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A new cafe has come to Cambridge, moving into the original Darwin’s space.

A message sent by Leah Klein of City Living Boston states that Roust is now open in Harvard Square, taking over the former Darwin’s space on Mt Auburn Street. Cambridge Day first reported on the coffee shop and bakery-cafe coming to the storefront last month, indicating that the new place has a similar concept to that of Darwin’s, offering baked goods, breakfast items, sandwiches, coffee, and more.

All locations of Darwin’s closed late last year, including other locations on Cambridge Street, Massachusetts Avenue, and Putnam Avenue; the Cambridge Street location will become home to a worker-owned cafe called Circus Co-op.

The address for Roust is 148 Mt Auburn Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138.

Confronting record-breaking low temperatures earlier this month, some of Cambridge’s unhoused residents sought refuge in shelters offering extended hours last weekend, while others faced the cold.

Harvard’s two student-run homeless shelters, Y2Y Harvard Square and Harvard Square Homeless Shelter, opened during the day in addition to their regular overnight hours.

Y2Y Volunteer Director and Tufts junior Annie S. Li sent out an email calling for emergency volunteers during the cold snap, asking anyone interested to sign up for extra shifts during the day. Y2Y operates on a peer-to-peer model, where volunteers aged 18 to 24 — many of whom are Harvard students — serve guests of similar age.

“The extreme weather puts our guests in danger because Y2Y normally operates as an overnight shelter,” Li wrote. “As a result, in order to provide a safe and warm space for the guests, we will be opening the whole day Saturday, Feb. 3.”

“We actually did not know how many people we’re going to expect, which is really surprising that we were able to get more than enough volunteers who were willing to come in,” she said in an interview last week.

It looks like a Washington, D.C.-based group of fast-casual Mediterranean spots is opening another outlet in Cambridge.

According to a poster within the Friends of Boston’s Hidden Restaurants Facebook group page, Cava is planning to open in the Harvard Square section of Cambridge, with a page within harri.com indicating that the restaurant will move into a space on Brattle Street in the Brattle Square area. Once it opens, the new location of Cava will join other Boston-area locations in Cambridge’s Kendall Square along with Boston’s Fenway and Back Bay (2), Dedham, Hingham, and Woburn.

Cava, which started out in 2011, is known mostly for its customizable bowls and pita pockets.

The address for the upcoming location of Cava in Harvard Square is 22 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA, 02142. The website for all locations is at https://cava.com/

The pizzeria is moving into the former &Pizza and Milk Bar combo shop in Harvard Square

An iconic NYC slice shop has set its sights on Boston. Joe’s Pizza is planning to move into a sought-after Harvard Square space about to be vacated by another NYC-based shop, the dessert chain Milk Bar.

Joe’s Pizza is known for its traditional New York-style slices marked by thin, crisp crusts and classic, fuss-free toppings. The original Joe’s Pizza location opened in Greenwich Village in 1975, and the slice shop now counts five locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn, plus two locations in Michigan and Florida. According to the Boston Globe, owner Joe Pozzuoli is hoping to open the Harvard Square shop in the next six months.

Pozzuoli, who was born in Boston, told the Globe that he intends to stay in Harvard Square “long term,” and acknowledged that his new address is “a special corner” of the neighborhood. That much is true: 3 Brattle Street was once home to popular gastropub Tory Row before it flipped into a combo fast-casual pizza shop and bakery occupied by chef Christina Tosi’s Milk Bar and D.C.-based chain &Pizza. (Long-running newsstand Crimson Corner also closed to make way for the new shop, which took over both storefronts.) The combination store was proposed after &Pizza ran into opposition from community members who were concerned about yet another pizza shop — and this one an out-of-town chain — opening in the neighborhood. &Pizza closed down three years later, in May 2022, while Milk Bar is shutting down on February 19.

It’s unclear if Joe’s Pizza has run into any similar opposition given that it, too, is another pizza shop opening in the neighborhood. Eater has reached out to Cambridge’s zoning and development board and Pozzuoli’s team for more information on the expansion.

[This story first appeared on Boston Restaurant Talk.]

It looks like a legendary New York City pizzeria is making plans to expand to the local area.

According to an article from The Boston Globe, Joe’s Pizza is looking to open in the space where &Pizza had been in Cambridge’s Harvard Square–and where Milk Bar currently resides, but only until February 19 when it closes. Joe’s, whose original location is in Greenwich Village, is known for its classic NYC-style slices of thin-crust pizza; three other locations of the pizzeria can be found in Manhattan along with one in Brooklyn and one in Ann Arbor, MI.

Milk Bar and &pizza first opened in the former Tory Row/Crimson Corner space in 2019, with &pizza closing last May.

The address for the upcoming Joe’s Pizza in Harvard Square is 3 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138. The website for all locations can be found at https://www.joespizzanyc.com/

Coming soon: People who say that you can’t find a true New York slice in Boston might soon change their minds: Greenwich Village classic Joe’s Pizza is coming to town.

They plan to open in Harvard Square’s Milk Bar space (3 Brattle St.), says owner Joe Pozzuoli (who, coincidentally, was actually born in Boston). Milk Bar, another New York export, will close on Feb. 19. It opened in 2019, serving cereal milk soft-serve and pies. The &pizza chain also shared the space for a spell.

Pozzuoli hopes to stay in the neighborhood long term. “This is a special corner,” he says.

He describes Joe’s as a “classic New York slice: We’re tried and true, with an old-style, authentic recipe. We’re not trying to change the game. It will be identical to what we’ve been serving since 1975,” he says.

The shop will have about 30 seats, with al fresco seating in warm weather. Joe’s aims to open within the next six months. When it does, what should you order? Pozzuoli says you can’t go wrong with the classic cheese slice.

As for why Milk Bar is closing, a spokeswoman had this to say: “Our Harvard Square location originally opened under a sublease and once the primary tenant left the space, we were able to continue operating our small portion, but ultimately it’s our understanding that the landlord found a new tenant to take over the full space.”

Last spring, it was reported that a Washington, D.C.-based pizza chain had closed its only Boston-area location, though a New York-based bakery within the space would remain open. Now we have learned that the bakery is shutting down as well.

According to a poster within the Friends of Boston’s Hidden Restaurants Facebook group page, Milk Bar in the Harvard Square section of Cambridge is closing, with a note out front at the Brattle Street spot saying that its last day in operation will be February 19. Both Milk Bar and &pizza first opened in the former Tory Row/Crimson Corner space in 2019, with the pizza spot closing last May.

Milk Bar, which has shops in New York City, Washington, D.C., Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Toronto, and Vancouver, was once called “one of the most exciting bakeries in the country” by Bon Appetit Magazine.

The address for the Harvard Square location of Milk Bar is 3 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138.

[Earlier Article]&pizza in Cambridge’s Harvard Square Has Closed; Milk Bar Remains Open for Now

by Marc Hurwitz (Also follow us on Twitter at @hiddenboston)

It’s an abrupt end to the combo store, which underwent a hard-fought battle to open in Harvard Square four years ago

Dessert chain Milk Bar, run by lauded pastry chef Christina Tosi, is calling it quits on its lone Boston-area location nine months after its partner in the Harvard Square space, fast-casual pizza chain &Pizza, also shut down. A sign posted on Milk Bar’s front window says the last day of service is February 19, according to the industry blog Boston Restaurant Talk.

The bubblegum pink-hued bakery debuted its first Boston-area location under unusual circumstances in February 2019. D.C.-based pizza chain &Pizza was already jockeying for a prime space in Harvard Square, but it was hitting roadblocks with community members in part because it was a pizza chain trying to open in an area already full of pizza restaurants. &Pizza’s leadership sweetened the proposition by promising that the operation would be a collaboration with candy-coated industry darling Milk Bar, run by Tosi, who got her start in chef David Chang’s Momofuku universe. (Both brands share an investor in RSE Ventures.) The Harvard Square location, a nod to old-school fast food combo shops, marked both &Pizza and Milk Bar’s first restaurants in the city.

The collaboration appeared to be well-received at first, with Milk Bar churning out its signature confetti sprinkles-laced birthday cakes and &Pizza producing its oblong-shaped pies, but the idea did not survive the pandemic. Last May, &Pizza shuttered its side of the restaurant, leaving Milk Bar as the lone tenant in the space. Now, the bakery has announced that it is shutting down at the end of next week.

Eater has reached out to Milk Bar for more information on the closure and will update this post if we hear back.

Last spring, it was reported that a Washington, D.C.-based pizza chain had closed its only Boston-area location, though a New York-based bakery within the space would remain open. Now we have learned that the bakery is shutting down as well.

According to a poster within the Friends of Boston’s Hidden Restaurants Facebook group page, Milk Bar in the Harvard Square section of Cambridge is closing, with a note out front at the Brattle Street spot saying that its last day in operation will be February 19. Both Milk Bar and &pizza first opened in the former Tory Row/Crimson Corner space in 2019, with the pizza spot closing last May.

Milk Bar, which has shops in New York City, Washington, D.C., Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Toronto, and Vancouver, was once called “one of the most exciting bakeries in the country” by Bon Appetit Magazine.

The address for the Harvard Square location of Milk Bar is 3 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138.

[Earlier Article]&pizza in Cambridge’s Harvard Square Has Closed; Milk Bar Remains Open for Now