We had our farewell dinner at Loyal Nine last night. Tonight is their last. Not much point in reporting (and there were several shutting-down-soon glitches and shortfalls we’ve experienced at other places as well), but I feel I should applaud them for an excellent blood sausage and some very precisely cooked tuna croquettes (crisp, greaseless exterior, creamy interior). We’ll miss them.
Not a restaurant, but notable to me nonetheless. I just received an email that Brattle Square Florist will be closing. This was truly the last vestige of commercial business that was Harvard Square. The gentrification and mallification of a once great neighborhood is complete. Extremely sad news.
4 Likes
Very sad indeed. I hate what has happened to Harvard Square.
4 Likes
Oh no. The owner is a patient of B’s. I’ll let him know. He’s gonna be so sad.
ETA: I’m sad. I couldn’t even read this mini-thread to B without tearing up 
.
5 Likes
I’m sad too. Surprised how hard this one hit me. I loved Brattle Square Florist. They always did a wonderful job for me and the flowers seemed to last an exceptionally long time. My kids could go in there with their own money and they were just lovely helping them put together gifts for neighbors, teachers and family. The kids were always so proud. It’s awful the environment is so unfriendly for business like this.
5 Likes
Very sad news.
2 Likes
Remember walking by the open shopfront in any season and getting a gorgeous botanical/floral whiff?
And to keep this on the food tip, heading onto Shay, Charlie’s, or Grendel for cheap food and/or booze.
6 Likes
In better news, Toraya has an opening date, making it into both December and 2021 by the narrowest margin! From https://toraya.jimdofree.com/:
We are excited to finally announce our official opening date: 12/31/2021! Thank you for your continued support during the relocation and renovation of Toraya’s new restaurant space at 795 Massachusetts Avenue in Arlington, MA.
Closed Monday
Tuesday - Friday Lunch: 11:30am - 2:30pm
Tuesday - Sunday Dinner: 5:00pm - 9:00pm *Sat open at 4:00pm
During our soft-opening, here are our hours:
12/31/2021 5:00pm - 9:00pm
01/01/2022 CLOSE
01/02/2022 5:00pm - 9:00pm
01/03/2022 CLOSE
01/04/2022 11:30am - 2:30pm 5:00pm - 9:00pm
I won’t be up for indoor dining for a while yet but am very much looking forward to getting take-out in the new year.
3 Likes
Interesting choice of soft opening…NYE. We may be up for it.
1 Like
This one makes me mad I did not go more often!
From the BG
We started this list as the restaurant scene was changing rapidly, with closures ramping up due to COVID-19. After a somewhat calmer summer, we’re back at it. We’ll modify this list routinely with more insights, updates, and maybe even some hopeful news along the way.
Dec. 28
Bar Lyon
Age: 3
Claim to fame: French food in the South End, from the team behind fine-dining bastions such as Mistral and Ostra.
Farewell message: “After much thought and consideration by our team, it is with a heavy heart that we share that Bar Lyon will be closing its doors after dinner service this Friday, December 31st. We are so appreciative of all of our guests and the South End community who have offered their support to us over the years,” they wrote on social media.
2 Likes
Bar Lyon will be closing at the end of the year according to their Instagram account
I’m sad I never got there.
1 Like
Sad to see. Recall the days when Harvard Square was funky, idiosyncratic, eclectic? Bookstores thick on the ground, Coffee Connection, Wursthaus, Spaghetti Emporium, …
I guess what I’m saying to the new Harvard Square is
Get off my lawn!
8 Likes
(post deleted by author)
I went there when they first opened. I ordered online and when I got home realized that part of my order was missing. They said they would refund the missing parts but that never happened
1 Like
Well that’s too bad, I kept meaning to at least try their breakfast sandwiches, which Mike & Patty’s are famous for, but never made it over there. It’s not surprising that it’s not much of a retail operation, given its complete invisibility from the (side) street that it is on.
I am not sure if I see the problem - small bakeries tends to sell out before they officially close - it just means you have to come earlier next time. And most smaller shops don’t want to produce larger amounts they can’t sell which will be a loss for them (especially bakeries as the can’t easily sell it the next day)
And you really seem to hold grudge against them as you posted it twice on HO and apparently even opened a Yelp account to just post it there.
Well, I didn’t mean to post it twice so sorry for that. I also apologize for my poor judgment in referring to the sales person’s lack of English. A serious lapse in judgment that does not reflect my perspective at all. I’m human. Finally, I posted on Yelp because I wanted to let other folks know. No grudge. Just an observation. The sale person gave no indication that there had been plenty of product earlier, and I asked. There was just no product. I was peeved because I had driven there twice from Waltham, in hopes of supporting this small business. From my observations, it disappointed. And I did not create a Yelp account, I already had one. You are suggesting a kind of angry intentionality that was not mine.
2 Likes
Their website does have online advance ordering, and when I looked at it this morning, the online ordering indicate items that were low stock or out of stock. One review (from 7/19/22) on Yelp says you should pre order and come early, because they run out of stock fast. Perhaps that should be stated explicitly on the front page of their website, so that walk-ins know they should order early and check for availability before making a trip.
There are 12 reviews on yelp. 10 are five star and rave about the place. One is four star because the reviewer’s order was missing some items (as sallyt reported her happened to her) and the reviewer felt all the cookies except the chocolate chip (deemed really special) were too sweet. The one star review is the same as SusieCK’s review here.
2 Likes
