The Swellesley Report

Since 2005: More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.

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Taste Buds Kitchen coming to Wellesley’s Linden Square

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Taste BudsTaste Buds Kitchen, a chain of shops that offer cooking classes, parties, and corporate events for ages 2-and-up, is planning to open a franchise in Wellesley’s Linden Square.

The business would fill the space at 161 Linden St., which has been home to everything from a bank to a safe maker to a tie-dye apparel outfit. It’s next door to Beacon Hill Athletic Clubs.

Taste Buds has nearly 20 locations open or opening across the country, including in Beverly and North Andover, Mass.

Taste Buds announced on social media almost a year ago that a Wellesley franchise had been awarded and that the kitchen would be “coming soon.” Well, it wasn’t really soon, but the business is now seeking signage approval, so that’s a good sign…

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black & blue, Wellesley
Olive Tree Medical, Wellesley
St. Andrews, Wellesley

Wellesley business buzz: Sit Still kids salon & Clarity Optical coming to Linden Square

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The latest Wellesley, Mass., business news:

Sit Still kids salon moving into space next to ice cream store

Sit Stillsit still, which offers kids’ haircuts and birthday parties, is readying to open a location in Wellesley on Linden Street in between the Shade Store and Van Leeuwen Ice Cream.

Sit Still is a chain with franchises across the country. This would be its first Massachusetts spot.

The business’s website says Sit Still launched 14 years ago. As for the opening in Wellesley: Coming soon.

This would add to the plethora of barber shops and salons in Linden Square and along Linden Street, including Roosters and Linden Street Barber Shop and Atelier and Jhellen and…

 

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Clarity Optical coming to Linden Square

We don’t have much on this, but a business called Clarity Optical—presumably eyewear, etc.— has plans to open at 200K1 Linden St. in between LaserAway and FP Movement on the Roche Bros. side of the strip. The business will include retail, exam, and service areas.

We don’t know when they plan to move in yet.

Know of Wellesley businesses coming or going? Please tip us off: theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

Page Waterman, Wellesley
London Harness, Wellesley
Paul Macrina Electrical
Wellesley Kitchen and Home Tour

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Wellesley’s Maugus Restaurant to become Maugus Cafe, with updated menu, amenities

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The Maugus Restaurant at 300 Washington St., in Wellesley changed hands late last year after being owned and operated by the Papakonstantinou family for nearly 45 years. The new owners said changes would come to the restaurant gradually, and now they are.

Maugus, WellesleyThe name of the business is being changed from Maugus Restaurant to Maugus Cafe “to best reflect the concept of our restaurant business model and menu,” per new owner Kostas Saranteas.

Saranteas and his family owned and operated the Atlantic Sea Grill in Acton for the past 11 years, and Saraneas told us in October that the Maugus menu would inherit favorites from the previous restaurant’s menu.

Among newcomers to the menu: Cajun shrimp tacos ($20), Sweet potato bowl ($18), and Chorizo Burrito ($15). Plenty of Greek favorites remain or have been updated or added to.

The owners will seek the Select Board’s blessing on Jan. 20 for the name change, plus expanded hours. Maugus looks to stay open from 7am-5pm seven days a week (it currently closes at 2pm).

In addition to making these changes, the owners are improving front door accessibility, installing a new grease trap, and adding a second unisex restroom.

Future plans may include a full liquor license acquisition with possible further extension of the hours of operation.

Where to eat in Wellesley (visit our Wellesley restaurants page, sponsored by black & blue Steak and Crab)

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Longfellow, Wellesley
Wellesley Repertory Theatre
Wellesley Village Church, Easter

Wellesley business buzz: Another new bank, but not really; Jejes coffee expanding; Independence Nissan to make a name

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The latest Wellesley, Mass., business news:
 

Another new bank is coming, but not really

 
beacon bankBeacon Bank is coming to Wellesley at two locations, but actually, this is just a renaming of Brookline Bank at 35 and 448 Washington St.

Beacon Bank will seek the town’s OK next week to change the signage.

Beacon Financial last September merged with Berkshire Hills Bancorp and Brookline Bancorp, resulting in the planned name change, not to mention a $24b firm.
 

 

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Jejes expanding to Seaport next year

 
The team at Jejes Coffeehouse & Roastery in Wellesley and Jejes Coffee in Sharon posted on social media last March that they’d be expanding to the Seaport in Boston, complete with a photo that’s also front and center on the business’s website.

For whatever reason, the news has had new legs recently, with headlines about the specialty coffee shop surfacing here and there.

However, according to Jejes, the new shop actually won’t be opening until next year. “There isn’t much to share at this point,” says co-owner Duse Lee.

Jejes expanded from Sharon into Wellesley Hills in early 2023 at 259 Washington St.
 

 

Independence Nissan making more of a name for itself

 
Independence Nissan of Wellesley, located at 962 Worcester St. in Wellesley (Rte. 9 east), is seeking permission from the Wellesley Design Review Board next week to replace temporary signage with permanent signage.

This had previously been home to Matthews Nissan, as of spring 2024, and before that, Bernardi Nissan.
 

 

Know of Wellesley businesses coming or going? Please tip us off: theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

Wellesley Square home decor shop Comina set to close after 32 years

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Comina, the longtime Wellesley Square home decor shop at 566 Washington St., is set to close this month after more than 32 years in town.

Comina’s Concord store will remain open.

The business had more locations in years’ past including in Connecticut, where it started, and in Rhode Island.

A closing sale has begun at the Wellesley shop, with items marked 20% to 25% off.

Change is expected to continue among businesses within the Taylor Block, property that was sold last year to Jumbo Capital for a reported $15.25m.

Other businesses on that block, including Panoply and European Manor, have closed in recent years.

Comina

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Rotary Club, Taste of Wellesley

Wellesley’s Skip the Stuff bylaw now in effect at restaurants

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alta strada takeout
Alta Strada, which does a booming takeout business, lets customers know about Skip the Stuff

Wellesley’s Skip the Stuff bylaw has taken effect, which means food service establishments provide single-use articles like utensils and condiments only by customer request or at a self-service counter. Numerous restaurants in town already have had such a system in practice.

2025 Annual Town Meeting approved the motion for this Board of Health bylaw (34.5D—Customer Opt-In For Single-Use Service Ware and Single Ware and Single Serving Packaged Condiments), which is intended to reduce waste, encourage customers to change habits, and save businesses money.

Skip the Stuff is the result of a partnership between the Health Department, Sustainable Wellesley, the Climate Action Committee, and Recycling & Disposal Facility. Wellesley Board of Health and Health Department staff will enforce the bylaw, which they’ve been promoting since summer during routine inspections.

Director of Community & Public Health Lenny Izzo said his team put together information packets that included an introduction letter, table tent cards, window clings and back-of-the-house informational sheets for employees. These packets were hand delivered and reviewed in person with food establishment management and staff.

Local restaurants have begun displaying Skip the Stuff signage. We stopped by Coconut Thai in Wellesley Hills recently for lunch, and co-owner Nui Phitpiboonlerd and team had Skip the Stuff stuff materials front and center on the counter.

“It has been a week, we’ve been saving money. It’s worth it,” she said.

coconut thai skip the stuff

Related: Skip the Stuff coming to 2025 Town Meeting (from March 14, 2025)

You can skip the stuff at any of Swellesley’s fine restaurants—we list more than 50 dining options

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Wellesley Business Buzz: New World Opera Music & Dance School raising its visibility; WellSpace Family Concierge Medicine launches

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The latest Wellesley, Mass., business news:
 

New World Opera Music & Dance School raising its visibility

 
An outfit called New World Opera Music & Dance School has been operating for a couple of years at 307 Washington St. (aka, the Rice House) adjacent to UU Wellesley Hills, but many in town might not know this.

The school will become more visible this year, however, as it installs an exterior sign (the Design Review Board OK’d it this week) and updates its web presence to include more info about the school.

Co-founder Bingchuan Wan and his wife Jingyi Huang, both graduates of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in China and the Longy School of Music of Bard College in Cambridge, are behind New World Opera. They used to run their school out of their home, but that got crowded and loud, so they expanded into the Wellesley location, Wan says.

New World Opera has about 200 students and has become popular within the local Chinese community for classes in everything from opera and dance to piano and violin, Wan says.

The school will celebrate its 5th anniversary with a public performance at Wellesley High School on March 7 at 7pm.

Rice House, 307 Washington St
Rice House, 307 Washington St., home of New World Opera Music & Dance School

 

 

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New concierge medical practice opens

 
Family Medicine physician Dr. M. David Dick has launched WellSpace Family Concierge Medicine at 70 Walnut Street. The membership-based practice offers same-day/next-day appointments, unrushed visits, and direct physician availability.

According to the latest research, the average wait to see a family medicine physician in Boston has climbed to 69 days, one of the longest in the country, while local emergency departments often report waits of four hours or more.

“The concierge model allows me to be available to my patients whenever they need me,” said Dr. Dick. “And it means I can go well beyond treating urgent issues to serve as a true partner in health. I have time to listen, uncover and address root causes of illness, emphasize prevention and a whole-person approach. That simply isn’t possible within the constraints of a typical 15-minute primary care visit.”

 

Know of Wellesley businesses coming or going? Please tip us off: theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

Wellesley Symphony Orchestra, 2026