Originally Published in the Brookline TAB June 1998
Spring is here. And though it only seems to last a short while in New England, and is more widely known as “that week between Winter and Summer,” it is a glorious time of rebirth. It is a time when new businesses bloom, some people clean and my nephews hit me up for money.
Spring’s arrival made me consider the life cycle of businesses in Brookline. New businesses can be thought of like flowers (but only by those with a penchant for bizarre metaphors) that arrive full of hope and splendor, only to have winter’s cruel winds knock them down. But it’s not just winter that tears them down, there’s “The Curse.”
The Curse is when a storefront goes through multiple transitions in a very short period of time. Why does it happen? Were these businesses built on a sacred burial grounds?Were they involved in the breakup of a marriage or a did a mysterious murder take place at that location?We don’t know. All we know is that every time we pass that storefront, it changes. People who pass can often be heard asking “I wonder what that’s going to be next week?” And when you read about what’s arriving, you shake your head and hope someone’s going to be interested in chocolate-covered fava beans, or whatever it is they’re planning to sell.
A good example is 1358 Beacon St. For decades it was occupied by Simon Shoes, but once they moved around the corner, was replaced by the nationally acclaimed chicken take-out place “Pudgies.” That failed and was replaced by the South Shore’s popular “Life’s a Bagel.” It failed, too. Those stores are still successful in their other locations. 1350 Beacon is still empty. Cursed? You decide.
It should be noted that I do not believe that any of these businesses have actually been cursed by some kind of magic-user or warlock, simply that they have failed to house a successful business. Some of them went out business because of cretinous, greedy landlords, unrealistic expectations, corporate takeovers, or just plain bad luck. It is also important to remember that just because a commercial tenant moves out and immediately anoints themselves with oils doesn’t prove that they occupied a cursed building, and the fact that the landlord may have committed atrocities in a former life doesn’t necessarily adhere that karma to the building’s occupant.
Many of the people I spoke to while researching this article were afraid that somehow, by writing about “The Curse” I would somehow make it come true, and what’s worse, make it come true on them. If Ihad that power, Starbucks would’ve been long gone by now, as would the dry-cleaner who sewed buttons with little anchors on them on my only good suit.
If you bring up the topic of “cursed” buildings in front of anyone who’s not a landlord, they can probably tell you where they are, and the litany of would-be-saviors and curse-breakers that occupied them. Like sports fanatics or people suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder, it gives long-time residents great joy to rattle off that in Washington Square Duckworth Lane (at 1657 Beacon) replaced Libby’s, which replaced Haims, which replaced Freedman’s which replaced Joe and Nemo’s, etc., etc.
Let me rebuke some myths about curses. It is patently not true that the Lars Anderson Park Estate House was torn down because it was cursed, even though the political career of its inheritor, WilliamWeld, might be.
It is also a complete myth that The Circle Cinema is cursed, and that parent company National Amusements is trying to fight it by making all of their movie screens as small and unwatchable as possible.
Unconfirmed at press time was whether or not a curse had been placed on Washington Square’s Star Market, which is one of the most reviled supermarkets in the 617 area code. However, fans of cramped, poorly stocked markets who believe their employees best serve the public while under chloroform are lighting candles in support.
First runner-up for “fixed” curse goes to the folks running La Familiga Marco (1032 Beacon—next to The Beacon Superette) who trod into a curse so powerful that some say it took down all the drug stores that dared come near it. As a restaurant-ruiner, the curse brought down a Greek restaurant (Felucca), A Thai restaurant (Pattataya), a nouveau mistake (Cafe Monagene) a decades-old steakhouse (Brown’s) and even a similarly-named chain Italian restaurant that still thrives in its other locations (La FamiligaGiorgio). I think I know why they weren’t worried about the curse—one of the owners said she hadn’t heard of “the curse” before signing the lease.
But of course, the grand prize winner is Bob Shuman at Zaftig’s (335 Harvard). When I stopped by to talk with him, there was an hour-long wait to get into his new delicatessen/eatery. In my opinion, that counts as a success. This is even more astonishing when you review the list of blue chippers that came before him. They include national chains like Friendly’s and The Stage Deli which failed spectacularly, right along side local start-ups like The Fisherie, Edibles, Celebrities and KJ’s.
What is Bobby doing right, we all want to know? “I looked at it as a challenge.” He said. “I’d broken the curse at other buildings before. Appetito (in Newton) was cursed. We broke it.”
Asked if he had any advice for future challengers, he offered “have confidence in your concept. Exceed expectations. And don’t believe in curses.”