Abbott's Frozen Custard in Arlington Heights Has Closed

A Boston-area location of a small chain of frozen custard shops whose roots are in upstate New York has shut down.

According to a poster within The Arlington List Facebook group page, Abbott's Frozen Custard in Arlington Heights is no longer in business, mentioning that movers were taking freezers out of the Park Avenue shop (and a picture shows the moving van out front). A check on the website for the chain seems to confirm this, as the location has been removed from the site, and while locations in Arlington Center and Lexington remain on the site, posters say that the future of those shops appear to be in question as well. (The Needham location of Abbott's remains in operation.)

Abbott's dates back to 1902 when founder Arthur Abbott started selling frozen custard at carnivals along the Eastern Seaboard, with the shop opening in Rochester in 1926. 

The address for the now-closed Abbott's Frozen Custard in Arlington Heights was 71 Park Avenue, Arlington, MA, 02476. The website for the chain can be found at: http://www.abbottscustard.com/

(Follow Marc on Bluesky at @marchurboston.bsky.social)

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Arlington Brewing Company to Open Brewery, Taproom, Beer Garden

Last year, it was reported that a beermaking business in the northwest suburbs of Boston was looking for a permanent home, and now we have learned that it has found a space.

According to a press release, Arlington Brewing Company announced today that it will be opening on Ryder Street on the eastern edge of Arlington Heights, with the facility including a 15-barrel production brewery, a taproom that has a full kitchen, an outdoor beer garden, and a function room for private events. The business has been hosting pop-up beer gardens as they were looking for a permanent home, while also expanding their beermaking through contract brewing. If all goes as planned, the brewery will open next summer, and until then, they will continue to pop up at various events in the local area.

The address for the upcoming brewery is 15 Ryder Street, Arlington, MA, 02476. The website for Arlington Brewing Company can be found at https://www.drinkarlingtonbeer.com/

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[A related post from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): List of Restaurant Closings and Openings in the Boston Area]

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Please help keep Boston Restaurant Talk and Boston's Hidden Restaurants going by making a one-time contribution or via a monthly subscription. Thanks! (Donations are non-deductible.)

    

Prime, Your Trusted Butcher in Arlington Heights Is Closing

An independent butcher shop that broke away from a chain of meat markets is closing its doors.

A poster within The Arlington List Facebook group page mentions (via an auction page from E.F. Smith) indicates that Prime, Your Trusted Butcher in Arlington Heights is closing, with a note on the shop's website indicating that the Mass. Ave. market will be shutting down by or before January 19. The note on the site says that they informed their employees after "careful consideration of the long-term financial performance of the store" and that gift cards, discount certificates, and store credits will be honored until their supplies run out.

Prime first opened in the fall of 2014, replacing a location of The Meat House, as the owner of the Arlington Heights location of the latter decided to change the place to an independent store with a new name. All New England locations of The Meat House now appear to be closed, with at least some becoming butcher shops with different names. (The website for The Meat House now goes to a location in New Jersey.)

The address for Prime, Your Trusted Butcher is 1398 Massachusetts Avenue, Arlington, MA, 02476. Its website can be found at https://primebutchershop.com

[January 20, 2020 update: A Facebook post from the place indicates that Prime, Your Trusted Butcher is now closed.]

by Marc Hurwitz (Also follow us on Twitter at @hiddenboston)

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[A related post from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): List of Restaurant Closings and Openings in the Boston Area]

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