It looks like an ice cream shop and a doughnut shop that are both based in New York City may be coming to a storefront in Cambridge.
According to an article in Cambridge Day, Taiyaki NYC and The Dough Club are planning to open in the Harvard Square section of Cambridge, moving into the space on Church Street that had been home to Mint Julep, a boutique shop that moved to a new location on Brattle Street. Taiyaki NYC and The Dough Club are both part of Daruma Hospitality Group, with the former offering ice cream in fish-shaped cones (and having a location in Boston’s Seaport District) and the latter featuring mochi doughnuts.
The address for the proposed Taiyaki NYC and Dough Club in Harvard Square is 6 Church Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138. The website for Taiyaki NYC can be found at https://taiyakinyc.com/ while the website for The Dough Club is at https://www.thedoughclub.com/cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc
With a new owner, Brattle Square flower shop relocates just down the street.
Several months after Brattle Square Florist was slated to close, the beloved flower shop has opened in a new location just steps away from its former storefront.
Longtime manager and new owner Stephen Zedros said he worked until 11 p.m. the night before to prepare for Wednesday’s grand reopening at 52 Brattle St. in Harvard Square.
“This is the perfect place,” said Zedros. “I think we’ve landed in the right spot. There are a ton of mom and pop stores on this block too, so it feels like old Harvard Square.”
The new location, just two blocks and across the street from the old one, is the latest development in the 105-year history of the florist, which began when Zedros’ grandparents opened Gomatos Brothers Fresh Produce in 1917. It later became Brattle Square Florist, and over the years, the shop has developed into a mainstay of the Harvard Square community.
Zedros said while it was difficult to break the news of the move to customers who had visited the 31 Brattle St. location for decades, many patrons were happy that the flower shop would remain open at all.
In late December, former owner Randy Ricker announced that Brattle Square Florist would be closing due to increasing costs, the labor shortage, and uncertainty caused by the pandemic. Inspired by his family legacy and community support, Zedros decided to take over as owner in early February.
Elements of the florist’s former location remain at the smaller 1,200-square-foot store, including its classic brick façade and hanging plants. An hour after the new spot opened its doors, the shop had already had nearly 15 customers, Zedros said.
Stephen Zodros, new owner of Brattle Square Florist.DAVID L. RYAN/GLOBE STAFF
“[The customers] are incredibly loyal and supportive people,” he said. “Being able to keep the place alive and keep the store running was my priority, and it worked out.”
Supply chain issues and the skyrocketing cost of certain blooms still persist, Zedros said. But he remains optimistic for the store’s next 100 years, with goals to “keep everybody here employed, and keep [Brattle Square Florist] the way it used to be.”
I had heard about the removal of parking spaces in Porter Square from concerned retail store owners and worried that the entire shopping district would be lost without any meaningful debate or, for that matter, the knowledge of people who rely on so many stores and restaurants in the area.
The Boston Calling music festival at Harvard University returned for the first time in three years with a line-up of big names and local favorites, including Wellesley native Cam Meekins. Performers and the audience were ready to rock, groove, or whatever the vibe might be, rain or shine.
The festival, cancelled the past two years due to the pandemic, was still feeling the effects of COVID-19 right into this year’s event. It lost Day 2 headliner The Strokes the day before they were to perform due to a positive COVID-19 test. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard was a late COVID cancelation, too. Nine Inch Nails, the headliner for Day 1, graciously agreed to perform a second night in place of The Strokes, with Metallica wrapping up the event on Sunday, taking on the Celtics-Miami Game 7 NBA conference final. Due to health considerations, the festival did not have its usual indoor respite from the weather in the hockey arena, where in the past comedians and podcasters have entertained.
– The three-day festival has wrapped up and cleaning crews have now taken over Harvard Athletic Complex. More than 50 artists performed at Boston Calling, including headliners Metallica and Nine Inch Nails. It’s the first time the music festival returned to the stage after the Covid-19 pandemic and it wasn’t without a few bumps in the road.
Friday night event organizers announced another change in the line-up, after a positive COVID case for their Saturday night headliner, The Strokes. Instead, Friday night’s headlining band, Nine Inch Nails, would play a second set on Saturday night.
GBH’s Molly McCaul was on the ground, covering all three days of Boston Calling. They bring you notes from the field, along with highlights across social media, of the return of the monster music festival after a two-year pandemic hiatus.
Friday, May 27th
As gates opened at 1:00 PM on Friday, the crowd began to get a lay of the land before the music started at 2:00. With four stages set across the sprawling Harvard Athletic Complex, there was certainly a lot to take in.
That evening, after sets from the likes of Paris Jackson, The Struts, Cheap Trick, and Haim, concert attendees waiting to see Avril Lavigne were notified that Saturday’s headliners, The Strokes, would have to back out due to a positive COVID test in the band. Emotions were strong as Nine Inch Nails were announced as their replacement.
This past weekend, Boston Calling made its long-awaited return to Harvard University Athletics Complex after two years of cancellations, and for a moment — as Friday’s overcast skies gave way to a sunny afternoon just as the main gates opened — it appeared that the festival’s luck might be changing for the better.
It had been a rough three years: calling off the fest in 2020 and 2021, finding three replacement headliners for 2022, planning a major event amid swelling COVID variants. But as Paris Jackson and Pom Pom Squad warmed up Friday’s early crowds, the mood was optimistic. By the time British glam-rock act The Struts swaggered across the main stage, it became downright celebratory.
The new coworking space will take up 21,500 square feet and is expected to open this December.
Industrious is partnering with developer Carpenter & Co. to open a new Cambridge location within the Charles Hotel in Harvard Square.
The new coworking space will take up 21,500 square feet and is expected to open this December.
“The Harvard Square community is a tightly knit and flourishing ecosystem perfectly matched for the ambiance and productivity we deliver at our Industrious flexible workplaces,” said Doug Feinberg, senior director of real estate at Industrious.
Bike lane expansion worries small business owners along Mass. Ave. as city pares street parking.
Katherine B. and her family used a bike lane in Cambridge. Because she uses the bike lane with her young children daily, she is hoping the protected bike lanes will come together as soon as possible.JESSICA RINALDI/GLOBE STAFF
CAMBRIDGE — Daniel Spirer is a self-proclaimed “Porter Square institution.”
He crafts gemstone rings and keshi pearl necklaces inside a brick storefront on Massachusetts Avenue. But an initiative to reconfigure the busy street — by removing parking in favor of bike-friendly infrastructure — has soured Spirer on the city where he set up shop in 1982.
Over 85 percent of his income comes from out-of-town customers who arrive in cars, Spirer said. When Cambridge scraps the parking spots, he believes, he will have no choice but to move.
“The problem I have is THAT I ACTUALLY KNOW HOW TO RUN A BUSINESS and I know when it won’t work. So you can congratulate yourselves,” Spirer wrote in a letter to the City Council. “You’ve managed to drive me out.”
