Window displays in the space that formerly housed the Petco Unleashed store in Symphony inform the public that Caffe Nero will soon open there.
Hopefully their presence won't adversely impact business at the independent Oak Leaf Bakery across the street.
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Comments
Oakleaf
By Miaow
Tue, 03/06/2018 - 8:49pm
I hope it doesn't impact them either. I really like Oakleaf!
Pavement
By anon
Wed, 03/07/2018 - 11:00am
And there's also the Pavement coffeehouse a few blocks away.
I appreciate the ample seating at Nero, but the coffee (and chai) i've had there was not good. The other day I walked past two of these places within a few blocks of each other. Tired of them, would rather have something else in this space.
Geez
By cybah
Tue, 03/06/2018 - 8:57pm
I was just at that Petco right after Christmas. So it wasn't closed long.
I can see why. Weird location, you wouldn't know it was there unless you lived or worked in that area. Plus I just can't see a pet store being that successful there. I was there because I was killing time before I got my haircut.
Just like record stores
By mrotown
Tue, 03/06/2018 - 9:53pm
We seem to be in the midst of a major pet store die off. I think everyone is on recurring delivery for food now.
Yep......
By Pete Nice
Wed, 03/07/2018 - 9:10am
I get a big box of dog food delivered to my house via amazon every 2/3 months. That was the only reason I would visit a pet store before (and possibly buy some extra treats/toys/leashes).
Huh?
By anon
Tue, 03/06/2018 - 10:07pm
“You wouldn’t know it was there unless you worked or lived in the area.”
It’s a store in a neighborhood in Boston. Who else would go there other than people who live and work in the area, and people who googled “Boston pet store?”
Location
By cybah
Wed, 03/07/2018 - 7:45am
My point was, it's around the corner from Mass Ave on Edgerly. Unless you knew it was there, you wouldn't know. Verses the stores along Mass Ave.
I feel the same way about the
Bread & CircusWhole Foods over there too. Just tucked in a corner. You can't see either (Petco or WF) from the Westland intersection with Mass Ave. Again unless you knew it was there, it's not visible.Location
By anon
Wed, 03/07/2018 - 10:54am
yeah, went there a few times when I had to stop at the CVS or occasionally the WF.
Besides being tucked away (and overpriced), I don't think this particular part of the city has a high concentration of dog owners? They would have been better off near all of the retail by Fenway Target/Landmark center since at least it's more of a shopping destination.
I found it priced
By Mediacrity
Wed, 03/07/2018 - 4:56pm
I found it priced competitively with any other Petco and cheaper than even my beloved Pawsh or Fish-n-Bone.
And as a dog owner who lived there for years, I gotta disagree. Source: My dog HATES other dogs and I spent every walk detouring to avoid running into at least a half dozen at any given time.
It was actually...
By Ward8Mahatma
Wed, 03/07/2018 - 11:28am
... one of their most profitable stores according to the manager I spoke to when I went in to take advantage of their closing sale. He had no idea why they were being shut down, but now it seems like it might have been the landlord not renewing the lease. He also told me they got significant patronage from people attending the BSO & Pops, particularly on matinee days.
Interesting
By anon
Wed, 03/07/2018 - 12:18pm
Sounds like cybah was completely mistaken on this one. I can’t think of a much better tenant than a hot international coffee joint. Caffe Nero is absolutely killing it in Boston.
"hot international coffee joint"
By Pete Nice
Wed, 03/07/2018 - 1:19pm
If Caffe Nero is a "hot international coffee joint", then the Olive Garden is a "World Class Italian Eatery".
Caffe Nero
By BostonDog
Tue, 03/06/2018 - 9:01pm
It's like the 1990's with Starbucks all over again.
And somehow even more twee
By amian
Wed, 03/07/2018 - 11:58am
sigh
Absolutely
By gradontripp
Wed, 03/07/2018 - 12:57pm
Back in the 90s, Starbucks was the kind of place you could spend hours in. They've lost that sense, and Nero's picked it up and ran with it.
Caffe Bene
By Irma la Douce
Wed, 03/07/2018 - 1:17pm
Caffe Bene on Mass Ave (above the Blick Art Supply store) has good "hangout" ambiance. And they are open til 11pm weeknights and midnight on Friday/Saturday, unlike the other coffee chains in the area.
People still hang out in Starbucks for hours
By Ron Newman
Wed, 03/07/2018 - 9:24pm
because they use it (and other coffee shops with wi-fi) as a workspace. I've done this.
(Starbucks also gives unlimited free coffee refills if you are a Gold member, though I don't think I've ever taken more than one free refill per visit.)
Free refills??
By gradontripp
Thu, 03/08/2018 - 11:46am
Really? I've been gold for years, and never knew that. Thanks!
Meanwhile, Across the Street....
By Irma la Douce
Tue, 03/06/2018 - 9:47pm
The Westland, slated to open "Fall 2017" in the old Symphony 8 space, has not shown any sign of life, and no online updates.
However, the web site does sport an amazing archival image of early 20th century traffic at the Huntington/Westland/Mass Ave intersection, including an above-ground trolley (the modern Green Line E branch is underground at that spot).
https://westlandboston.com
Trolley is on Mass. Ave., not Huntington
By Ron Newman
Tue, 03/06/2018 - 10:00pm
and had a route similar to today's #1 bus.
Oy....
By Irma la Douce
Tue, 03/06/2018 - 10:08pm
you are correct, of course...somehow I got disoriented by the perspective of Symphony Hall's facade
Now I'm wondering when they got rid of the tracks on Mass Ave.
Oh geez, I've been hitting
By riggs not logged in
Tue, 03/06/2018 - 10:30pm
Oh geez, I've been hitting the Westland's page for nearly a year waiting for an update. Many fond memories of Tiger Lilly's and their famous scorpion bowls back in the day when I lived in what was basically a tenament (with three other equally poor and under-employed friends from college). The neighborhood has really changed. ::sigh::
For that area, change is good
By Sammy
Wed, 03/07/2018 - 7:06am
Please don't bemoan gentrification. Even as recently as 2002 when my wife lived in that area, you stabbings and whatnot. It is still a little sketchy at night, despite the rent going up.
I've only been to Oakleaf once
By u-hub-fan
Wed, 03/07/2018 - 8:45am
but I can tell you Nero will be no rival whatsoever for their baking.
#1 think I miss about living
By Mediacrity
Wed, 03/07/2018 - 4:53pm
#1 think I miss about living over there. Best cupcakes around. And I have had a LOT of cupcakes.
I like Caffe Nero
By Anonyme
Wed, 03/07/2018 - 4:46pm
Last month I was in London and liked the ambiance, service and coffee (and once, hot chocolate.) They were a magnet for Italians, and most of the staff was Italian as well.
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