They’re lifelines for those in need tucked away in communities across the country and in Massachusetts: Community fridges offering food with no questions asked for anyone to take.
“The first time we did it, we made about 25 sandwiches,” said student Andrew Walker.
“Something healthy, a fruit and then like a sandwich as a full course lunch meal,” said student Nick Rosen.
The students do the shopping, prep work and stock the fridge to help them learn skills that will help them find jobs once they leave the program.
“’Neurodiverse’ is big umbrella term that encompasses a lot of different abilities and disabilities. Some common terms people might here are autism spectrum disorder, anxiety,” said Catherine Horan, director of Career Services Threshold Program at Lesley University.
The students are working together to make a difference in the community.
“Makes me feel good for doing something with the community and we’ve gotten a great response. We’ll be not even finished stocking the fridge and there’s already people lining up waiting,” said Walker.
“Many of our students and alumni go to a program or go to a job and stay there for a really long time and really have wonderful skills, and think about things and think about problem-solving in a lot of different ways that maybe you or I may not think about,” Horan said.
COMING SOON: New York sensation Van Leeuwen Ice Cream will open a trio of scoop shops in the Boston area, starting this spring. They’ll begin with Chestnut Hill (55 Boylston St.), followed by the Seaport (131 Seaport Blvd.), and Harvard Square (1 Brattle Square).
They’re known for wild and wacky limited-edition experiments, from Kraft mac-and-cheese to Hidden Valley Ranch, as well as classic flavors such as praline butter cake and a much-loved vanilla bean. They also sell a big variety of vegan scoops.
The popular NYC chain will open locations in the Seaport, Harvard Square, and Chestnut Hill.
Looking for a new ice cream parlor? We’ve got the scoop.
Van Leeuwen Ice Cream will be opening three new locations in Greater Boston, according to a press release. The new parlors will be located in Chestnut Hill, the Seaport, and Harvard Square.
According to Ben Van Leeuwen, one of the co-founders, the Chestnut Hill location (55 Boylston St., Suite 5578) is slated to open in about one month, the Seaport location (131 Seaport Blvd.) is set to open in three to four months, and the Harvard Square location (1 Brattle Square) will open in approximately nine months.
“You only have one life. So you might as well do business in places that you enjoy being in,” he told Boston.com. “Boston is one of those.”
The popular ice cream chain started out of a truck in 2008 in New York City, according to the company’s website. Since then, Van Leeuwen Ice Cream has opened over 50 parlors in seven states and Washington, D.C., according to the release.
Some of the chain’s best-selling flavors include the honeycomb, pistachio, chocolate fudge brownie, and Earl Grey tea. For vegan flavors, some top sellers are peanut butter brownie honeycomb, chocolate fudge brownie, and cookies and cream caramel swirl, according to Van Leeuwen.
He added some of the most unique features are the ingredients used — from Sicilian pistachios, Ecuadorian chocolate, and Tahitian vanilla beans.
“We want to make good ice cream for everybody,” Van Leeuwen said. “We work hard to make it as absolutely good as we can.”
The chain’s menu offers over 30 flavors of ice cream and also serves sundaes, ice cream sandwiches, root beer floats, milkshakes, and to-go pints. The company also works with “local partners,” like a bakery or pastry chef, to release a special flavor that is unique to the market being catered to. For the new Boston locations, Van Leeuwen said these flavors will be announced closer to the grand openings.
“We’re excited to get to know the Chestnut Hill, Seaport and Harvard Square communities even more, and share good ice cream that makes you feel good,” Van Leeuwen said in the release.
Harvard Square is a great hangout for students and young professionals, but its full of things to do with kids. With one of the best playgrounds in the Boston area, museums, historical sites, and family-friendly entertainment options, Harvard Square is a family-friendly neighborhood. On top of all that, Harvard Square is also home to some of the top hot chocolate spots around Boston. Read on for our list of the top 25 things to do with kids in Harvard Square, including Harvard Square Restaurants and Harvard Square hotels.
3. Attend an activity or pick out a book at the children’s room at The Harvard Coop. Make sure the kids use their bathroom while there before heading back out!
4. Catch one of the kid-friendly films, or even film festivals, at the Brattle Theatre.
5. Keep an eye on the calendar for family-friendly festivals, like Harvard ArtsFirst.
6. See all of the historical sites (and even the haunted ones!) with a tour of Harvard square.
Harvard’s museums offer some of the coolest things to do and see in Harvard Square. Harvard Museum of Science and Culture photo by Michael Del Llano for Mommy Poppins
8. Visit the Longfellow House and grounds for a free tour inside and look around the gorgeous garden. A great place for photos!
9. No matter what else you do, make sure to leave time to play at the fantastic Alexander Kemp Playground on Cambridge Common!
10. Find the gate into Harvard that reads “Enter to Grow in Wisdom.” See if it makes the kids feel smarter to pass through that particular gate into Harvard Yard!
11. Help the kids find William Dawes’ golden horseshoes and the cannons at the Dawes’ Island Memorial on Massachusetts Avenue.
12. Bring roller skates and try them out on Memorial Drive in summer, when it’s closed to vehicle traffic.
Rachael Solem, a founding member of the Cambridge Local First business organization, was remembered by Cambridge residents and leaders for her commitment to the city’s small businesses and nonprofits. Solem, who ran the bed-and-breakfast Irving House, had close ties to several other local business groups and a deep love for the serving the local Cambrdige community, according to people who knew her. Beyond her entrepreneurial ventures, Solemn supported many local nonprofits, including the Community Servings, On the Rise, and Future Chefs, and shelters in Cambridge for women and families, including Renae’s Place, the Tanner Residence, and the Cambridge YWCA. Solem died on January 15. She was 68. “She had a big heart and a big brain, and we are really, really grieving her loss,” said Theodora M. Skeadas ’12, executive director of Cambridge Local First. Solem was known for her ability to bring people together, according to her daughter Briana Pearson. “She has so many different circles of people and communities that she built that it’s pretty impressive that everyone still felt so connected,” Pearson said in an interview. Solem got her start in Harvard Square in 1990 when the establishment that is now Irving House was in poor condition and up for sale. At the time, Solem had no experience in hospitality and learned all of the necessary skills on the job. “The story goes, she’d never even stayed in a hotel before she bought a hotel,” Pearson said. Solem built a devoted clientele by offering a comfortable, welcoming space for travelers to Harvard Square. She later purchased Turner House, which catered to short-term renters, and Harding House, a bed-and-breakfast similar to Irving House. Pearson said that what her mother created in Harvard Square was unique, considering the landscape of national hotel brands that cater to high-spending travelers. Harding House was known for its quirks, including the baked goods staff made for guests each morning, the typewriter in the parlor where guests could leave messages to each other, and the musicians who were invited to showcase their work in the building’s common spaces. Solem additionally co-founded Cambridge Local First in 2005 as an advocacy organization. Solem was motivated by an influx of large corporations that challenged local businesses and a shift in consumer spending habits toward online retail. The nonprofit organization now consists of 500 independent businesses in Cambridge and advocates for local commerce. “Everybody loved working with Rachael. I stopped by the bed-and-breakfast very often to say hi to her and get a coffee,” Skeadas said. “It’s such a welcoming place. It’s a beautiful establishment, and she treated her staff with such care and such diligence.” Despite her residences standing out for their distinct contributions, the Covid-19 pandemic threatened Solem and other proprietors across the hospitality industry. Unable to keep three businesses running during the major slowdown in sales, Solem decided to close Harding House and focus her resources on Irving House to get through the pandemic. In 2021, Solem stepped back from her role at Irving House, and Pearson took on the job of general manager. Solem continued her involvement with Irving House, fulfilling supervisory responsibilities at the location for the next few years. Since Solem’s passing, Pearson is transitioning into a more prominent role at Irving House. She said that she aims to preserve what her mother has spent the past three decades building. As she looks ahead toward maintaining the establishment her mother built while also exploring new avenues, Pearson said she sees challenges on the horizon. For instance, the rise of online booking platforms has cut margins for small hospitality businesses. “It’s been a constant battle to help people understand that if you book directly with a small independent property, you’re helping put money back into the community,” Pearson said. According to Pearson, the relationships Solem forged with her employees and customers were a key source of motivation, helping her persevere through the challenges of establishing and sustaining her hospitality business. Skeadas believed that Solem’s compassionate nature made her exceptionally well-suited to her role as a supporter of local businesses. “She’s a woman who was profoundly candid, thoughtful, clear-eyed, and deeply empathetic,” Skeadas said. “Those are really hard qualities to find. And the combination of all those things made her a very special person.”
Achilito’s, a small chain of Mexican restaurants based around Massachusetts, opened its newest location in Harvard Square earlier this year.
Though the restaurant already has locations in Jamaica Plain, Brighton, and Foxborough, its 84 Winthrop Street location marks its first foray into the Cambridge area. The menu features a variety of Mexican and Latin American dishes, ranging from burritos, quesadillas, and bowls to empanadas, elotes, and pupusas.
Daniel Wood, a West Cambridge resident, said he was driven by a sense of curiosity to try Achilito’s, but it was the quality of the food and service that led him to return.
“When it opened, I wanted to give them a shot because they looked like they were working really hard to get the place off the ground,” Wood said.
But Wood said he quickly appreciated “wonderful” staff and high quality of food.
“I really have noticed the freshness of the food,” he said. “And it’s affordable, the small and large portions.”
But Taj S. Gulati ’25 said his experience with the food at Achilito’s was “not that good.”
“It’s really wet,” he said. “It’s quite moist. And that might be some people’s yum — I personally don’t enjoy it.”
Achilito’s staff did not respond to requests for comment.
Achilito’s will face tough competition in Harvard Square, which is known for the dominance of El Jefe’s Taqueria and Felipe’s Taqueria, two Mexican restaurants appreciated by students for their long hours.
Both have withstood the longstanding, fierce competition for the Square’s demand for Mexican food.
Some customers expressed disappointment about the new addition. Gulati said that instead of another Mexican restaurant, Harvard Square would be better served by more culinary variety.
“You do not need another Mexican restaurant. We have Jefe’s, we have Felipe’s,” Gulati said. “They’re cute. They have a little rivalry.”
“Maybe get some late night Chinese food, a late night Indian place,” he added. “I didn’t need a third [Mexican] option.”
Francisco Lagos, a kitchen manager at Felipe’s, said the natural response to Achilito’s is to stay consistent and “keep everything fresh.”
“We are focusing on what we’re doing,” Lagos said. “We have to keep the same quality.”
Still, Lagos suggested that Felipe’s may consider extending its weeklong hours to stay competitive.
Wood said that Achilito’s arrival onto the Mexican food scene in Harvard Square may improve the quality of existing restaurants.
“That keeps everybody on their toes,” he said. “Anytime you have competing businesses, you’re going to want to make sure your place is up to par.”
Annette Bening was honored as the 2024 Woman of the Year in Cambridge on Tuesday.
The Oscar-nominated actress sat between Hasty Pudding Theatrical members Nikita Nair and Joshua Hillers in a gray convertible during the afternoon parade through Harvard Yard. Other Hasty Pudding cast members, dressed in colorful costumes, danced around the convertible, forming a semi-protective bubble around Bening.
The car parked just outside of Harvard Yard, where she gathered with cast members and others to take photos. As she was escorted away to prepare for the evening’s festivities, the Blue Man Group and Chelsea Vuong, the 2023 Miss Massachusetts and a 2021 Harvard University graduate, stayed behind to take photos with supporters and dance.
A celebratory roast of Bening took place following the parade on Tuesday night, where she was presented with the golden pudding pot at Farkas Hall, the home of the Hasty Pudding Theatricals since 1888. Bening also attended a press conference after the roast, as well as a performance of Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ 175th production, “Heist Heist Baby.”
The Woman of the Year award is the latest honor bestowed upon Bening, a two-time Golden Globe winner and five-time Oscar nominee known for her roles in “Nyad,” “The Grifters,” and “American Beauty.”
Barry Keoghan, of “Saltburn,” “The Banshees of Inisherin,” and “Dunkirk,” was honored last Friday as the group’s Man of the Year, an honor given annually since its inception in 1967. Hasty Pudding is the oldest theatrical group in the United States and one of the oldest in the world. Since 1951, it has annually presented a Woman of the Year award to “performers who have made lasting and impressive contributions to the world of entertainment,” according to a press release. Past recipients have included Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Scarlett Johansson, and most recently Boston’s own Jennifer Coolidge.
The owners blamed ‘considerable’ economic challenges, ‘including supply chain disruptions and escalating costs’
Cambridge-based Harvard Book Store will not be opening a second store in the Prudential Center, after its owners announced Friday that the project faced “considerable” economic challenges, including “ongoing supply chain disruptions and escalating costs” from the fallout of the pandemic.
It’s sour news for the Boston literary scene, which once cheered the opportunity to see the beloved bookstore expand inside one of the city’s busiest shopping centers. Now it is unclear what will fill the nearly 30,000-square-foot empty storefront inside the Pru, previously occupied by Barnes & Noble. (Prudential Center landlord Boston Properties did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)
Co-owner Jeff Mayersohn said the announcement, while frustrating, offers a chance for the bookstore to refocus on upgrading the original Harvard Square outpost.
“While [the Pru] project has now been canceled, we are investing in improvements at our flagship Cambridge location, which has always been the heart of Harvard Book Store,” a statement from the bookstore team read. “The cancellation of the Pru project is humbling and disappointing.”
Harvard Book Store has only recently recovered from a pandemic-era dip in revenue, thanks to a surge in customers and hundreds of events and author readings last year, Mayersohn said.
“I’m pleased to say we are finally back to where we were prior to the pandemic,” he added. “That does not mean that we don’t understand how disheartening the news about the Prudential location is for the Back Bay neighborhood, and really, all of Boston.”
Mayersohn and his co-owners — wife Linda Seamonson, and John Henry, who also owns Boston Globe Media — once imagined the Pru location as a community hub, home to an expansive book inventory, children’s section, and event space.
The project marked the first major off-site expansion of the Harvard Book Store since the Harvard Book Store Cafe on Newbury Street closed in 1994,and a significant move under the leadership of the Henrys, who bought into the business as part-owner in December 2021.
In an emailed statement, Linda Henrysaid that the couple “are continuing to invest in Harvard Book Store to ensure that it remains a thriving, sustainable hub for readers, writers, and community voices.”
“Like the Globe, Harvard Book Store serves an important civic role,” said Linda Henry, who is also CEO of the Globe. “Just as local, independent journalism is vital to our region and our democracy, local independent bookstores are important cultural pillars in our community.
When the Pru location was first announced in July 2022, Harvard Book Store staff said the second storefront was the culmination of Mayersohn’s long-held vision to expand the business. And its growth was in keeping with the success independent booksellers across Greater Boston have found these past four years.
After long struggling amid the rise of Amazon, big-box stores, and e-readers, small bookshops benefited from a reading revival during the first waves of COVID-19. At least a dozen bookshops have opened or expanded in the Boston area since 2020.
Sadly, the second location for Harvard Book Store won’t be following the same trend.
“At the end of the day,” Mayersohn said of cancelling the Prudential project, “it was the right thing to do.”
Correction: A prior version of this story incorrectly stated that Harvard Book Store had not expanded into another location before.
The Cambridge bookstore cited “ongoing disruptions to the supply chain and escalating costs.”
Harvard Book Store announced Friday that it has canceled plans to open a second location in Boston’s Prudential Center.
The Cambridge bookstore had previously announced an expansion that would take over the space previously held by Barnes and Noble, with a planned opening of spring 2023. After delays, the store’s ownership said that the project would not move forward due to “ongoing disruptions to the supply chain and escalating costs” caused, in part, by the continued impact of the pandemic on the construction industry.
“The cancellation of the Pru project is humbling and disappointing. Despite exploring all available options, the lingering effects of the pandemic have continued to create considerable challenges for construction projects of this size and scope,” the bookstore said in a statement, adding, “our ambitious 29,000-square-foot expansion would ultimately prove unsustainable.”
The planned location was anticipated to have a “state-of-the-art event space” and “vibrant community spaces,” according to a release from the initial 2022 announcement.
Instead, the nearly century-old independent bookstore will invest in improvements to its flagship location in Harvard Square, to “enhance the in-store experience, while continuing to enrich our commitment to customer service, our flourishing author event series, and our excellent inventory.”
In its statement, the store’s ownership thanked partners, John and Linda Henry, for their continued support. John Henry also owns Boston Globe Media, including Boston.com.
The news of Harvard Book Store’s expansion was met with enthusiasm from the literary community of Boston. In Friday’s message to customers, the store thanked its community for the “overwhelming support.”
“Bookstores matter. They are an integral part of a deeply engaged community; places you turn to for inspiration, adventure, and learning,” the statement read. “Our top priority has always been to remain a healthy, thriving, independent bookstore — one that can continue to grow and serve our community for many years to come.”
Hundreds of visitors lined up on Brattle Street Saturday afternoon for the first day of the 13th annual Taste of Chocolate Festival.
Hosted by the Harvard Square Business Association, the festival made a successful comeback after a three-year hiatus. Featuring local cafes and shops, visitors were able to indulge in free chocolate samples, enjoy live entertainment and partake in special promotions at nearby businesses.
The highlight of the festival was the free chocolate tasting event at 1 p.m. that had visitors eagerly lined up an hour beforehand. One by one, chocolate-lovers picked up samples from participating businesses that ranged from toffee bites to hot chocolate and mini smores. Despite a seemingly endless line, businesses tabling were able to continuously hand out free samples for over two hours.
Along with mouth-watering chocolate delicacies, visitors also enjoyed live entertainment from Grooversity, a Brazilian drumming group. With its high energy drumming, wide smiles and synchronized dancing, the group easily got the crowd moving and jumping to the beat.
Around 2:30 p.m., the entertainment switched over to DJ Joey Finnz, who played a mix of pop songs, throwbacks and nu-disco music. As the sun came out, more people began to gather around and dance to Finnz’s set, contributing to the increasingly energetic atmosphere.
While adults sipped on hot chocolate-infused cocktails and wines provided by the Commonwealth Wine School, those underage were able to play ping-pong and cornhole.
Harvard Square businesses also embraced the festival with various chocolate specials and discounts for those looking for extra treats after the free tasting.
Through a shared love of chocolate, businesses and attendees alike were able to forge new connections.
