IHOP in Cambridge's Harvard Square Has Closed

Another Boston-area location of a chain of pancake houses has shut down.

According to a poster within the Friends of Boston's Hidden Restaurants Facebook group page, IHOP in the Harvard Square section of Cambridge has closed after being in business for approximately 20 years, joining another location in Quincy that shuttered a couple of years ago though it appears that that one will eventually reopen in a new, nearby location. A number of locations of the chain still remain in the Greater Boston area, including in Braintree, Brighton, Brockton, Dedham, Framingham, Norwood, Revere, Salem, Saugus, and Tewksbury.

The address for the now-closed IHOP in Harvard Square was 16 Eliot Street, Cambridge, MA 02138. The website for the chain is at https://restaurants.ihop.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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IHOP Is Opening in Former Ground Round Space in Braintree

by Marc Hurwitz

A chain of pancake spots is opening a new Boston-area location, and this one will take over a space south of the city where a location of a chain of family restaurants had been.

According to an article from the Braintree Forum, International House of Pancakes (IHOP) is planning to open in Braintree, moving into the former Ground Round space in the Granite Plaza on Granite Street. Once it opens, it will join approximately 10 other outlets in the Greater Boston area, including one in nearby Quincy.  (No opening date has been given as of yet.)

The space that IHOP is moving into had also been home to an Applebee's, which was open for a brief time after the Ground Round closed 15 years ago.

The address for the new location of IHOP in Braintree is 755 Granite Street, Braintree, MA, 02184. The website for IHOP can be found at https://www.ihop.com/

[June 16 update: A check on the place confirms that the new IHOP opens in Braintree on June 18.]

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[Related article from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): Slideshow--Fifteen Chicken Dishes from Restaurants in the Boston Area]

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Tommy Doyle's Pub and Grill Moving to Bickford's Space in Brockton

by Marc Hurwitz

What was once a popular regional chain of restaurants will soon be down to just three locations, as one of its outlets is planning to close--and it will be replaced by a bar known for its lobster rolls, steak tips, and more.

According to an article in The Enterprise, Bickford's in Brockton is looking to shut down for good around the end of the year, and it is currently working on a deal with the owner of Tommy Doyle's Pub & Grill, which would move from its current nearby location on North Pearl Street to the Bickford's space on Oak Street. If the deal goes through, this would leave only three remaining locations of Bickford's--in Acton, Burlington, and Woburn. (At its peak in the 1990s, the Bickford's chain had approximately 70 locations in New England.)

Doyle's Pub and Grill has been featured on our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants) as a place to go for classic American fare, pub grub, and regional food, including a lobster roll that has been picked as being one of the best in the Greater Boston area. The review can be found at this link:

https://www.hiddenboston.com/DoylesBrockton.html

The address for Bickford's is 37 Oak Street Extension while the address for Doyle's is 327 North Pearl Street.

Thanks to a source for initially bringing this to our attention.

[December 26 update: Wicked Local states that the License Commission has given its approval for Bickford's to transfer its license to Tommy Doyle's Pub and Grill, so the former will indeed be closing while the latter will be moving into its space.]

[January 3, 2019 update: The Enterprise says that the Brockton location of Bickford's is now closed.]

[April 21, 2019 update: Doyle's is now open in its new home in the former Bickford's space.]

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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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Yolk Could Be Coming to the Boston Area

A Chicago-based breakfast chain may be on its way to the Boston area.

According to an article in the Chicago Tribune, Yolk is planning to expand, with founder Taki Kastanis saying that he may target cities such as Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C. for a smaller version of his restaurants where customers would order at the counter with the orders then being brought to their tables. The post mentions that Kastanis ultimately sees a total of 40 locations of Yolk opening, which would be up from a possible 15 by the end of this year--and in addition to smaller versions like those that could come to Boston and other East Coast cities, he envisions an even smaller version that could be set up at such places as train stations.

Yolk started out in downtown Chicago back in 2006 and currently has 10 locations in Chicago, Indianapolis, and Dallas/Fort Worth. The dining spots offer upscale versions of breakfast and lunch, including such items as waffles, French toast, omelets, benedicts, blintzes, crepes, soups, salads, and sandwiches.

The website for Yolk can be found at http://eatyolk.com/

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[Related article from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): Slideshow--Twelve Breakfast Dishes/Items from Restaurants in the Boston Area and Beyond]

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