I’ve been a bit out of the loop of late, thanks to a long trip and a short illness, but I was surprised to see that Bread and Chocolate closed its Newtonville location. I have no idea when it happened, but I first noticed it on May 1. The windows are papered over and a sign on the door reads they’ve closed, but that the Newton Highlands store remains very much alive.
I know it’s tough running two stores and I often saw Steve behind the counter. Also, the Highlands location offers so much more possibilities. Still, I’m sad to see it go. I did love stopping in for a scone or a biscuit. Of course, I can’t say that I was in there regularly enough to help keep them afloat.
To me, Bread and Chocolate represented the start of a transition that has swept through Newtonville over the past several years. The village went from being a dry spot in terms of food to having quite a great variety.
After nine plus years on the corner of Madison and Walnut, striving to be the best little neighborhood bakery, we’ve been forced to close this location, unable to secure an extension of our lease with the landlord.
It has been our joy to live and work in this neighborhood, and an honor to help our neighbors nourish and comfort their loved ones during times of celebration and loss. The enthusiastic support of the community, from our very first days in 2006, inspired us to be better neighbors and citizens of Newton.
We cherish the countless friendships and memories made in this little bakery, and it is our sincere hope you’ll visit us at our Newton Highlands Bread & Chocolate location.
Thank you.
Steve & Eunice Feller
We will miss y’all! Newton Highlands is lucky.
I will really miss B & C in Newtonville, as I’m sure the whole community will. I do frequent your Highlands location to have a quick lunch with friends and I’m a big fan of your soups along with all of your goodies, but I walk by the Newtonville location a lot and I’ll really miss giving in to temptation and bringing home treats.
The pattern of building owners not renewing leases and charging exorbitant rents is driving our wonderful local businesses out and is the prime culprit in losing the vitality and character of our villages. We lose an important part of our community in Newtonville with the closing of Bread and Chocalate and gain another nail salon in the same time period. (Not knocking nail salons.)
I’ve said this before, but we need a vision and detailed plan of what the community (or should I say the administration) wants in Newtonville because trying to change it piecemeal but calling it smart growth will destroy its character and turn it into a conglomeration of different ideas. And the building owners need to be on board. If the plan is to create a walkable village with mixed use development, then follow the lead of towns that have done it successfully. Their first step is always creating a community enriched plan.
How do you make a property owner lower the rent?
Jane, most commercial properties are triple-net and as such commercial tenants have to pay the rapidly increasing property taxes of the property owner. Setti Warren has raised Newton property taxes substantially during his tenure in the Mayor’s Office in order to finance $56 Million in annual pay raises for the unions since he took office.
All, not only did B&C go out of business, but Clarks is moving its headquarters from Newton to Waltham. I was hoping that Newton could attract corporate headquarters, and the high-paying jobs associated with them to our city, instead of seeing them move to other communities. Newton’s economic development commission needs to think bigger than ground floor retail and high-density housing projects that privatize profits for politically connected developers, socialize costs to taxpayers in the form of increased student enrollments and further the aims of the UN’s Agenda 21 Social Engineering Scheme.
http://patch.com/massachusetts/newton/fancy-footing-clarks-moves-headquarters-waltham-0?utm_source=newsletter-daily&utm_medium=email&utm_term=business&utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_content=article-mostrecent
@Joshua Norman – As far as I know, Clarks (and Trip Advisor) are moving because they outgrew their premises and there’s no suitable Newton locations for them, not because of an onerous tax burden, kids in school, or Agenda 21.
What @Jerry said.
Also B&C in whole is not out of business, but they have decided to focus their efforts on their Highlands store. They could not come to new terms with their landlord in Newtonville and decided that focusing on the larger store where they can more fully realize their full vision in a concentrated manner made more sense.