Our roundup of the latest Wellesley MA business news:
Downtown coffee drought
In rehashing a walk with his wife at the newly reopened (to the public) Wellesley College campus, our neighbor shared: “a telling moment of our walk yesterday happened when we saw a group of students walking to class. [My wife] exclaimed, ‘THEY have coffee!’—an essential treat we can no longer buy in downtown Wellesley.”
That’s not entirely true. Wellesley Bakery sells it, as does JP Licks, though it doesn’t open until 9am and isn’t the first place people think of for coffee. Juice and smoothie joint Cocobeet sells pour-over coffee and lattes.
But more familiar choices have left in recent years. Gone are Bruegger’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Peet’s. B/Spoke’s Drip cafe hasn’t reopened since the pandemic (we’ve checked in for an update). The latest hit is the result of Starbucks “temporarily” combining forces with another Starbucks in Linden Square.
That leaves Starbucks fans like London Harness owner Demian Wendow without his coffee of choice nearby his shop and hoping the Wellesley Square Starbucks’ sabbatical is truly short-lived.
And to think, I recall us writing at some point years ago about “yet another coffee shop” moving into town…
Meanwhile, the coffee drought in Wellesley Square has customers flocking to the Linden Street Starbucks, so much so that the Wellesley Health Department is keeping a close eye on crowding there in light of COVID-19. The department is also keeping watch on the Rte. 9 Dunkin’ Donuts stores, which can see backups from drive-thru customers onto Rte. 9, creating a dangerous situation.
Locals are now brainstorming, hoping a coffee cart might get the OK to operate in the Wellesley Square if not a full-blown shop. A cart might help fill the hole temporarily, but heading into winter won’t necessarily provide the community space many coffee and tea drinkers value—a place to meet friends, get some work done, and just hang out.
More: Restaurant visit: Next best thing to a Wellesley Tatte bakery—the Newton Centre one
Pop round to Linden Square, won’t you?
Pop! has sprung up in Wellesley for another holiday season, this time at Linden Square near Wellesley Tavern.
The collective features home accessories, jewelry, faux floral arrangements, and more from Two Webster (unique home accessories including ceramics, table linens, woven naturals, decorative accents and more); Hamilton Grace Designs (locally designed and made jewelry using precious and semi-precious materials); Perennial Designs (faux florals arrangements, permanent botanicals and timeless holiday decor made using silk and other high-quality materials.); iDazz Jewelry (handmade jewelry with a vintage flair.)
Open Mon – Sat 10:30am-5:30pm & Sunday 12-5pm
Fit to be tie-dyed
Tyed with Love, the place to buy your favorite tie-dye apparel and make your own creations with classes for kids and adults, will open in Linden Square on Nov. 21st. Plus, there’s lots of room for kids’ parties, social and corporate events, and parents’ nights out.
Divergence Physical Therapy & Wellness feels your pain
When Rockland Trust cleared out of 330B Washington St., we told you not to get your hopes up that anything other than a bank would take over the space. But we were wrong on that one.
Divergence Physical Therapy & Wellness started treating clients there in August, and has settled in after seeing clients on the road before that.
Divergence’s Garrett Labberton says he and his teammates have all treated clients in this area for years, so Wellesley was a natural fit.
“There were a number of factors that influenced the decision to open a facility in Wellesley. The community is very tight knit, it is clear that the people of Wellesley are engaged in the community and take pride in being a part of it,” Labberton says. “The population in Wellesley is also incredibly active, the number of skiers, runners and athletes of all ages presents the chance for us to help people achieve their highest levels of activity and perform at their highest level.”
Divergence seeks to do some community building of its own by connecting with other health businesses in town, as it has done with Btone Fitness.
Divergence’s 3-member team distinguishes itself from other PT outfits, Labberton says, by offering one-on-one care in 60-minute sessions.
“In terms of treatment, we respect that the human body has evolved asymmetrically and we do not strive to create symmetry in our clients. Rather, we work to maximize our clients’ available movement in all ranges of motion and increase their strength and ability to generate force in a way that results in more efficient movement,” Labberton says. “By improving the efficiency of movement, we are able to prevent injury and create more resilience to life’s planned and unplanned road bumps.”
Once Divergence helps you get rid of pain, it hopes you’ll stick around for continued strength and performance training.
Thanks Andrews Pharmacy
Thank you to Andrews Pharmacy for returning as a Swellesley advertiser! We appreciate the community support for our independent journalism venture.
Vascular Care Group opens in Wellesley
The Vascular Care Group has announced the opening of its Rte. 9 office at 981 Worcester St. in Wellesley. The 10,000 sq. ft. outpatient facility serves patients with aortic disease, peripheral vascular disease, carotid disease, mesenteric vascular disease, dialysis access, and venous disease.
Drs. Christopher J. Kwolek and R. Todd Lancaster lead the outfit, which boasts imaging suites, dedicated ultrasound rooms, and more.
Kwolek established the first integrated vascular residency program at Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital and served as Chief of Vascular Surgery and the Chair of Surgery at Newton-Wellesley Hospital.
Lancaster is currently the Chief of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery at Newton-Wellesley Hospital.
The ongoing issue? Commercial landlords charging too much for rent. When we finally run out of banks willing to pay those rates maybe rents will become affordable to some of these other businesses
The ongoing issue? Commercial coffee brewers charging too much for cups of coffee.
Buy good beans and make your own in a reusable cup or mug if you can’t buy some conveniently.