Brookline Village's Harvard Street: Who's Open This Fall

"When I say this is the best Barbera under $30, I truly believe that because I've had 600 of them and I can tell you this is the best one." Nick Lisotto said that to Brookline.News when he reopened Sorriso Market at the end of the summer. He sold the shop in 2023. The firm that bought it went bankrupt in 2025, and after months of legal proceedings Lisotto got his business back and reopened it in the same Brookline Village space.

Sorriso sits at 27 Harvard Street. Across the street is a one-story brick row at 14–24 Harvard Street, where three restaurants are still open. In January the building's owner asked the town for permission to tear it down.

The businesses on this block have proven hard to dislodge. A bankruptcy didn't do it, and neither did a weekend pop-up's limits or a fire. What nobody can say yet is what happens to the buildings.

The shop that came back by changing its floor plan

Lisotto didn't just restock the old shelves. Brookline.News reported that he rearranged the space for gatherings. The plans include wine tastings that range from casual Tuesday nights to opening one-of-a-kind bottles, balsamic tastings, and eventually pasta-making workshops. He also plans to expand the art gallery and offer a private membership with access to a deep cellar of the rarest bottles. Regular shelf prices will still run from about $20 to $200.

The reopening came in stages. A soft opening over a late-August weekend was followed by Wednesday-through-Sunday hours in September, and the full lineup of events was set to relaunch in October. Before you plan a Tuesday tasting around that relaunch, call Sorriso at 617-487-8337 to confirm the current hours and events.

"I would like to have the same kind of culture and atmosphere we cultivated when we originally opened." – Nick Lisotto, to Brookline.News

That quote is about a building as much as a business. Lisotto came back to the same address, and the space is what he changed.

The row across the street, one storefront short

On the even-numbered side, the row lost its longest-running tenant this year. Brookline.News reported in January that Orinoco, the Venezuelan- and Caribbean-inspired spot known for empanadas and arepas, had not renewed its 2026 food license after nearly 20 years at 22 Harvard Street. It had told the town it planned to close.

In that same story, the building's owner said, "The time for this building has come because of the great need for additional housing in town." He said this at a Preservation Commission meeting, and the commission decided the row was not historically significant. That decision means the owner doesn't face a year-long demolition delay. His attorney called the plans preliminary and said no changes were imminent. "Until they know that it would be premature to speculate," the attorney told the outlet. The latest public word on the project is still from January.

All three neighbors are open in the meantime, and each serves a different hour of the day.

Address	Business	What it is	Hours as posted
14 Harvard St.	Merai	Thai-flavored cocktail bar, sister to Mahaniyom	Tue–Thu and Sun 5 p.m.–midnight; Fri–Sat 5 p.m.–1 a.m.; closed Mon
18 Harvard St.	Noah's Kitchen	Sichuan restaurant with lunch and dinner service	Mon–Thu 12–3 and 5–9; Fri–Sun 12–3 and 5–10
22 Harvard St.	Former Orinoco	Vacant after the restaurant's planned closing	—
24 Harvard St.	Cafe Itadaki	Japanese: ramen, curry, onigiri, coffee, matcha	Not posted
27 Harvard St.	Sorriso Market	Wine shop, gourmet food, tastings, gallery	Call 617-487-8337

Merai's own site says the Boston Globe named it among the Best Cocktail Bars in its "Best of the Best 2026." BU Today's March profile of the neighborhood counts Cafe Itadaki among the Village's regular stops. Brookline.News noted that if the demolition plans move forward, these restaurants could have to close or relocate, either for a while or for good. Nothing in the public record puts a date on that.

The row's best success story already moved up the street

This one-story building has also launched a business. Newbery Street Coffee Roasters, a Thai specialty roaster, spent weekends as a pop-up inside Merai before it signed on for its own café at 240 Harvard Street. That's the former Cremeux space, up toward Coolidge Corner. Brookline.News reported in late August that the café was under construction and had no set opening date. Founder Pack Katisomsakul had hoped to open by October. He told Brookline.News what he wants customers to feel: "I want them to feel that when they come here, they will meet friends."

This is why the building question matters beyond the three tenants. A cocktail bar with spare weekend daytime hours gave a coffee roaster a place to find customers without signing a lease. Cheap, flexible space like that is hard to find in new construction.

Washington Street has a fresh opening, and a missing post office

Around the corner, the Village's newest opening went into an existing storefront. Junbi Matcha & Tea opened in July. Brookline.News pointed to its menu of ceremonial matcha and specials like sea salt caramel, blueberry lavender and strawberry. Its ordering page lists the address as 190 Washington Street.

Down the block, the Brookline Village Post Office at 207 Washington Street closed after a fire and electrical wiring problems in May. USPS said on May 22 that the branch would stay closed until further notice and gave no timeframe for a return. Its USPS location page still says "Temporarily Closed" and sends customers to the main Brookline branch at 1295 Beacon Street. That includes P.O. Box holders. If your errand loop used to be Village stamps and then a Sorriso bottle, the stamps now mean a trip to Coolidge Corner.

The Village calendar into Thanksgiving weekend

Most of the next month's events are inside two buildings that aren't going anywhere: the Main Library's Hunneman Hall and Puppet Showplace Theater at 32 Station Street.

Thursday, Oct. 29, 6 p.m.: "One Minute of Freedom: Meet Elizabeth Mumbet Freeman," Hunneman Hall, Public Library of Brookline.
Thursday, Nov. 5, 10 a.m.: Brookline Village Readathon, Brookline Village Children's Room.
Monday, Nov. 9, 6 p.m.: "13 Moons & 12,000 Years: Wampanoag History Past & Present," Hunneman Hall.
Thursday, Nov. 19: Last day of the Brookline Farmers' Market season, 1:30–6:30 p.m., at the Centre Street West Parking Lot in Coolidge Corner.
Sunday, Nov. 22, 2 p.m.: Brookline Music School Concert Series, Hunneman Hall.
Nov. 27–29: "Cinderella" by Tanglewood Marionettes at Puppet Showplace Theater. Shows are at 10:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and at 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Sunday.

For an evening on the Harvard Street block, pick a Tuesday through Sunday. That's when Merai's late hours, Noah's Kitchen's dinner service, and Sorriso's planned tastings across the street can overlap. Thanksgiving weekend's Saturday is a natural fit: a marionette matinee at 32 Station Street, then a walk around the corner to Harvard Street.

Redevelopment proposals like the one at 14–24 Harvard Street can sit for months and then move quickly once filings start. I keep a close eye on how they affect the streets around them. If you live near Brookline Village and want to talk through what a change on this block could mean for your own plans, David Gordon is glad to walk through it with you. Let's Connect.