Buried in the Mayor’s email, meriting just a quick mention, is the fact that two retailers have announced at 28 Austin: Henry Bear’s Park and Caffe Nero. Both of these are pretty significant and are good drivers of foot traffic. These are the types of retailers that bring life to a street.
Henry Bear’s Park is a regional retailer with 7 other locations (Arlington, Brookline, Cambridge, Dedham, Ipswich, Newburyport, and Providence). It’s a pretty solid store, though my kids are aged out, HBK was always on my list of go-to places. Also, Newton lacks a gaming store like those that have emerged around Cambridge, Brookline and even Waltham, so I hope they bring some of that here.
Caffe Nero, however, is a fascinating move. That shop has come into the US (and the Boston-area) with a fire in its belly to take on Starbucks, so the fact that its now on the same street is both interesting and in-line with some of its other 27 locations around the area. It also tends to serve as a place to work, which is something Newtonville needs.
It’ll be interesting to see how this affects George Howell, which does well even with a Starbucks (and Dunks) just stone’s throw away. I like George Howell (I was a devotee of its predecessor run by Nik Krankl, who now makes wine) and tend to go in there when I’m looking for a better coffee drink. Still, it’s not a place where I spend a couple of hours on a laptop.
I know Howell had an uptick in business when the Starbucks shut down for renovations, but not sure how many customers will stick around now that there are other fast and cheap options.
I really do like George Howell, but if the buildout of cafe nero is anything like Downtown or Wellesley, we are going to love it in Newtonville. Here is hoping it is on the corner of the new mini-park, with seating outside for all. It also sells sandwiches and panni, not microwaved or prepackaged as much Starbucks.
Once these are open more folks are going to see what some of us were hoping for, activation of the streetscape, more folks hanging out in Newtonville.
This is great news and exactly the kinds of establishments we need. The toy store will be a new retailer for Newtonville, and while we have a number of coffee shops (and I want them all to succeed), this will be a strong presence in the neighborhood.
I hope someone decorates the plaza at Christmas with a tree and lights. This would be such fun.
Colleen:
Not sure about the christmas tree, but I love the lights they did in Nonantum’s Village by the hardware store. That would be fun for sure.
I for one am very excited. George Howell is almost always full, and Starbucks isn’t always my cup of tea. (Sorry for the pun) I can’t wait to have ample outdoor as well as indoor seating and Cafe Nero is fantastic, I love stopping at the one in Downtown Crossing on my lunch break.
Plus Claudia (my wife) and I are at an age where a lot of our friends have young children, and buying children’s toys as gifts is a regular occurrence.
History indicates that boutique stores get busier with competition. (I don’t refer to the internet but to other brick and mortar stores.)
Old enough to remember when Henry Bear was in Newton Centre.
These are great additions to Newtonville. I’ve mentioned that I hope practical businesses will go into all of these new storefronts as opposed to boutique type places, but things like a toy store or a new location of The Barn are really practical retail businesses that will serve the community well.