It was a month of comings and goings in town, with four establishments opening and three closing their doors either temporarily or forever, as well as some change in personnel at town hall and the high school sports side of things.
The closing that caused the biggest stir in town was White Mountain Creamery, a much-loved local institution since 1985. First, there were rumblings of financial trouble, with disgruntled teens wondering when they would get their overdue paychecks. Next, a sign went up on the door saying that a family emergency was keeping the store closed. The next sign claimed that renovations were to blame. Finally, the last sign went up saying, “White Mountain Out of Business.”
Nearby at 1 Cameron St., a new 3D printing services business called Toys in Box opened up. Walk in the door and into a shop that displays brightly colored toys and other items such as mugs, jewelry, and sphere-shaped decorations hanging from the ceiling. Visitors can come in with their own designs for toys or other items, but know that it can take hours for the 3D printers to completely chug out the creations.
Bocado, a Spanish tapas restaurant, opened up at 45 Church St. to an enthusiastic reception of diners eager to try out such fare as raw tuna with lemon basil crema, mozzarella stuffed crispy rice balls, bacon-wrapped scallops, paella, and sangria.
Meanwhile, over on Route 9 westbound, Dunkin Donuts temporarily closed down the drastic way. The busy spot was torn down as part of a complete re-do and is expected to reopen in 10 – 12 weeks.
On the retail side of things, Eldred Wheeler furniture, a store that specializes in colonial American furniture created by hand using the traditions of 18th century craftsmen, has opened in Linden Square in the former Crossing Main space. Crossing Main, which moved over to Linden Square from Church St. a couple of years ago and has had a presence in Wellesley for over 16 years, somehow slinked out of town without our even noticing.
As far as town news goes, two new basketball courts near the Wellesley High School track/football field opened. The courts, which had been replaced by a parking lot during the building of the new high school, are now back and better than ever thanks to the work of recreation, Natural Resources Commission, the town engineer and other town officials.
In additional basketball news, Wellesley High School announced that Glen Magpiong, the boys varsity coach since 2010, would be switching over to coach the girls team. Coach Magpiong, whose daughter played hoop for WHS for four years, is no stranger to coaching girls’ basketball and looks forward to motivating the players and providing stability to the program.
Over at town hall, a new Natural Resources Commission Director, Brandon Schmitt, has been hired. He’s in charge of stewardship of the town’s park, conservation, recreation, and open space system.
There’s one place in town that, for a little while anyway, didn’t see much coming and going: the police station. For one glorious week in Wellesley, (10/13 – 10/19) there were no arrests in town.
