A for lease sign posted in the window of Beyond Full’s Cambridge outpost. The diner, located on Mass. Ave. between Harvard and Central Squares, closed in June. | By Jordan O. Gwon
By Uy B. Pham, Crimson Staff Writer
Beyond Full, a restaurant offering a hipster take on traditional diner fare, closed its Cambridge outpost in June — less than a year after the location opened last September.
Situated on Massachusetts Ave. between Harvard and Central Squares, the diner opened just days after its flagship and only other location in Hopedale, Massachusetts closed. The Hopedale restaurant — located in a small town roughly 30 miles from Cambridge — closed because the building was condemned, according to Beyond Full’s Facebook page.
The Cambridge storefront had replaced Zoe’s Diner, a longtime local staple that closed in July 2024 after more than 20 years. Its shuttering follows the closure of several other food-service businesses in and around Harvard Square over the past year — including Clover Food Lab, Starbucks, and IHOP.
Beyond Full’s owners did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
The restaurant — which offered diner classics such as burgers, pancakes, and omelets — played hip-hop music and decorated its walls with colorful graffiti, complementing what co-owner Richard R. Yancey described as Cambridge’s “artsy” and metropolitan environment.
Denise A. Jillson, executive director of the Harvard Square Business Association, said the owners of Beyond Full wanted to overcome the challenges that Zoe’s had faced drawing weekday crowds.
“They were really hoping that by changing the atmosphere a little bit — by using a different vibe — that they might get a later in the day crowd,” she said.
Jillson added that, though its owners “worked really hard,” Beyond Full ultimately never “took off in the way that it needed to.”
In addition to the lingering effects of the pandemic, Jillson cited difficulties with the location as a possible factor in the closure.
“The location was a little bit of a challenge, given that it is located on the edge of the square rather than in the heart of the square, and that it’s below street level,” she said.
Yancey told The Crimson in September that he hoped to expand to other tourist hubs in the Greater Boston area, such as Newbury Street.
At a March meeting, the Cambridge Licensing Commission approved Beyond Full’s application to extend its food service hours to from 8 a.m. to midnight to 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. and expand its entertainment offerings to include live music and shows such as comedy and magic performances.
During the meeting, Yancey struck a positive tone about the restaurant’s potential for growth.
“Since we’ve been open, we’ve been requested by our customers for different kinds of events,” Yancey said. “We’re trying to become one with the community, so we’re trying to accommodate our customers.”
“Because we’re new to Cambridge, I didn’t even think we needed this, to be honest with you,” he added. “But organically, it’s going in that direction, and we want to make sure that we fulfill our customer needs.”
A for-lease sign is now posted in the window of Beyond Full’s Mass. Ave. location.
“They were trying really hard to reach out to Harvard students and do activities that would encourage students to come and eat there and meet there and hang out,” Jillson said. “It was so well intentioned and so dedicated to that purpose, but it never really materialized.”