"There's no walking traffic anymore," John Pergantis told Brookline.News in early July, a few weeks before Party Favors closed at 1356 Beacon Street. He and Mary Lynn Pergantis had owned the bakery for 35 years. According to NBC Boston, its last day was July 15. The cake orders were still coming in. In Pergantis's account to Brookline.News, cake orders alone could not carry a Beacon Street storefront once property taxes, insurance and building costs pushed the rent up.
Since then, several other food storefronts nearby have changed hands too. Each of the spaces with an announced new tenant is going to an Asian food concept: a Korean ramyun chain, a poke shop, a Thai coffee roaster and a bar and barbecue restaurant. On these blocks, the new tenants are adding to the corner's existing Asian food cluster. Party Favors' former space is the one where no successor has been named.
Five addresses and who is taking each
| Address | Previous tenant | Announced tenant | Status in mid-October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1310 Beacon St. | Bare Blends, smoothies | Ramyun Zip, self-service Korean ramyun | Described as opening soon, no date given |
| 1376A Beacon St. | Onezo-Brookline, bubble tea | O'Poke | Onezo closed, no O'Poke date given |
| 240 Harvard St. | Cremeux French Patisserie | Newbery Street Coffee Roasters | Aimed for October, no firm date set |
| 406 Harvard St. | Kao Jiu | Yu Yue Bar & BBQ | Licensing heard in July, no opening date announced |
| 1356 Beacon St. | Party Favors | None announced | Closed July 15 |
The newcomers differ from one another in useful ways. One is a national chain expanding north, one is a local pop-up moving into its first permanent home, and one is a full-service restaurant taking over a liquor license that is already licensed for its address.
A chain's northernmost store at 1310 Beacon
Brookline.News reports that Ramyun Zip, which bills itself as completely self-service, will open in the former Bare Blends smoothie shop. Diners pick a packaged ramyun, open it, add hot water from a machine, and choose toppings such as dumplings, scallions, fish cakes and bean sprouts from a salad-bar setup. The menu also has pre-made bowls, from chapagetti in black bean sauce to beef bulgogi and curry chicken noodles. According to the company's website, it carries more than 120 food items.
The chain has locations in Virginia, North Carolina, California and Nevada and is expanding into Georgia. Brookline will be its northernmost store. NBC Boston covered the opening on October 16. Brookline.News also calls it the chain's first New England location.
Brookline.News counts more than four other restaurants serving ramen in the immediate area, along with sushi, dumplings and fusion spots. A chain opening its farthest-north store here suggests it expects that cluster to bring customers. A few doors up Beacon at 1376A, the Onezo-Brookline bubble tea shop has closed and O'Poke is moving in, so one Asian concept is replacing another.
A pop-up that earned a lease at 240 Harvard
Newbery Street Coffee Roasters got to Harvard Street a different way. Founder Pack Katisomsakul and his wife, Thunya Penbumrungvong, built a following with a Thai coffee pop-up at Merai Bar that usually ran from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. They then signed a lease for 240 Harvard Street, the former home of Cremeux French Patisserie. The Brookline Record reported in late August that the café was targeting October and had not set an official opening date. Brookline.News described the space as under construction and called October a hope, not a commitment.
The planned menu includes slow-brewed pour-overs, Es Yen, Azuki Matcha, a Black Sesame Latte and house-made salt bread. Hours for the permanent café have not been published. Anyone who followed the pop-up should check Newbery Street's own channels before walking over.
The swap on this block is plain. A French patisserie's counter is becoming a Thai coffee bar, and the café is starting with a customer base that already knows its drinks.
A license transfer at 406 Harvard
Yu Yue Bar & BBQ is arriving through the licensing process. Kao Jiu announced its closure in March. In July, the town's licensing agenda listed an application from URBANTASTE LLC to take over Kao Jiu's all-alcohol license at 406 Harvard Street, along with new common victualler, entertainment and outdoor dining licenses. The agenda named Alezha Cai as proposed manager and Abel Cai as alternate. The plan calls for hours of 10 a.m. to midnight, 46 seats indoors and 24 outdoors. As of the Brookline Record's July 29 report, no opening date had been announced.
Licensing agendas also hint at what may come next on Commonwealth Avenue, the stretch north of Coolidge Corner, and the same pattern holds there:
- Ramen Haven plans to open at 832 Commonwealth Avenue, according to licensing documents cited by Brookline.News.
- Shahs Halal Food applied for a 25-seat spot next door at 830 Commonwealth Avenue, open 10 a.m. to 3 a.m. daily, according to the town agenda.
- Bingtanghulu, at 1026 Commonwealth Avenue, is replacing BE Pasta Bar, and WhatNow Boston identifies Xiaomei Xing as owner. The July licensing agenda lists the restaurant's application under the same name.
None of these had an opening date in the reports so far. The licensing documents still show which way the new tenants are leaning.
The one storefront with no successor
That brings the story back to 1356 Beacon. When they announced the closure, the Pergantises said they were weighing a smaller space, sharing a storefront with another business, or taking on an investor. Pergantis also said there was no ill will toward their landlord, who had cut the rent in half during the pandemic. No new home for the bakery and no replacement tenant at the old address has been announced since.
The contrast with the other four addresses is in the business model. Party Favors sold cakes, pastries and party supplies, and it needed browsing shoppers on top of its cake orders to cover a Beacon Street lease. The incoming tenants are built around a quick visit: a bowl of noodles, a poke bowl, a pour-over, a barbecue dinner. All of them still depend on the corner's foot traffic, and a self-serve noodle shop has fewer staff hours to pay for before it breaks even.
Where Coolidge Corner's coffee already comes from
While Newbery Street finishes its build-out, the existing coffee scene on these blocks is well established. In September, Brookline.News polled its readers on their favorite local coffee shops. The top three townwide were Cafe Fixe at 1642 Beacon Street in Washington Square, Brothers & Sisters Co. at 7 Station Street in Brookline Village, and Clear Flour Coffee Bar at 180 Thorndike Street.
Closer to the storefronts above, the poll named these shops:
- Arwa Yemeni Coffee, Coolidge Corner
- Temptations, Coolidge Corner
- Paris Creperie, Coolidge Corner
- L.A. Burdick, Coolidge Corner
- Bakey, Harvard Street
- Tatte, Harvard Street
Newbery Street showed up in the poll's write-ins before it had a permanent address. That gives 240 Harvard a better start than most new cafés get.
Watching which storefront goes to which kind of business is a good way to understand a commercial block, whether you are picking up a coffee there or own a building a few streets away. If you'd like to talk about how changes like these play out around a home you own or are thinking about, Arman Chitchian is glad to share what he's seeing. Let's Connect.
