When I drove my yesterday and saw kraft paper covering the windows, I worried we might have lost another Newtonville gathering place. Heard with relief the coffeehouse news: Taste will reopen as George Howell Coffee next month.

My thanks to the journalists at Village 14, a great new local news resource started by former Newton Tab publisher Greg Reibman. Add them to your Facebook, Twitter, and/or RSS feed.

After 30+ years, John Dewar has closed its Newton Centre location and consolidated its operations at its newer Linden Square store in Wellesley. The local store closed January 9.

India Paradise on Union Street has closed — meaning there’s not one Indian restaurant in the 18 square miles of the Garden City. Residents will have to go to Needham, Waltham, Watertown, or Brookline for a vindaloo fix.

Brussels Sprouts is moving from its Newtonville location to the space vacated last year by Big Sky Bakery & Cafe at 105 Union Street. The store’s planned opening is Saturday, January 14.

Cupcakes on Centre has opened in the space vacated by the Mad Batter.

Regular readers of this site will be familiar with our Village Business Profiles series.  In the profiles, we try to forge a connection between Newton residents and local merchants, especially the people behind these great businesses.  Maybe we’ve been too subtle, but the goal of these profiles is to help drive Newton residents to shop locally and to patronize these stores.

As Newton Villages board member Chris Steele noted in his recent post, small and independent businesses in many cities and towns are struggling or closing amid competitive pressure and rising rents.  The village centers of Newton are not immune to this trend.

As we head into Thanksgiving this week, advertisements for “Black Friday” sales are already all over the airways and in the newspapers.   Major retailers are touting obscenely early opening times on Friday morning – some even opening on Thanksgiving evening itself.

How’s this for a radical suggestion for this Friday instead of battling the crowds at some big box store?    Sleep late.   Walk or bike down to your local village center with family, friends, or out of town guests.  Explore your local merchants, and see the range of unique and special holiday gifts you can get without even leaving the city limits.  While you’re at it, why not stick around for lunch, coffee or a drink at one of the great restaurants and cafés in your village?

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Nudo Gelateria opened at 308 Watertown Street in Nonantum earlier this month, and the restaurant received a nice writeup today on Newton Patch.

I can, from personal experience, recommend the melon gelato. When the mercury rises (on Sunday?), I’ll be back to try the frozen Italian lemonade (two scoops of sorbet blended with Aranciata or Limonata).

Hats off to chef and owner Andrew Tedeschi for his daring selection of flavors and for bringing some of the tastes of the North End to the Garden City.

Peking Cuisine at 870 Walnut Street in Four Corners has closed and workers are preparing the restaurant space for Sweet Potato Bistro.

No information yet on the proposed opening date, but menus are available outside. The menu features, among other things, “Taiwanese Tapas.” Also, the restaurant will be serving dim sum on weekends.

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?