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Over 130,000 meals have been distributed to those in need with nearly $1 million put back in the pockets of struggling restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on small businesses in Harvard Square, many have found themselves relying on supportive patrons and financial support from the state government to stay afloat.

After 34 years in Harvard Square, Border Cafe has shuttered its doors permanently following a two-alarm fire in December 2019 that forced the restaurant to temporarily close for building repairs.

Eleven months of the coronavirus pandemic have driven some Harvard Square landmark spots out of business, and around another hundred may never reopen, according to a local business association.

After a two-alarm fire damaged Harvard Square’s Border Cafe in December 2019, the Tex-Mex restaurant closed its original Church Street location with the intent to reopen. Now, it appears that reopening will never come.

A bit more than a year ago, one of the most popular restaurants in Cambridge’s Harvard Square was hit by a fire and has remain closed ever since. Now we are hearing that it is gone for good.

Border Cafe, a longtime Harvard Square staple with music always playing and the smell of charred meat wafting from the premises, has permanently closed as “the pain from the pandemic continues,” in Cambridge and across the region.

As students trickle back into Cambridge for the spring semester, Harvard Square business owners said they are hoping to see sales pick back up after a challenging year and quiet winter break.

A former Harvard dormitory building that today houses Harvard Square staples like Pokeworks and OTTO Pizza was purchased last month by Gazit Horizons, Inc. for $45 million.