Wellesley residents have launched a fundraiser to support Maugus Restaurant, the longtime Washington Street diner that has been challenged mightily during the pandemic.

According to the Maugus fundraiser, which has raised $3,200 as of this writing, the Papakonstantinou family can use the community’s help. Peter and Vaso Papakonstantinou have owned and operated the Maugus for almost 40 years, but the couple is challenged by health problems within their family and staff.

Maugus has carried on gamely this year, joining forces with the Wellesley Gentlemen’s Society this past spring to deliver meals to frontline workers. The town has tried to help out Maugus and other nearby restaurants by establishing an outdoor dining parklet right across the street alongside the Clocktower Park. Maugus itself has also set up tables outside.

As you may or may not know, Maugus holds the distinction of being the place where I first had a discussion with a friend over breakfast in 2005 about starting The Swellesley Report.  So the eatery holds a special place in our hearts.

This fundraiser is actually not the first held this year for a local restaurant. A Save Weston Road Cafe fundraiser was held in March.

More: Where to eat in Wellesley

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What’s behind Door No. 7? It turns out that it’s the Wellesley Tavern.

Door No. 7, the very grown up Linden Square restaurant that opened about two years ago, is giving way to a more family friendly eatery dubbed Wellesley Tavern that plans to open in late November. The restaurant’s website has already been converted.

Door No. 7, which was located across the street from Laura and John Wolfe’s Cottage restaurant, looked to provide a fine dining option to those who didn’t want to travel into Boston or Cambridge. The upscale restaurant emphasized small plates, a raw bar, and craft cocktails, all served up in a classy and sleek atmosphere.

The Wellesley Tavern (who hasn’t wanted a tavern in town, even if you still need to order food to get a drink?) promises “sandwiches, salads, burgers, tacos, sushi, shared plates and entrees.” The tavern will be open for lunch and dinner, with takeout and delivery available.

The restaurant owners say on their website: “Thank you to all of our dedicated customers who have supported Door No. 7 for nearly two years. COVID-19 has shown us that the local dining scene has changed – especially when it comes to fine dining. It is with that in mind that we’ve made the decision to close Door No. 7 and pivot to a more family-friendly, accessible concept.”

Wellesley Tavern has previewed its menu, and while an “accessible concept” sounds good, inquiring minds want to know if the prices will be accessible. No details on that yet.

Both The Cottage and Door No. 7 closed early during the pandemic and didn’t reopen until August.

Most of Wellesley’s restaurants have either stayed open in some form during the COVID-19 pandemic or closed down and announced reopening plans. Bocado Tapas Wine Bar has been the one big holdout, offering nary a clue about its status since temporarily closing in March. Some worried it wouldn’t be back.

But now the restaurant has submitted its plans for indoor and outdoor dining to the Wellesley Health Department and is looking to reopen on Sept. 8, just after Labor Day.

Mike Covino of Niche Hospitality, which counts Wellesley’s Bocado among its 10 restaurants, wasn’t particularly optimistic about the prospect of temporary expanded outdoor dining at his properties back in June. He wrote about the plight of buying tents and other gear that probably wouldn’t pay for themselves anytime soon under the state’s reopening plan.

Bocado’s Worcester site has already reopened for takeout, delivery and in-restaurant dining.

According to Covino, Bocado will be open in Wellesley for dinner seven days a week with lunch offered on Saturday and Sunday. Patio dining will be available, along with takeout and delivery options.

Bocado opened in Wellesley back in 2014.

Update: 8/26/20: The town is making progress on the parklet and could have it going over the next week or so.

Wellesley has received $61K from a state shared streets & spaces program that will allow it to set up outside dining tables alongside Elm Park, where the Wellesley Hills clocktower stands, as soon as mid-September.

(Hey, we’ve been inside that the Sprague Memorial Clocktower!)

The town has worked with Wellesley Square and Linden Square merchants to allow for expanded outdoor seating in light of the pandemic, but has been more challenged to do so for merchants in Wellesley Hills, where space is at more of a premium.

This plan would target that strip that people currently treat as one giant crosswalk, darting blindly across Washington Street to the restaurants and merchants across from the park. Using the grant, Wellesley would secure equipment to cordon off a strip of parking along the park’s eastbound side to accommodate a pick-up/drop-off area for those making purchases across the street. Also envisioned are a bike rack and the aforementioned tables. This could be an option for people who want to pick up food at places such as Coconut Thai, Yama, Comella’s and others, and eat outside.

The set-up, which could include more than a dozen tables, could likely remain in place for 4-6 weeks, weather dependent, and whether people actually use it (it’s loud there). There’s the possibility that customers could order food online and have it delivered there.

The vision for this spot would also be that people walking or biking on the Fuller Brook path could stop for a bite and move along.

The funds will be used in part to pay for a trailer to store the equipment, including barricades and of course lots more street signs. The town could consider other locations to use the materials next year, and will solicit community feedback about that.

“We see a lot of economic potential,” Town Executive Director Meghan Jop told the Board of Selectmen this week.