Symmes Mini-Mart used to occupy 681 Massachusetts Avenue in Arlington Center, until it closed a couple of years ago. Since October 16, the space has been a French bakery-café with about 20 seats, serving croissants, kouign-amann and naturally leavened breads.
That bakery is the only new arrival from this fall you can walk into this week. Over the same few weeks, two wine shops won licenses, a brewery started building its first permanent home, and a bridge project on Mystic Street pushed its finish line out. The bakery is the only one open, and the brewery is still pouring at other people's tables.
Three weeks in at 681 Mass Ave
Patch reported that Colette Bakery opened on Friday, October 16. Ownership had told Patch in August that it would open in September, so it arrived a few weeks late. The menu is French at its core: artisan breads, viennoiseries, quiches, traditional Parisian sandwiches, éclairs, tarts, and a long list of hot and cold drinks.
It's a family operation. According to Patch, Nathalie and Franck Beddiar moved from Toulouse to the Boston area in 2017 and opened their first bakery at 509 Main St. in Medford in 2020. They added 465 Main St. in Melrose in 2022 and then 517 Columbus Ave. in Boston's South End. Their son Valentin is pastry chef, and their daughter Clémentine helps run the business. The Arlington café is location number four. That means a Colette was already a short drive away for many people in town. The difference now is that Arlington Center has one within walking distance of Town Hall and Robbins Library.
Twenty seats isn't much. On a cold Saturday, that seat count will decide whether you stay for coffee or take your croissant to go.
Two licenses, two addresses, no opening date yet
The next two arrivals started at the ballot box. In March 2026, Arlington voters approved two new package store licenses, raising the town's total to eight. On October 6, YourArlington reported that the Select Board had voted unanimously the night before, without discussion, to award them to two businesses:
- Arlington Center Fine Wines, 5 Medford St., owned by Pietro Giglio and Chris Lianos
- Ruby Wine and Spirits, 1340–1342 Mass. Ave. in Arlington Heights, owned by Utsav Patel
The two picks are in very different spots. Five Medford St. is a few steps from the Regent Theatre at 7 Medford St. in Arlington Center. Ruby will sit up the avenue in the Heights.
The Arlington Center shop has a template to follow. YourArlington's preview of the applicants reported that Giglio and Lianos had first asked for a license in April 2024 and were turned down because none were available. It also reported that they plan to copy the model of Ball Square Fine Wines, the Somerville store Lianos has owned since 2000, where he often hosts food and drink tastings and community events.
"Food and wine, that's what connects people, even if you don't know the person across the table."
Giglio told YourArlington that before the vote. After it, he gave the outlet a shorter line: "Now it's the real work." Patel told YourArlington he was excited to open and "provide quality products to consumers and residents." Both shops have their licenses now, and both owners are eager to get going.
The award-winning brewery spends one more winter as a guest
Arlington Brewing Company is the third arrival. It also has the longest track record of the four, even though it has never had a building of its own. Patch reported that the company was founded in 2021, started selling beer in 2023, and grew through pop-ups, beer gardens and contract brewing. It has turned up at the Jason Russell House, Arlington Reservoir and Old Schwamb Mill. In April, its Trafford Ale won a gold medal at the 2026 World Beer Cup in the English Mild or Bitter category.
The permanent home is 15 Ryder St., near the Minuteman Bikeway, local parks and Ed Burns Arena. The company announced the site in October 2024 after more than three years of looking. Haynes is building it, and a company press release this October marked the start of construction. The plans include a production brewery, a taproom, a full-service kitchen and an outdoor beer garden, with opening expected next spring. "We've spent the last several years building Arlington Brewing Company without a permanent home," President and Head Brewer Tom Allen said in a statement Patch quoted.
Until spring, the beer still lives in other people's rooms. The company's beer finder lists these Arlington-area spots:
- Donut Villa Diner
- Zomsa
- Knights of Columbus
- Tryst
- Giles Wine, just outside town, which the locator shows carrying eight of its beers
The finder is a live page, so the lineup can change from week to week. The company's IPAs, lagers, British-style ales and seasonal beers are all in the rotation.
The bridge on Mystic Street moved its finish line
The fourth timeline belongs to a project, not a business. It shapes how people get around Arlington Center all winter. The Town of Arlington and its contractor, Kenefick Corp, are replacing the Mystic Street Bridge at Cookes Hollow, next to the police station. The original plan scheduled Phases 2 and 3 for the 2026 construction season.
The town's October 27 update says Phases 1 and 2 are substantially complete and Phase 3 traffic management is in place. Phase 3 work will run through the winter, weather permitting, and substantial completion is now expected in spring 2027.
Here is what Phase 3 means on the ground. Traffic now runs on the eastern side of the bridge, opposite the Public Safety Building, while crews replace the western side. The western sidewalk is closed, and temporary crosswalks keep an accessible path open. Crews typically work from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. If you walk Mystic Street to or from the Center, plan on using the eastern side and the temporary crossings until spring.
The bridge and the brewery are both aiming for spring 2027, and for much of town, a lot of what's coming is clustered around next spring.
What fills the weeks between now and spring
With most of the new places still months away, the winter calendar belongs to venues Arlington already has. The Wednesday farmers market at Russell Commons ran 2 to 6:30 p.m. and wrapped up for the season in October. This is what's still ahead:
| Date | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Fri., Nov. 6, 9 p.m. | Dennis Brennan Band | Regent Theatre, 7 Medford St. |
| Sat., Nov. 7, 8 p.m. | The Uncle Louie Variety Show | Regent Theatre |
| Sun., Nov. 8, 3–4 p.m. | Free-form community karaoke | Robbins Library Community Room |
| Sat., Dec. 5, noon–6 p.m. | Arlington Holiday Market, free | Town Hall, 869 Mass Ave, and Mill Cafe |
| Sun., Dec. 6, 3–5 p.m. | Arlington Community Barn Dance | St. John's Episcopal Church, 74 Pleasant St. |
| Sat., Dec. 12, 2–5 p.m. | Arlington Heights Holiday Stroll, free | Arlington Heights |
| Sun., Dec. 20, 3 p.m. | The Platters Very Merry Christmas Show | Regent Theatre |
The Regent's December schedule also lists Italiani Veri on December 5, Mountains on Stage on December 9 and Sal "The Voice" Valentinetti on December 12. Check the Regent's event directory for tickets. The barn dance meets on the first Sunday of every month through May. The Chamber's Holiday Stroll listing has the date and time but no other details yet.
December 5 is the day the fall's threads come together. The Arlington Holiday Market brings more than 100 local vendors to two spots, Town Hall and Mill Cafe. Santa reads stories at Town Hall at 1:00 and at Mill Cafe at 4:00, and Arlington Brewing Company is pouring. It's one more pop-up for a brewery that expects to have its own taproom on Ryder Street by spring.
One more thing for the household calendar while the leaves keep coming down: the town's yard waste collection runs weekly through the week of December 7–11.
Every new shop, taproom and finished bridge changes how a street feels to live on, and to sell on. If you're wondering how Arlington Center's next year might show up in your home's value, JMR Real Estate Group is happy to walk through it with you over coffee, maybe at that new bakery on Mass Ave. Get a free home valuation and we'll talk through what's changing near your street.
