Truly’s this Friday officially opens at its new space next door at 39 Grove St., where it’s expanding beyond its dozens of flavors of frozen yogurt and ice cream with baked goods and Peet’s coffee. So ignore those single digit temperatures, and prove your true love for cold treats—or warm ones.

We dropped by an open house on Thursday night where attendees enjoyed free goodies and shared well wishes with the Marcus family, which owns and operates Truly’s. In addition to serving Peet’s, much to the delight of those who miss the coffee shop that closed in 2021, Truly’s is partnering with Revival Cafe & Kitchen and Flourhouse Bakery for its baked goods.

The new Truly’s space isn’t all that much bigger than the longtime space at 35 Grove St., Steve Marcus says, but it’s configured to give patrons more room to queue up and for more employees to operate behind the counters (often those employees are local students). The former main Truly’s space will now be used by the business as a commissary.

Truly’s, which has been in town since 1989, is on the Select Board agenda next week in hopes of securing approval to open earlier to serve coffee and baked goods.

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The latest Wellesley, Mass., business news:

PopUpBagels plans pop-up sale… might it stay?

(Update: 8am on 2/3):  PopUpBagels worked things out with the Wellesley Health Dept. and its sale is back on, via its website, at noon on Friday, 2/3.

(Update: 12pm on 2/2): A Redding, Conn., bagel maker dubbed PopUpBagels was planning to do a 1-day pop-up at Capt. Marden’s on Linden St., in Wellesley on Saturday, Feb. 11, but now say it’s pre-ordering slated for Feb. 2 has been postponed until further notice as it sorts things out with the town. A town official indicated that once some permitting paperwork is taken care of, the sale could take place without much delay.

Look for updates on the PopUpBagels Instagram account and website.

Their standard pricing appears to be $38 for a dozen bagels and 2 schmears based on sales in other communities. So yeah, at least twice that of say, a Bruegger’s (Bruegger’s bailed from Wellesley in 2020, leaving a bagel hole in town.)

PopUpBagels Founder Adam Goldberg says “We chose Wellesley because they chose us.  Several of your residents have had our bagels while passing through Connecticut and have repeatedly reached out to us to come set up there for a day or more.”

The business planned to bake its bagels on site at Capt. Marden’s… and could be enticed to set up shop in town on a more permanent basis.

“Yes, we are seriously considering Wellesley as a permanent location for us.  But please understand that we are not your every day bagel shop.  We do not make sandwiches or salads or sell single bagels.  All of our bagels are made fresh to order and sold only by the dozen paired with weekly creative schmears…” Goldberg says.

PopUpBagels has some well-known investors, and has grabbed the attention of The New York Times and others.

State settles with Wellesley auto dealer’s parent over deceptive & discriminatory pricing

From the Office of the Attorney General:

Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell announced that her office has reached a $350,000 settlement with Hometown Auto Framingham, Inc. to resolve allegations that the company engaged in the unfair, deceptive and discriminatory pricing of “add-on” products sold to Black and Hispanic consumers.  

The assurance of discontinuance, filed in Suffolk Superior Court, alleges that Hometown Auto, which operates two car dealerships located in Wellesley [editor’s note: Wellesley Mazda on Rte. 9] and Danvers, charged Black and Hispanic consumers higher prices for “add-on” products in comparison to white consumers. “Add-on” products are extra goods or services sold to a consumer who purchases or leases a car; these include products like guaranteed asset protection (GAP) products, paint protection products, tire and wheel protection products and remote starters.  

“Consumers need to know that their race or ethnicity will have absolutely no effect on the type of service they receive from Massachusetts auto dealerships or the prices they will be charged,” said AG Campbell. “My office is committed to protecting consumers from predatory and discriminatory practices that stand in the way of upward mobility, and we will continue our advocacy to ensure all consumers are being charged for services equally and fairly.”  

Read entire press release.

Alta Strada is back to cooking up Italian classics

Alta Strada in Wellesley Square has welcomed back customers after a brief closure for kitchen and dining room upgrades.

For more on over 50 Wellesley restaurants, check out our Where to Eat page.

Or maybe shake things up a bit and discover Where to Eat in Natick.

The latest Wellesley, Mass., business news:

Oath Pizza aims for winter opening in Linden Square

Oath Pizza, which by will be located in the former Roosters Men’s Grooming Center  spot at 180 Linden St. (Roosters is just around the corner, still in Linden Square,  doesn’t have a set opening date. But it is now aiming to open in either February or March, Oath VP David Jamieson told the Wellesley Select Board at its Nov. 7 meeting, during which it approved a common victualler license for the restaurant.

The eatery, which boasts of its “100% feel-good pizza,” got its start in Nantucket, and its closest location to here is Chestnut Hill.

Oath touts pizza crust that is grilled, seared in avocado oil, and topped with fresh veggies and organic proteins from the likes of Applegate, Beyond Meat, and Banza.

Oath will offer dine-in eating as well as delivery via assorted services and apps.

Fancy new signs in Linden Square

We happened by as new signs were being installed in Linden Square this week, including at The Linden Store and Citgo stretch.

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Extraordinary Women Advancing Healthcare Award goes to Wellesley resident

Wellesley resident Dr. Robyn Riseberg is among this year’s 10 winners of the Extraordinary Women Advancing Healthcare Award from The Women’s Edge, a nonprofit devoted to advanced women leaders.

Riseberg founded Boston Community Pediatrics, a non-profit pediatric private practice with an equity focus, in 2020. It has served more than 1,200 patients.

4G Clinical cracks Deloitte Technology Fast 500 list

4G Clinical, a Wellesley-based life sciences firm whose software improves the clinical trials process, is touting its inclusion at #159 of the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 list of fastest growing tech firms in North America. 4G Clinical grew more than 900% from 2018 to 2021.

Companies included must have base-year operating revenues of at least $50,000, and current-year operating revenues of at least $5 million. They must be in business for at least 4 years.

The latest Wellesley, Mass., business news:

Latest on Asaro Bakery & Cafe

If Asaro Bakery gets as many customers as we get emails from people asking about when it is opening…the planned Church Street business is going to make a killing.

But first it needs to submit new architectural and engineering plans to convert the retail space into restaurant space, which includes all the necessary plumbing, etc. to meet food codes and town bylaws.

We first reported on Asaro last February, and temporary signage was installed earlier this year at at 32 Church St., in space occupied by Lyn Evans before it moved to 87 Central St.

This isn’t the first time a bakery has stretched the meaning of “coming soon” in Wellesley. We first reported in July 2018 that White’s Bakery was coming to Playhouse Square in Wellesley Hills, signs went up at the end of 2018, and they finally opened in April 2019. But White’s closed temporarily in March of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and never reopened. Its sign remains at the vacant space more than 2 years later.

Here’s hoping Asaro can get its plans approved and have a much longer run than White’s did.

Joel Bagnal Goldsmiths & Jewelers closing upon owner’s retirement

Congrats to Jill Sudman, owner of Wellesley Square business Joel Bagnal Goldsmiths & Jewelers (101 Central St), who has announced that the business is being closed upon her retirement.

The business opened its doors 44 years ago. Joel Bagnal himself opened a shop in St. Augustine, Fla., in 2010.

Items will of course be marked down as the business is liquidated.