Not only will Brattle Square Florist remain open after a December scare, it will return to the founding family who ran the business for nearly 100 years.
Randy Ricker said Dec. 27 that the pandemic, economic conditions and physical drain of running the 31 Brattle St. store forced him to close Jan. 31 after nine years as owner. There was an outpouring of sadness and support from customers and the community – so much so that Stephen Zedros – longtime manager at the shop and grandchild of the founders – put plans in place to take over the business and maintain operations without interruption starting Feb. 1.
The Scorpion Bowl is dead. Long live the Scorpion Bowl.
In 1950, husband and wife Chun Sau Chin and Tow See Chin started a small restaurant of 40 to 50 seats called the Mandarin House. The couple, who had moved to Massachusetts from China, offered dishes that would appeal to American diners: fried rice, chow mein, egg foo yong. Their daughter and her husband, Madeline and William Wong, took over the business in 1958 and began to expand, buying adjacent land and building additions. Along the way, they had six children; in her spare time, Madeline worked as an insurance agent for John Hancock, setting sales records as one of the rare Asian American women on staff. Eventually, the restaurant would come to have 1,200 seats, themed areas like the Tiki Lagoon Room and the Luau Room, a comedy club, and a different name. The Kowloon still stands on Route 1 in Saugus more than 70 years after it opened, a landmark of glorious isosceles architecture, the tiki god above the entrance glowing in the neon light.
Print
A Banksy exhibit featuring more than 100 original works is coming to Cambridge
More than 100 works by the reclusive graffiti artist will be on display starting Feb. 17.
Visitors to “The Art of Banksy,” a traveling exhibit coming to Boston in February. Kyle Flubacker
A traveling exhibit featuring more than 100 original artworks by reclusive street artist Banksy is coming to Harvard Square in February.
“The Art of Banksy,” which bills itself as “the largest touring exhibition of authentic Banksy artworks in the world,” will be hosted in a building owned by the Harvard Coop at 12 Palmer St., Cambridge, from Feb. 17 to April 3.
Among the pieces set to be on display are recognizable works like “Flower Thrower,” “Rude Copper,” and original variations of “Girl with Balloon,” the artwork which caused a stir when it was shredded at an art auction in 2018. Most of the works featured in the exhibit were created between 1997 and 2008, and range from prints and canvasses to sculptures.
Starvox Exhibits, the company behind the “The Art of Banksy,” has three concurrent exhibitions currently traveling the world, each featuring around 100 works by the reclusive artist. The company sourced more than $35 million worth of art by Banksy for their exhibits.
“This is a one-of-a-kind exhibition. You will never again have the opportunity to see this many of Banksy’s works in one place,” Starvox CEO Corey Ross said in a press release announcing the exhibit’s arrival in Boston. “Once the exhibition is over, the artwork will be returned to art collectors around the world, and the chances that they will be displayed together again in the future are extremely slim.”
The exhibit has already visited world cities like London, Melbourne, and Amsterdam, as well as U.S. cities like Chicago and San Francisco. Following its stay in Boston, “The Art of Banksy” will head to Denver.
While the works on display are authentic, the exhibit is not sanctioned by the anonymous artist (or artists) behind the Banksy moniker.
“Banksy has NOTHING to do with any of the current or recent exhibitions and they are nothing like a genuine Banksy show,” reads a message on Pest Control, a Banksy-affiliated website. They might be crap so please don’t come to us for a refund.”
Tickets areBostoto 9 p.m., and Friday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Tacos with crispy pork belly, pico de gallo, and cotija cheese at the Painted Burro in Bedford. Josh Reynolds for The Boston Globe The Painted Burro intends to fill the vacancy left by Border Cafe in Harvard Square.
The restaurant plans to open at 32 Church St. this spring, according to Denise Jillson, the executive director of the Harvard Square Business Association. Firefighters respond to a fire at Border Cafe in Cambridge on Dec. 1, 2019. This spring, the space will be taken over by the Painted Burro. – Nic Antaya / The Boston Globe
CAMBRIDGE (CBS) — “The largest touring exhibition of authentic Banksy artworks in the world,” is coming soon to Cambridge.
The Art Of Banksy, which is not authorized by the famous-but-anonymous street artist, will run in Harvard Square at a Harvard Coop building from Feb. 17 to April 3.
Organizers say the exhibition will feature “over 100 original works from private collectors across the globe,” including “Flower Thrower,” “Rude Copper” and original variations of “Girl with Balloon.”
The Painted Burro intends to fill the vacancy left by Border Cafe in Harvard Square.
The restaurant plans to open at 32 Church St. this spring, according to Denise Jillson, the executive director of the Harvard Square Business Association.
“[We] know how fun and exciting they are in Davis Square. So we expect that they will bring all of that plus more to this lovely, iconic location in Harvard Square where our beloved Border Cafe was for many years,” Jillson said. “Their food is terrific. They’re great operators. They have a beautiful plan for doing some work both inside and outside.”
Mexican restaurant the Painted Burro is expanding again, and it’s taking over some prime real estate. After over three decades in Harvard Square, affordable Tex-Mex staple Border Cafe announced its closure in 2021; it had been temporarily closed since a 2019 fire, but the pandemic turned the closure permanent. Now, the spacious Church Street address will be home to a new location of the Painted Burro, whose original location opened in Somerville’s Davis Square nearly a decade ago. There are also Painted Burros in Bedford and Waltham, plus offshoots called Burro Bar in Brookline and Boston’s South End.
The new Painted Burro could open in spring 2022. The other locations serve tacos, tortas, enchiladas, and lots more, and they feature lengthy tequila and mezcal lists. (Meanwhile, Border Cafe remains in operation in Saugus and Bedford, and there are several locations in New Jersey and Delaware, too, but the now-defunct Harvard Square location was the original.)
A group of Mexican restaurants appears to be expanding to a new location, and it would be taking over an iconic space in Cambridge.
According to a source, The Painted Burro is planning to open in the former Border Cafe space in Harvard Square, with Marc Levy of Cambridge Day confirming this to us, indicating that if all goes as planned, the new location of the place will have a patio and could open in the spring. This would be the fourth location of The Painted Burro, which is part of The Alpine Restaurant Group (Posto, Burro Bar, Rosebud American Kitchen), and which has restaurants in Somerville’s Davis Square, Waltham, and Bedford.
The Harvard Square location of the Border Cafe was hit by a fire approximately two years ago and never reopened, and it was learned that it would be a permanent closure early last year. (Existing locations of the Border Cafe can be found in Burlington and Saugus.)
The address for the upcoming location of The Painted Burro in Harvard Square is 32 Church Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138. The website for all locations can be found at https://www.thepaintedburro.com/by Marc Hurwitz (Also follow us on Twitter at @hiddenboston)
Bloomberg Baystate Business for Thursday, January 6th, 2022 – Bloomberg News reporter and Boston Bureau Chief Carey Goldberg on the latest Covid surge straining hospitals around the country (2:39) – Anne Mostue reports on blood testing innovations from local biotech companies (8:47) – Adam Sachs, CEO, Vicarious Surgical, on his company, awards for worker satisfaction, and return to office (15:02) – Bloomberg News reporter Mark Gurman on the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) going on in Las Vegas (22:37) – Dr. Melisa Lai-Becker, medical director at Everett Hospital, on the impact of Covid on her hospital (31:46) – Bloomberg Opinion columnist and markets editor John Authers on the Fed minutes that moved the markets (49:54) – Janet Wu reports on business activity in Harvard Square (57:18) – Denise Jillson, President of the Harvard Square Business Association, on the closing of the historic Brattle Square Florist shop, and how her members are impacted by Covid (1:05:00) – Greg Reibman, President of the Charles River Chamber of Commerce, on the office park for hybrid workers in Needham, and their members view of vaccine mandates (1:16:06) – Bloomberg Radio meteorologist Rob Carolan on the approaching snow storm (1:23:49) Hosts: Tom Moroney, Joe Shortsleeve, and Kim Carrigan Producer: Dan Pierce
