 Restaurants & Shopping · Where to eat and shop this week Wednesday, September 30, 2026 | The Daily Spotlight · Presented By This spot is open. Reach 8,000+ Bostonians before 7am, in the email they open with coffee. | Weather ⛅ 70° / 57° Partly sunny, high near 70, light north wind. Mostly cloudy tonight, low 57. Warmer ahead: 78 Thursday and 80 Friday, both mostly sunny. · full forecast → | The T Today ● RL ● OL ● GL ● BL Green Line: no trains between North Station and Kenmore/Heath St through Sun., Oct. 4. Shuttle buses run; use the Orange Line between North Station and Back Bay. Red, Orange and Blue are normal. · live status → | Roads Daytime lanes are clear. Wednesday night only: new I-93 northbound lane closures from Somerville to Stoneham (8pm-4am), plus Route 2 in Arlington and Lexington, I-95 in Waltham and Routes 1A and 60 in Revere. |
| The number: 30 — years Rome Pizza served the South End from 416 Tremont St. Its owners have closed it, per their farewell post, reported Sept. 24 by Boston Restaurant Talk. | ⚾ Yankees 9, Red Sox 0 (Tue., AL Wild Card Series, Game 1) · 🏒 Bruins 3, Rangers 0 (Tue.) · 🏈 Jaguars 35, Patriots 6 (Sun.) · Next: ⚾ Red Sox at Yankees, today (AL Wild Card Series, Game 2); 🏒 Bruins at Jets, Fri. 8pm · full scoreboard → | Openings & closings Open: Zhu, Back Bay. Chinese seafood and dim sum at 903 Boylston St, the old Lir space, in a soft opening, per Boston Restaurant Talk (Sept. 28). Read | Open: Slurp Noodle, Melrose. Ramen, pho and Thai noodle soups at 478A Main St, the old Comella’s, per Boston Restaurant Talk (Sept. 28). Read | Closing: Frugal Fannie’s, Westwood. The discount clothing store closes after 43 years; its going-out-of-business sale began Sept. 24, no final date set, per Boston.com. | Back: Toys R Us, Braintree. A standalone store opened Aug. 31 at South Shore Plaza; the chain plans 120 new stores nationwide by the holidays, per Boston.com (Sept. 25). | Fire: Nubian Square. A large fire Monday hit the 103-year-old Edison Building, home to a sandwich shop and a barbershop; Roxbury Main Streets called it devastating. Read |
| One table worth booking The Courtyard Tea Room, Back Bay Why this week: the Central Library gives its free one-hour history tour at 10am today (Wed., Sept. 30). Its afternoon tea, served overlooking the library’s open-air courtyard, is one of Boston’s most popular and often hard to book, per Eater. Reserve on Resy. The libraryChosen by our editors. Businesses can’t pay to appear here. | Market of the week Boston Public Market, 100 Hanover St: a year-round indoor hall where every vendor sources from New England. Free 30-minute guided tours at 11am on Fri., Oct. 2 and Sun., Oct. 4; meet inside the Hanover Street entrance. | Where to browse Assembly Row — The no-car "mall trip": outlet stores in a walkable riverside grid with its own Orange Line stop. With the Green Line down this week, the Orange Line is the one to ride. Shopping by neighborhood | Reader question What is the best new spot in your neighborhood? Just reply to this email. With your permission, we may share a reader pick next Wednesday, first name and neighborhood only. | Politics: Gov. Healey leads Republican Mike Minogue 54% to 32% among likely voters, per a CommonWealth Beacon/MassINC poll of 800 taken Sept. 14-22. Read | Travel: a Barcelona-to-Boston Delta flight made an emergency landing in Portugal on Sunday after smoke in the cabin; eight passengers were treated and three hospitalized, per WHDH. Read |
| Home prices: Redfin’s Boston price index rose 2.8% in August, and the Massachusetts single-family median, $657,263, grew 1.1%, per Banker & Tradesman (Mon., Sept. 28). Read |
| SpicetoberFest: Spice, Culture and Food · Free · Sat 11am-6pm · City Hall Plaza Hot sauce makers, spicy food vendors and urban farmers take over the plaza. Government Center is on the Blue Line; its Green Line trains are out this week. | Brighton Brewfest · Sat 5pm-8pm · 640 Washington St, Brighton An outdoor fall beer festival with more than 10 vendors, raising money for two volunteer-run Allston-Brighton groups. | Cambridge Science Carnival · Free · Sun from noon · Kendall/MIT Open Space More than 100 hands-on booths close out MIT Future Fest. No registration; Kendall/MIT is on the Red Line. |
| Forward this to the friend who always picks the restaurant. One email, every morning at 6:30, and Wednesday is where to eat and shop. Send them here | Tomorrow: Weekend Preview — your Boston weekend, planned. You are reading Restaurants & Shopping, the Wednesday edition of The Daily Boston Brief. ExploreBoston.com is wicked proud to be a local Boston small business. ExploreBoston · 1 Beacon Street, Floor 15, Boston, MA 02108 |
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