Our round-up of the latest Wellesley, Mass., business news.
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Wellesley Square Live! finds its groove
Wellesley Square Live!, a new public web conference that takes place Fridays from 9-10am is shaping up as a great new venue for local businesses and patrons to share updates and best practices, and just to get to know each other sort of face to face.
The program, orchestrated and hosted by Wellesley Square marketing whiz Rick Cram, consists of a mix of business profiles, interactive polls, inspirational quotes, and even a Swellesley Report minute. It’s not limited to just Wellesley Square merchants either: Linden Square, Church Square and beyond are represented and welcome.
This past week’s episode included a spotlight on Linden Square’s Kenzie & Hope, a girls’ and women’s clothing and accessories store owned by Shani DeFina, a Wellesley mom who has 2 teenage girls.
“I can’t imagine being a store owner and not living in the community that my store is in,” she says.
DeFina bought the store a couple of years ago from its longtime owner and expanded its focus to appeal to girls to women from ages 7 to 97. “We’re unique in that under 1 roof we carry lines for girls to women,” she says.
DeFina considers her location just around the block from Wellesley Middle School key, as kids swing by to spend their chore money on small gifts for each other. The store even carries scrunchies made by young women, with a portion of proceeds going to good causes. Carrying lines by socially conscious designers is one of DeFina’s focuses for her shop.
The store owner took a few minutes during Wellesley Square Live! to share tips on how to choose clothes for family photos, nothing that Kenzie & Hope offers outfits that moms and daughters can coordinate.
Among other revelations during Wellesley Square Live!: London Harness owner Demian Wendrow revealed that merchants are working with the Board of Health to ensure that retailers in Wellesley will have packages containing masks, thermometers and other necessary gear to re-open safely as COVID-19-related restrictions are limited.
Linden Square virtual sidewalk sale promises big savings
Speaking of Kenzie & Hope, it will be among the merchants taking part in the first Linden Square Virtual Sidewalk Sale, which will boast savings of up to 70% this week May 13-15.
Linden Square’s annual sidewalk sale will morph into an online event this time around via the retailers’ Instagram Live accounts.
Here’s the May 13-15 schedule:
Weds-Fri, 11am – noon
Weds, 10am – Baby Boy & Girl 0-24 months
Thurs, 1pm – Big Girl 2-8 years
Fri, 10am – Big Boy 2-6/8 years
Weds, 1pm – Girls
Thurs, 5pm – Women
Fri, 1pm – Teens
Singh’s Sign
Singh’s Cafe at 312 Washington St., in Wellesley Hills is under new ownership. A tough break for the new team to take over as the coronavirus pandemic unfolded, but the business is moving forward.
Among the signs of this: A new sign, as seen here, with the old sign taken down.
We reached out to Singh’s online to learn more about their plans, and will update this if we hear back.
Mask warnings
Signs warning patrons of Wellesley businesses of the new protocols, including the wearing of masks, have started to appear on local storefronts.


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