Wellesley Business Buzz: Mark’s Pizza on the comeback trail, id. Salon closed, authors coming to town

September 21, 2018 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Here’s a round-up of the latest Wellesley, MA business news:

Mark’s Pizza & Subs comeback still in the works

We’ve fielded many questions about when and where and if Mark’s Pizza & Subs will re-open, so I headed for the Wellesley Hills to see if I could find out. Workers were busy renovating the former Alfredo’s Hair Salon space at 10 Washington Street and the general contractor, who didn’t want to be named himself but gave me a business card from such and such, said that Mark’s would be going into that space. He estimated a late 2018 opening. No word yet on whether Mark’s will still carry his popular Chicken Broccoli Alfredo at the old Alfredo’s. We haven’t heard back from Mark’s about its situation, but the town of Wellesley confirmed that Mark’s is headed into this spot.

Sad to hear, I’d say

id. Salon at 241 Washington Street has closed its doors, and indeed the place looks pretty much cleared out (though no word of the closing on the company’s website or social media channels as of this posting). As the Townsman reported recently, some of the stylists will be found at another cuttery/dyery in town. id.Salon is the same business that garnered several Boston Magazine “Best of Boston” awards over the years for the monthly publication’s west of Boston category. Bet those stylists are still good at what they do no matter where they’re doing it, so it would be well worth seeking them out.

Wellesley Books, upcoming author visits

The following authors will appear soon. You can get all the details here.

Sarah Smarsh, Heartland
Kerri Mahr, The Kennedy Debutante
B.A. Shapiro, The Collector’s Apprentice
Rob Buyea, The Perfect Secret

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Friends of Wellesley Free Libraries Fall Book Sale Sept. 13 – 16

September 4, 2018 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Buying used books is a great way to recycle and support the Wellesley Free Library (WFL) at the same time. The Friends of the WFL invite you to the Main Library’s Wakelin Room to shop during the following hours:

Friends Members’ Preview Sale

Thursday, September 13

5:00 PM to 9:00 PM (If you’re not a Friend, join today!)

Public Book Sale

Friday, September 14 from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM

Saturday, September 15 from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM

$7 Bag Sale

Sunday, September 16 from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM

Academy Award winner Sally Field coming to Wellesley

August 15, 2018 by bbrown Leave a Comment

Sally Field, the Hollywood icon best known for roles in movies like Norma Rae and TV shows like The Flying Nun, will visit Wellesley on October 10 at 7pm to hawk and talk about her new memoir, In Pieces.

She’ll be appearing at Dana Hall School, and will be interviewed by Robin Young. the NPR/WBUR host.

The Wellesley Books event will cost you $33 if you want to go, though that will include an autographed edition of the book., In Pieces.

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Fells Branch library in Wellesley, a work in progress

August 10, 2018 by Deborah Brown 1 Comment

Work is coming along on the Fells Branch Library on Weston Road, temporarily closed for renovations that will transform the historic building into a place with unique and intimate early learning experiences for its patrons ages infants – 6. Here are some exterior pictures of the work-in-progress on Wellesley’s oldest municipal building. The 160-year-old structure was originally a one-room schoolhouse.

The last time the branch shut down was under much less favorable circumstances. In 2006 – 2008 the Fells (and Hills) branch was shuttered due to lack of funds, but private fundraising brought it back into action. The library now operates 100% on privately raised funds. The $70 – $90k renovation project being covered through private donors and grants.

The project is expected to reach completion in late Fall, 2018.

The book drop at Fells is still operational during the renovation project.

The Wellesley Schools summer reading books aren’t going to read themselves — here’s an inspiring video by Sprague teachers

August 4, 2018 by Caleb Brown Leave a Comment

The Sprague elementary school teachers have outdone themselves once again in their annual short film encouraging students to push through their summer reading even when the going gets tough. Sprague students are encouraged to read about 30 minutes per day during the summer. (You can check out all Wellesley schools’ suggested summer reading on our Wellesley Summer Reading page.)

The film stars Ms. Fiore as an enthusiastic reader who must overcome a difficult section of her once-beloved, The Book. The film begins with Ms. Fiore having fun with The Book (played by Ms. Bartelloni), but things go sour when Ms. Fiore reaches a difficult part of The Book. After pushing The Book away, the rest of the story follows the path that leads Ms. Fiore to give The Book another chance, and it turns out the hard part can be overcome after all.

Highlights include a fantastic junk food binge scene and some expertly choreographed dancing. The soundtrack was full of hits, from The Turtles to Sinead O’Connor.

This masterpiece was directed by Mr. Craig, and his choices of the film’s various sets will be familiar to Sprague kids and parents. The story features various classrooms, hallways, the cafeteria and, of course, the library.

The inspirational messages at the end had me putting War and Peace and other classics on my summer reading list. I can read them after all!

Wellesley Sprague School video — We weren’t able to upload the video, but if you go over to the Sprague School’s site at this link, you can see The Book and The Reader and in all their dramatic glory.