Search Results for: wellesley square clock

Tatte, the ubiquitous bakery & cafe with about 20 locations in the Boston/Brookline/Cambridge area, has designs on the ‘burbs. The eatery, known for Israel-born founder Tzurit Or’s artisanal coffees, pastries, breakfast sandwiches, salads, and sandwiches, made its foray into the western territories when it opened in Newton Centre in October. Things are going well in the neighborhood-oriented location, leading to whispers that a Tatte outpost could be headed to Wellesley in the space now occupied by California Pizza Kitchen.

Linden Square property manager Federal Realty’s team described in July at a town meeting a makeover for the CPK space that was expected to get underway over the summer, and that would pave the way for a tenant with “humble, modest” taste. When we checked in recently on the project, a Federal Realty official had no comment.

(Article updated 11/26) However, a building permit has been filed with the town for the space at 165 Linden St., for a”tenant build-out of a new Tatte Bakery Cafe within existing core and shell space. The main space will include cafe dining, pastry counter area, barista bar, restrooms, and auxiliary spaces. The work will consist of new interior partitions, finishes, and new MEP throughout to connect to building services provided.”

One Wellesley government insider told us Tatte is coming to town, though 1 town official says there’s nothing on public record about this happening. That was a few days before the building permit went live. Since then, the Health Department has been contacted by Tatte about its plans.

We reached out directly to Tatte via its contact form, but that inquiry seems to have gone straight into a black hole, not unlike the apple turnover Mr. Swellesley inhaled.

So, unless something falls apart, Tatte’s coming.

All of which necessitated a Beyond Wellesley site visit to Tatte’s Newton Centre location, about 6.5 miles away from the CPK spot.

Visiting Tatte in Newton Centre

We found easy on-street metered parking on our Saturday-morning visit, and joined the queue of about a dozen people waiting to place their orders. The line moved along quickly and we were soon asked if we wanted any baked goods from the gleaming display case. Of course we did, and asked for some chocolate brioches. When we got to the register and it was discovered the wrong number of pastries made it into our to-go bag, the unflappable worker quickly fixed the issue, and we all got on with our lives. The flaky, yeasty brioche was beautifully layered, with a not-too-sweet chocolate filling. Other bakery items available during out visit were brownies, biscotti, a meringue-based pavlova adorned with fresh berries; about a dozen croissant varieties including pistachio and a kouign-amann variety (which looks more like a puff pastry that a classic croissant); an intriguing poached pear and almond muffin; a savory spinach pita made with labneh (strained yogurt); whole cakes, tarts, galettes, and more.

We kept it pretty basic with a breakfast sandwich of an over-easy egg on a croissant with Vermont cheese, sliced tomato, avocado, and baby arugula. All egg dishes, pancakes, French toast, and more are cooked to order. Your breakfast sandwich is not some pre-assembled plastic-wrapped meal that gets pulled out of a refrigerated case and brought over for a spin in the microwave. Just no. This is restaurant-style food that is brought to your table on white plates. Our meal arrived somewhat less than piping hot, and we wished we had skipped the tomato. The days of local, vine-ripened tomatoes are gone until next summer so, reality check. The croissant was buttery and fresh-tasting, and the cheese had a wonderful bite to it. The egg was served as requested, a nice balance of yoke spilling over onto the fresh arugula.

Our apple turnover was just the right sweetness, and surprised us when it started to leak apple sauce onto our plate.

A cup of Muesli (Greek yogurt topped with granola topped and a pile of fresh berries, among other things) made for a nice pairing with the pastry.

If you’re looking for something more innovative, try the very popular shakshukas, a traditional poached-egg North African dish. Tatte has three varieties, and we overheard people in line raving about them. Overall, the menu includes many healthy options, as well as gluten-free offerings.

Drinks are big here, of course, and the house latte served hot or cold with oat milk and notes of cardamom and honey is a hit with fans, as is the the house cappuccino with halva and spices. We were happy with our fresh-squeezed orange juice and mint lemonade. Matcha lattes, pots of tea, cold brew and other specialty drinks are available, as is a basic cup of strong coffee.

Because the space is commodious, we were able to take our time at our table for two, guilt-free. Although Tatte swirls with busy-ness, it’s a very easy place for single diners up to a large group to find seating. During our visit a crowd of about a dozen, wearing matching t-shirts (even the dog) that identified them as walkers or runners for some worthy cause, were hanging out at a large table in the back. There’s room throughout the space for strollers or other wheeled devices, and the bathrooms are large enough to accommodate them.

We were also impressed with the number of staff they had on hand and wonder how Tatte pulled so many people out of the air that is very thin, indeed, with available workers (though make no mistake, they like everyone else is hiring). It seemed there were endless employees at the pastry area, the register, the coffee bar, tidying up the tables, answering questions. There were no signs asking customers to please be patient, or to bus their own tables, or consider working there once they’re done with breakfast. Where did all that staff all come from?

It doesn’t matter. Tatte is a lively space and a good addition to Newton Centre, an area that was hit hard during COVID with storefront closures.

Gee, maybe Wellesley can score a nice place like this someday.

Mad Minis now at Roche Bros.

Tired of novelty ice cream treats that are either so enormous you could gain weight just looking at them, or so lacking in quality that you just can’t even? Wellesley High School graduates Mark Robinson and Lee Gavris were, so they decided to do something about the well-documented yet largely ignored frozen dessert problem.

The pair co-founded Little Something Foods, LLC and launched Mad Minis. Their goal: to capture the taste and quality of the cold treats they gobbled down durning their formative ice cream years, when they bopped around from Bailey’s on Central Street to Friendly’s on Linden Street over to Sunshine Dairy on Washington Street and on to  Brigham’s in Wellesley Hills. Mad Minis contain no artificial ingredients and at only 60 calories per cookie, they’re what the company calls a “permissible indulgence.”

Over the past several years what once seemed like a crazy leap of faith has grown to include placement in all sorts of big-name stores, including Mad Minis’ recent inclusion in the freezer section of Wellesley’s own Roche Bros. in Linden Square.

We tried them out and the goodies were mad good. The guys obviously have spared no expense on high-quality chocolate, and the fattest of butterfat for the ice cream component. The portion size is great for kids and those trying to avoid supersizing their treats intake

So next time you pop in to Roche, why not see how a couple of locals are shaking up the novelty ice cream game? Mark still lives here in Wellesley, Lee has settled in nearby Newton, and the Little Something Foods office is located in Wellesley.

Spring Cleaning for a Cause

With many families in need of basic necessities, it is more important than ever to open your hearts and donate to Welcome Home, a local home goods pantry. Welcome Home provides families experiencing hardship with basic household items so they can live with dignity.

DATE: May 15-23

DROP-OFF LOCATION: PoppinIn, LindenSquare

NEEDED: New or like-new household items such as glassware, bakeware, towels/sheets, pots/pans, small appliances

Please direct any questions to: welcomehomemass@gmail.com, 617-454-4795

Parklets getting new homes

Wellesley Assistant Executive Director Amy Frigulietti shared plans at this week’s Select Board meeting for new parklets—mini outdoor eating areas—in Wellesley Square. The town last year received state grant money for barriers and other gear designed to cordon off temporary outdoor eating areas, and last year set up the equipment at Clocktower Park in Wellesley Hills.

This time around the town is instead looking to set up parklets outside the Juniper restaurant, expanding that restaurant’s outside eating area, and in front of Old School Pizzeria, which shares that chunk of Central Street with a few other eateries. For Juniper, the story is rather heartwarming: Other merchants petitioned the town to encourage this project, as what’s good for Juniper is good for stores along that stretch, especially in light of Peet’s traffic being no more.

Select Board members did have some questions about the safety of the spot in front of Old School, as drivers coming into the Square at that juncture are often jockeying for position, but the town’s traffic and safety experts have given it the go-ahead.

The town is also looking at options for making the barriers used to set up the parklets a tad prettier than during the pilot last year.

The consensus among the Board was that the more outdoor eating options the better, as long as sidewalks are still passable by pedestrians and options are accessible to all.

Laidback making move to the Mall

Laidback is moving from its location at 588 Washington St., in Wellesley and heading over to the first floor of the Natick Mall effective June 1. There, you’ll be able to cozy up in their Infinity Massage Chairs.

Hopefully, with the return to offices for more people, the outfit will also be able to return to working with HR and wellness departments at businesses to bring massage chairs on site to help relax employees.

We appreciated Laidback’s Swellesley support during their time in town, and wish them the best of luck in their new spot.

Meanwhile, the word on the street is that a professional services firm will be moving into the soon-to-be vacated Belclare space.

Save the dates: Linden Square, Wellesley Square sidewalk sales

Linden Square in Wellesley will hold its annual Sidewalk Sale on Thurs., May 20 – Sun., May 23. Loads of merchants will have their goods out all day, and some sale items will be discounted up to 70%. Don’t miss the discounts at this fun yearly event.

Wellesley Square Merchants will hold their next monthly Sidewalk Saturday event on May 22. Central Street will be closed 10am – 5pm. from Grove Street to CVS, creating a pedestrian-friendly, family-fun event. Live music will be part of the fun in front of CVS and further down the street in Central Park (near the Wellesley Square post office).

Additional dates for Wellesley Square Sidewalk Saturdays are: June 19, July 17, August 21, September 18.

Got tips on business openings, closings or whatever, feel free to email us here: theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

Also email us if you’re interested in sponsoring our weekly Wellesley Business Buzz roundup.

Wellesley has many beloved and frequented restaurants, some of which sell booze and some of which don’t. But town officials recognize that it could boost Wellesley’s economy and energize its dining scene if even more restaurants could be encouraged to open here.

Among the possible Annual Town Meeting articles being discussed is one that would reduce the number of restaurant seats required for an establishment to apply for a license to serve alcohol from 50 to 30 or even 25. This could appeal to smaller existing restaurants and attract the sorts of boutique restaurants that residents often need to head out of town to find currently.

Wellesley Executive Director Meghan Jop said during this week’s regular Select Board meeting that the town has the authority to issue 29 all-alcohol and 6 beer-and-wine licenses, but that 16 of those aren’t being used (Wellesley also has licenses for clubs, like Wellesley Country Club, and grocery stores.)

Wellesley voters in 2012 approved the reduction in seats required to apply for an alcohol license from 100 to 50, but Takara is the only eatery in town to take advantage of that rule since then.

The question is whether restaurants with between 30 and 50 seats might be game for applying for alcohol licenses if they qualified. This could include businesses like Cafe Mangal, Old School Pizzeria, Coconut Thai, and potentially newcomers.

Board member Beth Sullivan Woods and Assistant Executive Director Amy Frigulietti have reached out to restaurant owners and landlords in town, as well as the the president of the Newton-Needham Regional Chamber, to get feedback on this topic. They’ve also been researching the latest practices in other communities.

“[T]here really is a trend moving towards smaller restaurants,” Frigulietiti said during the Select Board meeting. It’s not just smaller restaurants, but more of a mix, from taco shops to bistros serving high quality food from new chefs, she said. “They’re just looking for a small footprint to do that work,” she said.

In talking to landlords, the town is finding that Wellesley is missing out on opportunities to fill vacant storefronts, since its regulations don’t fit with restaurants’ plans. Not to mention that taxes and rents are high, and business restrictions exist such as requiring patrons to buy food if they want alcohol (aka, “intent to dine”).

“You’re seeing a move out of the cities and people are looking as they come out into the suburbs for… small restaurant experiences and not traveling so far,” Sullivan Woods said. “So we are losing our residents going to other communities to dine.”

Research continues into this issue, including whether the magic number for restaurants seats is 30 or something else.

Board member Colette Aufranc commented that from her research into how other communities handle liquor licenses she has seen that they really treat them as an essential element of economic development. “I think this is one of the tools in our toolbox that we can use to help our downtown,” she said, noting that alcohol sales are a proven way for businesses to improve their profit margins. Increased restaurant sales wouldn’t hurt the town’s coffers either, she said.

Broader issues

The proposal to reduce the number of seats required to serve alcohol was not intended to change the town’s current rules requiring patrons to buy food if they want to consume alcohol on premises, Sullivan Woods emphasized. But discussion of the proposal at the board meeting did expand into a broader one.

Board Chair Marjorie Freiman said she understands the appeal of attracting small cozy restaurants, but said something about all of this doesn’t add up and that she’d like to hear more. Among other things, she wonders why more restaurants haven’t applied for licenses at the 50-seat-and-above-level.

“I would also like to know where this is all headed as a package deal (sorry for the pun),” she said. “But I’d like to know what the plan is for this writ large, as opposed to doing it incrementally. Because if that’s the objective, to get rid of ‘intent to dine,’ and have places where people can just have a snack and drink, I would like to know, and I think we should be transparent about it…”

Board member Tom Ulfelder also raised the issue of how any such changes could also affect the town’s development agreement with Linden Square property manager Federal Reality, and the mix of restaurants allowed there. Freiman followed with: “I think we need to look at how it would impact every class of establishment that can, or may, serve alcohol.”

This entire discussion might invite the town to revisit the “intent to dine” rule in town that requires patrons to order food if they want to order drinks. This restriction has put the kibosh on possible business ventures in town, said Jop, including an Eataly-like outfit at The Belclare and a Kings-like entertainment venue where the VW dealership operates.

“As models have sort of evolved, we can’t accommodate those business models. So it is something I would say the board should consider because there are a lot of models out there…,” she said. “I’ve said it before, Economic Development… 101 the #1 rule: When in doubt, add alcohol.”

Jop said you could have imagined having a craft beer truck hunker down at the Shared Streets parklet the town set up over the summer at Clocktower Park, giving people an option to grab a brew to go along with food from nearby restaurants that don’t serve alcohol. “You could imagine it anywhere else but here,” she said.

This all goes back to gauging the public’s appetite from moving further away from the town’s historically conservative approach to alcohol sales.

Though as Sullivan Woods noted, at least for now, due to state rules during the pandemic, everyone is operating on an intent to dine basis. “So it’s not as abnormal as it was a year ago,” she said, and that makes it “not as bad” for property owners to market Wellesley to restaurants.

The Select Board is looking to sign the Annual Town Meeting warrant on Jan. 25, so it will be determined then whether the article on seat reductions will go to Town Meeting.

• Thank you Swellesley Report supporters & on to Year Sweet 16