Category — Newton Centre

A petition by Pie Bakery and Cafe comes before the Board of Aldermen’s Land Use Committee on Tuesday night.

As you may recall from our earlier post (and op-ed in the Newton Tab), Pie’s owner Ellen Kaplansky must lease basement space in order to qualify for six of the 24 seats patrons use. This is because antiquated parking requirements make it especially hard for restaurants to open in village centers.

Kaplansky is requesting permission to add 24 seats in her existing restaurant space at 796 Beacon Street in Newton Centre. In the coming months, Panera Bread and the Deluxe Station Diner will be opening their Newton Centre locations, both with more than 50 seats.

If you would like to show support for a local restaurateur, please come to the Land Use Committee meeting at 7:45pm Tuesday, July 13, in the Aldermanic Chamber at City Hall. (Thanks to Philippe Wells of Prana Cafe for the reminder.)

Download the details (PDF) from the city’s planning department: 151-10_796 Beacon Street

Garden City Preservation Society (GCPS) has launched a website to provide information on the volunteer group’s efforts to restore the area surrounding the Newton Centre T Station.

GCPS has had a busy year so far, starting with a NewtonSERVES project in April to clean up the grounds and prepare the soil for planting. Since then, the group launched a Dahlia bulb fundraising drive and a held flea market in May to raise $1,500. In June, Weston Nurseries installed foundation plants, volunteers removed dead and diseased trees, and the MBTA provided mulch for the planting areas.

Those interested in this helping with this volunteer project may want to attend the group’s pot luck dinner at 6:30pm on Thursday, July 22nd. It will be hosted by Ward 6 Alderman-at-Large Vicki Danberg at 30 Chase Street in Newton Centre. Contact For more information, contact GCPS.

You may have thought once or twice before, “Why do developers do our planning for us?  They tell us what they want, and we react.  Why don’t we have our own vision?”

Mayor Warren has convened a committee to create that vision–the Comprehensive Plan Mixed Use Task Force (MUTF). The group is led by the rightly esteemed Phil Herr, who led the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee that gave us our 2007 Plan.

[NOTE:  Two Newton Villagers (Andrea Kelley and John Pears) are serving on the MUTF.  As updates on the MUTF work are available, we will post them here.]

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Karma Fine Imported Crafts

57 Union Street, Newton Centre

Part specialty retail, part gallery, part cultural exchange. Karma blends traditional techniques and modern bridging cultures through fair trade.

Phuni Kim Meston, who currently lives in Weston (after being a Newton resident for 12 years), established Karma Fine Imported Crafts in 2006. She has 2 employees.

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The city zoning ordinances that require businesses to provide off-street parking have not been revised since 1963, the same year the Massachusetts Turnpike was being constructed through Newton, when cars ran on leaded gasoline that cost around 30 cents per gallon.

A lot has changed since then. These parking requirements have not. Today, they serve to repel new business and hamper existing businesses that wish to expand. [Read more →]