What is open in Brookline Village after dark this fall, and what is new about it? The best answers to that question are in rooms people already know. A founder took back his wine shop and rebuilt it around tastings. A two-story pub is passing to an operator who plans to stay open later on weekends and is applying for a broad entertainment license. A cocktail bar on Harvard Street hosts a coffee roaster on weekends. A studio building on Station Street opens its doors on Thursday nights. Taken together, these changes give the Village more evening hours and more to do in them.
Sorriso Market came back as a place to stay a while
Brookline.News reported on Sept. 1 that Sorriso Market had reopened in its old Brookline Village storefront under its original owner, Nick Lisotto. Here is how that came about. In 2023 the shop closed its Coolidge Corner arcade outlet and sold the Village store. The firm that bought it went bankrupt in 2025, and after months of legal proceedings, Lisotto had the chance to get the business back. The shop's own site lists it at 27 Harvard St.
The bottles are only part of the comeback. The space was rearranged for community gatherings. Plans include casual Tuesday night tastings, special bottle openings, balsamic tastings and, eventually, pasta-making workshops. For serious collectors, a private membership opens up the deep cellar. Lisotto described the new direction to Brookline.News:
"I've shifted kind of the focus of the store to be more encompassing, as opposed to before when I sold my pasta, wine and some art. Now it's truly going to be an experience which I'm pretty excited about."
He also told the outlet he plans to expand the art gallery side. In September the shop was open Wednesday through Sunday, with the full lineup of events and offerings set to relaunch in October. Sorriso had been a place to stop in and buy something. It now plans to give people a reason to come back on a weeknight and stay.
The pub at 6 Harvard Square is changing hands
A few doors away, the Village's largest night-out room is turning over. Brookline.News reported on Oct. 20 that Garrison House is closing. The American gastropub at 6 Harvard Square opened in late 2021, and a new concept called Clementine is set to take its place. Garrison House was built for evenings from the start, with a pub-style restaurant upstairs and a downstairs lounge, Village Social Club, that hosted live music and other events. It opened as COVID-19 rules were winding down, and its side-street takeout window dates from that period.
Clementine is from restaurateur Mathew Freid, who owned Idle Hour in downtown Quincy from 2017 to 2024 and previously worked at the Beehive, Capo and JM Curley in Boston. Town licensing documents show what the new room is planning:
| Clementine, as planned | |
|---|---|
| Purchase of Garrison House's liquor license, furniture and other assets | $315,000 |
| Indoor seats | 128 |
| Outdoor seats | 32 |
| Weekend closing time | 1 a.m., an hour later than Garrison House |
| Entertainment license sought | Live music, taped music, television, movie screenings and floor shows |
The $315,000 figure is the clearest sign of where the value in a room like this sits. Clementine is buying an existing license and a fitted-out space, an established spot for a bar, rather than starting from scratch somewhere else in the Village. The license transfer was on the docket for a town hearing on Wednesday, Oct. 21. Once approved, the license has to be physically picked up before the restaurant can legally sell alcohol. Freid confirmed the transition but declined to comment further, and he has not announced an opening date.
On paper, the plan is the Garrison House format at a larger scale: two levels, room for entertainment, and a later weekend close. Taken with Sorriso's tasting nights, that puts two of the Village's better-known storefronts behind the idea of keeping people around once dinner ends.
Daytime and nighttime rooms are sharing the work
The same overlap shows up at smaller addresses. Merai, at 14 Harvard St., is a Thai-flavored cocktail bar that serves food. According to Brookline.News in August, Newbery St, a Thai specialty coffee roaster, has been running weekend pop-ups at Merai. Newbery St is planning its own cafe at 240 Harvard St., the former Cremeux space near Coolidge Corner, and is raising money for the final costs through a Kickstarter campaign. For now, a room built for cocktails is serving morning coffee on weekends, so one Harvard Street storefront is busy at both ends of the day.
Junbi Matcha & Tea covers the afternoon. The Brookline Record reported on Oct. 23 that the shop at 190 Washington St. soft-opened June 30, held its grand opening July 11 and offers student discounts. Brookline.News suggested starting with a classic ceremonial matcha before trying specials like sea salt caramel, blueberry lavender or strawberry.
On Cypress Street, the former Thai restaurant So Kitchen has rebranded as Chaba Cafe, another Thai spot specializing in curries, noodles and fried rice. Here too the room stayed the same and the name changed.
Thursday, Nov. 19, is the night to circle
All of this fits most easily into a single evening on the Village's Third Thursday. ArtsBrookline's calendar lists several free events in the Village on Nov. 19.
- Station Street Studios, 17 Station St., Suite 202: make a print, watch a demonstration of beaded earring making, or talk with working artists and makers about their process. Free.
- Village Works: a free community coworking and creative writing night.
- Feet of Clay: a free Third Thursday handbuilding class.
- A free fabric collage mini workshop, listed for the same night.
Station Street Studios already held an Open Studios night on Oct. 15, from 5 to 9 p.m. Nov. 19 is also the last day of the 2026 season for the Brookline Farmers' Market, which runs Thursdays from 1:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Centre Street West Parking Lot in Coolidge Corner. With that schedule, you can shop the market in the afternoon, ride or walk down Harvard Street, and get to Station Street once the studios open.
December brings the holiday market. ArtsBrookline's Brookline Village Holiday Market is scheduled for these dates:
| Date | What's listed |
|---|---|
| Friday, Dec. 11 | Opening reception, 5 to 9 p.m. |
| Saturday, Dec. 12, and Sunday, Dec. 13 | Market hours |
| Saturday, Dec. 19, and Sunday, Dec. 20 | Market hours |
That opening reception is on a Friday night, in the same few blocks where Sorriso is planning tastings and Clementine plans to stay open until 1 a.m. on weekends.
What the Village looks like heading into winter
Looking ahead from early November, here is the near-term picture. Sorriso Market at 27 Harvard St. is open under its founder, with tastings and a cellar membership as the core of the business. The 6 Harvard Square space is moving from Garrison House to Clementine, which plans 160 seats across indoor and outdoor space, later weekend hours and a broad entertainment license, with no opening date announced. Merai hosts Newbery St coffee on weekends. Junbi is open at 190 Washington St., and Chaba Cafe has replaced So Kitchen on Cypress Street. The calendar's next fixed dates are the free Third Thursday events on Nov. 19, followed by the Holiday Market reception on Dec. 11.
If you live near the Village and want to talk about how changes like a new owner and later weekend hours at 6 Harvard Square might affect your own home's plans, Masterman Elek Group is glad to hear from you. Schedule a consultation to discuss your home, and we'll go through what's changing on your blocks.
