Our roundup of the latest Wellesley, Mass., and nearby business news:
Fastachi closing Church Street shop
Disappointing news on the Wellesley retail front: Fastachi, the nuts and chocolates shop that opened in Church Square in late 2017, is closing its Wellesley location this month. The physical store has been closed since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, though Fastachi was still operating online.
Fastachi brought to Wellesley exactly what people craved. Not another (fill in the blank) business, but something different. It tasted and smelled great, too, and the shop was artfully designed, with an assortment of nutcrackers among its decor.
Fastachi’s Susan Etyemezian says “Fastachi will not be re-opening its Wellesley location. And it is primarily due to COVID-19. Our Watertown location is open with reduced hours – https://www.fastachi.com/locations. We are accepting online orders for in-store pick-up.”
Night Shift Brewing & Level99 immersive gaming venue headed to Natick Mall
Our sister publication, Natick Report, broke the story that Night Shift Brewing is joining forces with engineering firm Box Fort on a new immersive gaming entertainment space called Level99 at Natick Mall in early 2021 in part of what used to be Sears.
The venue will include a taproom and 43 small gaming rooms for groups to take on physical and mental challenges. Will be converting video game mechanisms into more of a location-based adventure. Sounds like something different and fun.
Wellesley restaurants reopen indoor dining
With the state giving the go-ahead for restaurants to begin offering indoor dining as of this week, a number of Wellesley eateries are going for it.
Among the first we’ve noticed doing so are Smith & Wollensky, which also is offering outdoor dining at the front and back of its Washington Street restaurant, and Cafe Mangal, which is also seeking to offer outdoor dining on the town hall green. Cafe Mangal says its dining room opens Wednesday, 11am-4pm. We understand that Singh’s is also offering dining indoors and outdoors.
Meanwhile, across the town line, Natick is going al fresco in a big way soon.
Got tips on business openings, closings or whatever, feel free to email us here: theswellesleyreport@gmail.com
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