Brigham's Ice Cream Closes in the Financial District of Boston

A local restaurant and ice cream chain has closed its shop in the Financial District of Boston after being in that location for a number of decades. According to the Boston Herald, Brigham's Ice Cream closed its High Street location yesterday, with the owner of the chain citing financial reasons, namely that the shop was unprofitable. The Herald mentions that New England Food Service continues to run 27 Brigham's restaurants in the area.

Brigham's got its start in 1914 in the Post Office Square section of Boston's Financial District, growing through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s to the point where it not only had a number of stores, but also had its ice cream sold in supermarkets throughout the region. Today, Brigham's ice cream remains popular, with its vanilla flavor being the area's #1 selling ice cream in recent years, according to the Brigham's website.

For more information on the closing of Brigham's in the Financial District of Boston, please go to the Boston Herald link below:

Brigham's closes Boston restaurant

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T.G.I. Friday's in Woburn Closes; Nickel's Grille to Open in Its Spot

A restaurant in Woburn that is part of a global chain of family-friendly dining spots has closed its doors, and a new independently-owned restaurant will soon be opening in its place. T.G.I. Friday's closed its Mishawum Road location over the past few days and work is now beginning on a new restaurant called Nickel's Grille. According to someone involved with the new dining spot, it should be a few weeks before Nickel's Grille opens its doors, as the space is being renovated. [December 16 update: Nickel's Grille is now open. It opened last week for dinner only, but as of this week the restaurant is now serving both lunch and dinner.]

T.G.I. Friday's currently has eight other locations in the Boston area, including ones in Boston (Brigham Circle), Everett, Braintree, Dedham, Stoughton, Danvers, Norwood, and Framingham.

As we get more information on Nickel's Grille, including hours, menu items, and prices, we will post updates here.

The address for this new restaurant north of Boston will be: Nickel's Grille, 244 Mishawum Road, Woburn, MA, 01801. The phone number is (781) 932-9550.

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Haley House Bakery Cafe in Roxbury Is Now Serving Dinner

A non-profit restaurant in the heart of Roxbury that features fresh, healthy fare has expanded its hours so that it now serves dinner three days a week. According to Zagat Buzz Boston, Haley House Bakery Cafe in Dudley Square is now open until 9:00 PM Wednesday through Friday and is also serving organic beer and wine.

Haley House Bakery Cafe, which first started serving meals in the fall of 2005, is a part of Haley House, a non-profit organization that has been helping the homeless, the working poor, and others facing struggles since the mid 1960s.

The address for this cafe in Dudley Square is: Haley House Bakery Cafe, 12 Dade Street, Roxbury, MA, 02119. The phone number is (617) 445-0900. And the website is at: http://www.haleyhouse.org/cafe/home.htm

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East by Northeast Is Coming to Inman Square, Cambridge

A new restaurant will soon be opening in the Inman Square section of Cambridge, and it looks to feature innovative Asian dishes with a focus on Chinese fare. According to the Boston Globe, the restaurant, tentatively called East by Northeast, may be opening in early December in the space on Cambridge Street that was formerly occupied by the high-end Italian restaurant Benatti. The Globe article mentions that East by Northeast will offer small plates as well as dumplings, homemade noodles, and a number of dishes featuring fresh pork.

[January 7 update: According to the UrbanDaddy site, East by Northeast is apparently going to open this Friday, January 8.]

[January 7 update #2: According to a Twitter post from how2heroes, East by Northeast is actually already open.]

The person behind East by Northeast has worked at such highly regarded Boston-area restaurants as Hungry Mother in the Kendall Square section of Cambridge, Lumiere in West Newton, and T.W. Food in the Huron Village section of Cambridge, according to the Globe.

The address for this soon-to-open restaurant in Inman Square will be: East by Northeast, 1128 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA, 02139.

For more information on East by Northeast, please go to the Boston Globe article below from a couple of months back:

Momofuku-esque

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Guy Fieri to Feature The Little Depot Diner in Peabody Tonight (November 9, 2009)

Over the past few weeks, Guy Fieri, the host of the Food Network's "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives," has featured a couple of restaurants in eastern New England, including a sandwich shop in Boston (Sam LaGrassa's) and a cheap eats spot for Italian fare and diner food in Providence (Louie's Restaurant). And this week, the affable and offbeat Fieri visits a tiny old breakfast and lunch place in downtown Peabody called The Little Depot. A diner that has been in this small North Shore city since just after World War II and resides in a classic Worcester Dining Car, The Little Depot features such items as pancakes, French toast, hot dogs, hamburgers, and baked beans. The show, which airs tonight at 10:00 PM (EST), will also feature diners in Santa Cruz, CA, and Norman, OK.

The address for this diner in Peabody is: The Little Depot Diner, 1 Railroad Avenue, Peabody, MA, 01960. The phone number is (978) 977-7775. And the website is at: http://www.thelittledepotdiner.com/

For more information on Guy Fieri's show "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives," please go to this link:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/diners-drive-ins-and-dives/index.html

Thanks to North Shore Dish for first bringing the featuring of The Little Depot on "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" to our attention. A review of the diner can be found on that site at the link below:

Breakfast With a Side of Cheer

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Ravi's Pasta and Pizzeria to Open in Malden

A new Italian restaurant and bar will soon be opening in Malden, replacing a neighborhood Italian dining spot and watering hole that had been around for several decades before closing late last year. According to a job posting on The Job Spider, Ravi's Pasta and Pizzeria will be opening on Highland Avenue just east of the Medford border, in the spot where the Highland Cafe used to be. The Highland Cafe was a classic old-school dining spot and bar that featured pizza and inexpensive Italian-American fare for many years, but economic issues caused the restaurant to close last winter. Ravi's also looks to feature pizza and Italian food, and based on both the job posting and Chowhound posters, the inside of the place will have a fresh look to it.

There seems to be no set date on when Ravi's is opening, but a poster on Chowhound did say that a sign was up out front, so the restaurant may be opening fairly soon. [November 20, 25 updates: According to the restaurant's Facebook page, Ravi's Pasta and Pizzeria is now open. And they will begin to serve alcohol on Wednesday, November 25.]

The address for this upcoming Italian restaurant in Malden is: Ravi's Pasta and Pizzeria, 156 Highland Avenue, Malden, MA, 02148.

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