The New Retail Thread

Maybe. The Blue Glass Cafe or whatever it was called before didn't succeed in this location.

COVID victim. The place was not very good at all and it still got decent foot traffic pre-pandemic.
 

Apparently the former Needless Markup at the Natick Mall is going to be converted into pickleball courts (?) Unique use of mall space I guess.

The developer had originally tried to convert it to Lab Space. But with the Lab boom going bust and Natick being so far out, they must have given up on it.
 
I’m waiting for them to miss this bubble too and move on to the next one. Maybe a marijuana grow operation?
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Apparently the former Needless Markup at the Natick Mall is going to be converted into pickleball courts (?) Unique use of mall space I guess.

The developer had originally tried to convert it to Lab Space. But with the Lab boom going bust and Natick being so far out, they must have given up on it.
New lab space in the former motor lodge parcel between Sherwood Plaza and the Verb. There's a sign for ABI-LAB, which also has space behind Sherwood Plaza on Dean Rd.

 
1006 Beacon Street (nee Sichuan Gourmet Brookline)
 

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Alo New Opening (Newbury St. & Dartmouth St.)
 

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I think it's in no way offensively bad. Just disappointing that something more daring, detailed, in tune with its neighbors -- and most of all less aggressively "boxy" -- didn't wind up here.
 
I think it's a nice addition to Newbury Street, and it is certainly better than the Parking Lot it replaced. As the doctor's oath: "Do no harm." I think this building does no harm to the existing context of Urban Design, and in fact, is quite an improvement.
 
I like it overall as well, it's a good piece of contextual infill design (the single-file brick stacking is a bit jarring though).
 
PRB Boulangerie has opened its Kendall Square location on Third Street. Good spot for pastries, but still a lot of kinks to be worked out--their nitro machine and credit card readers are currently broken, bathrooms and napkin/cutlery stations not well-stocked, and staff seem a little all over the place and disorganized. But the vibes and bakes are good, and it's a nice place for a quiet conversation. Nowhere near as busy as the Somerville location yet, which is a plus if you don't like waiting in line! (Photos are from 7:15 AM on a Friday morning, so there were very few customers yet. I have also been on a Saturday where it was fairly busy, but nowhere near as busy as the Tatte just down the block.)

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