business Association’s 15th annual “Some Like It Hot” Chili Cook-Off, in which customers thronged Brattle Square to taste-test competing free chili samples from local restaurants.

El Jefe’s came away with the coveted Harvard Square Chili Pot trophy after winning the most votes from customers and four local judges — comedian Danny Killea, Coldwell Banker realtor Gail Roberts, Sullivan Communications owner Martha Sullivan, and Dx co-owner Larry Ward.

The competing restaurants included El Jefe’s Taqueria, Cardullo’s, Charlie’s Kitchen, DoubleTree, Grendel’s Den, The Sea Hag, and Source. They were joined by Amorino, which offered free gelato to attendees. Local drumming group Grooversity also performed at the event.

The judges said they were looking for a number of characteristics that would separate Harvard Square’s best chili from its competitors.

“I’m looking for presentation, and the flavor,” Sullivan said. “You want it hot, but I don’t want to cry.”

The chili cook-off brought Cambridge residents and even out-of-state visitors to the Square.

At the end of the day, El Jefe’s claimed victory of the title of Harvard Square’s best chili. This is the Mexican restaurant’s third time winning the competition in the past eight years.

John F. Schall, the owner of El Jefe’s, said he wasn’t surprised that his restaurant reclaimed the trophy.

“We don’t try to be bashful about our chili, and it’s a real Mexican chili, so there’s some special ingredients to it that we won’t divulge,” he said.

“The only problem with this is when we ever lose, it’s devastating,” Schall added.

Schall said that he came up with the concept for the chili cook-off — an event part of Harvard Square’s Winter Carnival, a series of events intended to draw customers during Cambridge’s colder months — after seeing a lull in the Square’s business activity.

“There’s been times where the Square has gotten a bad rep, where people are talking about, ‘There’s only chain stores here, and it’s not interesting, it’s not fun anymore,’” Schall said. “And that’s just not the case.”

Denise A. Jillson, the executive director of the Harvard Square Business Association, said that the competition is a perfect way to bring people together during the winter months.

“People ask, ‘Why are you doing it in the cold?’ Well, because chili will warm you up,” she said.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to welcome people to Harvard Square on a cold Saturday afternoon, the day before Super Bowl,” Jillson added.

By Crimson Multimedia StaffFebruary 7, 2025

By Selorna A. Ackuayi

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Hasty Pudding Theatricals kept tradition alive with a week of festivities honoring Jon Hamm and Cynthia Erivo as the 2025 Man and Woman of the Year, kicking off the start of their 176th production season.

Actors Jon Hamm and Cynthia Erivo were celebrated as Hasty Pudding’s 2025 Man and Woman of the Year this past week. The festivities began on Friday, Jan. 31 with Hamm’s roast at Farkas Hall.

The celebration continued on Wednesday, Feb. 5 with a parade through Harvard Square. The Belmont Marching Marauders from Belmont High School led the line down Massachusetts Avenue along with other student performers.

By Mac M. Mertens, Crimson Opinion Writer

Mac M. Mertens ’26, a Crimson Editorial editor, is a Classics and History double concentrator in Mather House.

9 hours ago

Let’s face it, Harvard Square just isn’t what it used to be.

Bowl-based fast food and coffee chains seem to be taking over, with big-box franchises happy to pay the high rent that has been forcing some decades-old Square staples to close. The mom and pop shops that were promised to us by alumni nostalgic for their Harvard days are quickly becoming a memory.

But we shouldn’t fear the change that comes with an expanding Harvard Square. Many of the chain businesses make an often challenging Harvard experience just a little easier. As long as the new additions continue to satisfy the practical needs of Cambridge residents, students actually stand to benefit from this change.

By Cam E. Kettles

Consider, for example, the slew of restaurants where a “bowl” is a menu option. The taqueria trifecta of El Jefe’s, Felipe’s, and Achilito’s offer a convenient, cost-effective solution to post-midnight cravings. Cava is settling in quite nicely along Brattle Street, and Pokeworks has occupied the corner of Church Street and Massachusetts Avenue since 2018.

While these businesses aren’t exactly unique or historic (Felipe’s Taqueria is the sole non-franchised restaurant on this list, and, in my opinion, it shows), they’re invaluable additions to the Square. They promise large portions, hundreds of calories, and relatively low prices compared to the nearby Mr. Bartley’s Burger Cottage, where the cheapest burger is nearly $15. And it’s much easier to inconspicuously scarf down a bowl of carnitas and refried beans in the back of class or at a library desk than it is to cover your hands in burger grease and sauce trying to overcome the “Masshole” burger.

For the modern Harvard student, convenience is king. Establishments that provide this convenience will thrive at the expense of places that take time and energy away from studying and extracurriculars. There’s a reason why a 24-hour CVS seems to be the most high-traffic area of Harvard Square.

By Cam E. Kettles

The propagation of coffee shops that encircle campus are part of the same story. The JFK Street Starbucks now occupies a prime spot that once belonged to the world’s only Curious George store. We can lament the loss of Curious George and the Man in the Yellow Hat, but we must admit that the students, faculty, and residents of Cambridge are certainly better served by a coffee shop where they might go daily than a novelty shop where they might go once in their lives.

Is it unfortunate that these franchises occupy spaces that could otherwise be used for a restaurant truly unique to Harvard Square? Yes. But, above everything else, they serve the needs of the hungry, cash-strapped, and sleep-deprived college students who occupy the Square.

Of course, corporate franchises work best in moderation. I wouldn’t want Harvard Square to resemble a shopping mall, nor do students really need that. There should be a healthy mix of the corporate chains that offer low prices and popular products and the small businesses that bring historic charm to the area.

By Cam E. Kettles

Fortunately, the old Harvard Square isn’t lost yet. Many of the iconic staples continue to thrive. I have seldom seen a short line at Pinocchio’s Pizza & Subs on a weekend past midnight or the Harvard Book Store without a crowd of students and tourists. Even the businesses that seem no longer to cater to these residents, like the ever-mysterious tobacco and game shop Leavitt & Peirce, which was established in 1883, appear to be thriving. There is still popular demand for these historic businesses.

The businesses of Harvard Square should do more than simply evoke nostalgia. They should serve their town’s residents, who, in turn, get to decide which businesses succeed. I, for one, am confident that Harvard Square has reached a critical mass of four bubble tea shops. After all, a new one seems to open every year (sometimes in the exact same location).

Change is not a bad thing. Chains are not a bad thing, as long as those chains serve the people of Harvard Square. While every vacant space does not need to be a new HSA Harvard Shop and every new restaurant does not need to be “fun spin on Tex-Mex,” there is no need for the Square to be populated with so many shops as quirky as Harvard students’ interests.

We can’t stop change. Thankfully, in this case, it is serving us well. So the next time you criticize Harvard Square’s commercialization, think: When was the last time you had a Jefe’s bowl?

Edvard Munch, Madonna, 1895–1902, watercolor on lithograph, 23 7/8 x 17 1/2″. Photo: President and Fellows of Harvard College/Harvard Art Museums.

The Harvard Art Museums have received a trove of sixty-four works by Norwegian Expressionist Edvard Munch. The works—sixty-two prints and two paintings—were donated by the estate of collectors Phillip Straus, who graduated from the university in 1937, and his wife, Lynn Straus. Also included in the gift was a 1982 print by Jasper Johns titled Savarin. Philip, a portfolio manager, died in 2004; Lynn died in 2023.

“We are immensely grateful to Philip and Lynn Straus for their generosity and stewardship over these many years,” said Harvard Art Museums director Sarah Ganz Blythe in a statement. “Their enthusiasm for the work of Edvard Munch ensures generations of students and visitors can experience and study his prints and paintings here in Cambridge.”

• Published: Feb. 06, 2025, 12:51 p.m.

“Wicked” star Cynthia Erivo was holding space for a pizza from a Boston-area restaurant while she was in town this week.

Erivo ate at Source in Cambridge while she was in town to be honored as Hasty Pudding’s Woman of the Year on Wednesday, Feb. 5.

The award-winning pizza shop was featured in an episode “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” last year.

Erivo loved Source’s design and was “a very gracious guest,” a spokesperson for the restaurant told MassLive Thursday.

The award-winning entertainer ate a vegan pizza with red onion, roasted red peppers and broccoli rabe along with a side of Brussels sprouts.

Owner Daniel Roughan even presented Erivo with a custom Source T-shirt with her last name on it.

“We are so honored to have had @wickedmovie star, @cynthiaerivo dine with us before the annual Hasting Pudding Parade here in Harvard Square,” Source wrote on Instagram Thursday. “We couldn’t be more happy and blessed to have a soul like hers warm our space that we call home. Her breathtaking beauty, style and grace was captivating. Moments like these remind us of the power art has to inspire.”

Erivo’s lunch break came before she promenaded through Harvard Square in Hasty Pudding’s honorary parade for the theater’s annual Woman of the Year celebration.

A few hours after lunch, Erivo received her Pudding Pot award at a celebratory roast. She endured a string of comedians that made bad jokes about “Wicked” being long before they were forced off stage. Then she took part in a finger-painting contest, scratching out an abstract painting of what was supposed to be “Wicked ” co-star Ariana Grande.

Nikki Rojas

Harvard Staff Writer

February 6, 2025 3 min read

Actor, singer Cynthia Erivo celebrated as Hasty’s 2025 Woman of the Year

Cynthia Erivo braved frigid weather in a parade through Harvard Square on Wednesday as she was honored as Hasty Pudding’s 2025 Woman of the Year. Later the Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Award-winning actor and singer finger-painted and belted out “Defying Gravity” during the theatrical group’s annual roast at Farkas Hall.

Erivo, who captivated movie audiences last year in her role as Elphaba in “Wicked,” was celebrated before previewing Hasty’s 176th production, “101 Damnations.” Hasty Pudding producers Willow Woodward and Daisy Nussbaum, both ’26, co-hosted the roast, which poked fun at Erivo’s close relationship to her “Wicked” co-star Ariana Grande.

The British actor was joined by “Finn Finger Painter” to make a painting for Grande in front of 200 of her “closest friends who have all paid to be here.” To help her along, the theatrical group brought out their own Ariana.

Proving to the audience that she was the “real Wicked Witch of the West,” Erivo delivered an electrifying rendition of “Defying Gravity” from the “Wicked” soundtrack.

By Jaya N. Karamcheti and Kevin Zhong, Crimson Staff Writers

8 hours ago

Since the end of 2024, Harvard Square’s business scene has undergone some major changes — from new businesses opening to long-standing establishments closing their doors. Here’s what’s new and what’s gone in the Square.

Lovestruck Books

Lovestruck Books, an independent bookstore founded by Rachel Kanter, opened in Dec. 2024. The bookstore — located on 44 Brattle St. — sells primarily romance novels. Denise A. Jillson, the executive director of the Harvard Square Business Association, said that the opening of Lovestruck is much to the “fanfare and delight” of Harvard Square.

Blue Pinkham, a media production assistant at the Derek Bok Center’s Learning Lab and a customer at Lovestruck Books, said she enjoyed visiting the new bookshop with her colleagues.

“I’m a big fan of reading, and I heard it was opening up, and there are a few of us in the office who like to read,” Pinkham said. “When it opened up, we took a look around, and it’s super cute.”

“It’s interesting to have something that’s specifically romance-themed,” Pinkham added.

Customers can also buy drinks from Lovestruck’s in-house coffee and wine bar, a partnership between Kanter and George Howell of George Howell Coffee. Howell opened the first of his cafes, the Coffee Connection, in 1975 in Harvard Square — so the relationship between Lovestruck and George Howell Coffee ties together the old and the new of the Harvard Square business world.

“It’s just so much fun that George is still around and making great coffee and great connections and partnerships,” Jillson said. “So he has partnered with Rachel Kanter, the owner of Lovestruck, to bring great coffee into a great bookstore.”

But with new additions in the Square comes the closure of others.

Anthropologie

Clothing store Anthropologie closed in Jan. 2025 after 14 years in the Square. Though the exact reason for their closing is unknown, Jillson said in an interview with Cambridge Day that the chain location’s sales likely dropped.

“It’s never a happy moment when a business closes,” Jillson said in an interview with The Crimson.

Despite this, Jillson is excited to see what becomes of Anthropologie’s location, the Design Research Building on 46 Brattle St. The building, designed by American architect and Harvard Graduate School of Design faculty member Benjamin Thompson, features five stories and glass walls that cause it to appear like a display case.

“It’s such a great space that building — the DR building design research, is a widely acclaimed building here in Harvard Square, architecturally interesting building,” Jillson said.

“So I’m not sure what’s going on, what their next move will be, but we’ll look forward to that,” Jillson added.

Whitney’s

Whitney’s, a dive bar which had called Harvard Square its home for 71 years, closed its doors at the end of Dec. 2024.

Prior to its closing, Whitney’s was involved in a legal battle against its property owner, Mayhaw LLC. Whitney’s said that they were evicted because of noise complaints. Mayhaw LLC, however, accused Whitney’s of failing to pay rent.

Jillson says that the historical significance of Whitney’s makes the closing all the more unfortunate.

“They’ve been here since 1953 — you can’t replace that,” Jillson said. “We were really hoping that there could have been a way to save it. But unfortunately, that has not been successful.”