Category — Newton Centre

The Indian restaurant at 71 Union Street appears to be on the market. This writer is one person who hopes they find a great new owner to join the Newton Center community.

Would hate to see that cuisine disappear from the village center. What is the next closest place to get saag paneer and naan — Moody Street in Waltham or Washington Square in Brookline?

Zoots will be moving a block east down Beacon Street into the space Motophoto vacated in January, according to Lynne Cohen-Friedman at Keypoint Partners. A Capital One Bank branch may be moving into the space that will be vacated by Zoots, she emailed.

With that and Century Bank opening its new branch on Langley Road this summer, Newton Center appears poised to win this year’s coveted “most banks in village” competition.

Big Sky's space on Union Street is available.

Last month, Big Sky Bakery & Cafe closed its Newton Center store and moved to Watertown, opening at 142 Main Street, near the Watertown Public Library. The space next door at 103 Union Street, which formerly housed the women’s fashion store Classic Trends, is also vacant.

Downstairs from the Classic Trends space, a sign in the window announces a new handbags and accessories store called Sarian as “coming soon.”

A Greek-inspired cafe/bistro called Christina’s is coming to Newton Highlands, as one of our blog’s readers tells us. The owners are currently renovated the Walnut Street space vacated by Dunkin Donuts earlier this year.

Christina’s will serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner. When I spoke with the owner this morning, workers were painting the interior columns in the renovated space and finalizing the menu. The restaurant hopes to open up around Memorial Day.

Sadly, the consignment store next door has posted a “going out of business sign.”

Newtonville, as reported in the Newton Tab Blog, is losing both the American Cancer Society’s Discovery Shop, a thrift store on Walnut Street, and the Asian grocery across the street, Jin Mi Oriental Food Company.

In Newton Centre, Learning Express is getting a new neighbor, the fitness studio Pure Barre, the national company’s first Massachusetts franchise.

Folklorica  61 Union Street Newton Centre (617) 630-1815 www.shopfolklorica.com Don Gross of Sudbury established his business 1972 in New York City and ended up relocating to Newton Centre in 1992. Folklorica is an award-winning fashion jewelry, home accessory and gift boutique. The shop features an evolving mix of established designers with a consistent offering of styles offered. Value for the price is considered a hallmark at Folklorica.

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Thai-Viet Cuisine at 19 Pelham Street in Newton Centre closed last month and the storefront is currently under construction. Signs there announce that a new restaurant, Inna’s Kitchen, will open in its place.

Inna’s will offer “Jewish cuisine from around the world.” More information, including menus, is available at the restaurant’s website.

The roof and south side of the historic Newton Centre T Station will get a facelift next month, thanks in part to a $25,000 contribution from Boston Development, which holds the long-term lease on the MBTA-owned property.

Boston Development’s contribution was part of the special permit the company, along with the Deluxe Station Diner, obtained from the city last year.

The diner owners also contributed money to the volunteer landscaping efforts being done by the Garden City Preservation Society., which is spearheading a landscaping and spring cleaning project for the station grounds as part of the community service day NewtonSERVES on May 15.

As Alderman Vicki Danberg reports, “It took several years of meetings with the T, and City cooperation, to achieve the restoration of the exterior of the front three sides, completed a year ago or so.” New benches and street furniture will be installed in the coming months, she said.