Skip to content
Newton, Needham, Watertown, Wellesley
Subscribe to our free e-newsletter
Our Region
Directory
Member Login

Another beloved century-old retailer is closing

Back to Chamber News
Need to Knows Graphic

Another beloved century-old retailer is closing

This has been a hard year to reconcile, yes?

Our world has experienced some of the most devastating and debilitating events of our lifetime. Our planet is in pain. Democracy and basic respect for our differences are under attack.

And yet, the nation’s economy hums along, escaping an expected recession. Inflation is retreating. Record low unemployment. Most of us have it pretty good. Or much better than good.

Let's be better at sharing in 2024. Sharing our land and our resources and our compassion so others can live and thrive besides us.

This is our last newsletter for 2023. I'm grateful to each of you for your support of our chamber, our advocacy and our programs and for making time to read and engage here twice weekly.

Best wishes for a happy, healthy and peaceful holiday season.

Another beloved Watertown retailer closing its doors 

Fred Shapiro

When Russo’s closed its doors in 2021 after being in the produce business for more than 100 years, the loss was felt deeply not just in Watertown but across Greater Boston.

A similar deep loss will be felt when Freddy Farkel’s Upholstery & Fabric Showplace, on Walnut Street in Watertown closes after nearly a century.

Billed as New England’s largest custom upholstery shop, the family-run business has been that special go-to place for designers, decorators and do-it-yourselfers, with claims of having had more than one million yards of decorating cloth in stock at all times.

But after 92 years and three generations, the textile warehouse has lost its lease and is now holding a final clearance sale, according to a note on their website, which hints of hopes for a new location.

By the way, there was no Freddy Farkel. But there was his alter ego, fabric fanatic Fred Shapiro

The son of Russian immigrants, Fred (in photo above) joined his father in their family upholstery business in Brighton, expanding with stores in Avon and Watertown. The Newton resident died in 2021, after more than seven decades at the helm, passing the business onto his kids.

“When I first joined the business, I picked up the phone and a gruff voice was on the other side. Turns out it was Cardinal Cushing, as we were upholstering some pews and doing some draperies for the church," Shapiro told the Globe in 2017.

"When the Kennedys lived in Brookline, we did some work for them as well — Ethel Kennedy sent us furniture from Virginia. We’ve also done benches and other projects for department stores, restaurants, and commercial installations.”

Perhaps Farkel fabrics are in your home too. They are in ours.

Elections have consequences, act two 

The fall elections in Newton didn’t just derail an ambitious plan to rezone and reenergize most of the city’s village centers.

It also altered the makeup of the Newton City Council which in recent years was generally supportive of new mixed-use housing projects.

This week, incoming Council President Mark Laredo (one of the louder opponents of the broader Village Center Zoning plan) announced his committee assignments for the next two years.

Not surprisingly key committees -- including Zoning & Planning, Land Use and Finance -- look significantly different, with growth-skeptical councilors getting prime assignments.

Ring out the old regulations, ring in the new

  • The Specialized Stretch Code which mandates certain sustainability standards for new construction goes into effect in Newton and Wellesley on New Years Day and in Needham on July 1. The Specialized Code has been in place in Watertown since July of this year. (Full list here)

  • Also, on Jan. 1, Needham’s plastic bag ban for stores 3,500 SF or larger goes into effect, and next July for other businesses. (Needham Observer)

Riverside Green Line gets back up to speed 

The MBTA announced yesterday that it has lifted 22 safety-related speed restrictions along the D Line following a nine-day suspension of service.

“I’m proud of our workforce as we have addressed nearly six miles of track infrastructure along the D Branch, giving our riders a smoother, faster, and more reliable trip,” said MBTA General Manager and CEO Phillip Eng in a statement.

Next up for Green Line riders will be a suspension of service on the B branch between North Station and Babcock Street; on the E branch between North Station and Heath Street; and on the C and D branches between North Station and Kenmore station from January 3-12 and for 13 days from January 16-28.

Friday grab bag 

  • Are you interested in hiring job seekers with limited English language skills, who may be fluent in French, Spanish and Portuguese among other languages? Complete this form and MassHire will attempt to refer recent immigrants to you who are a qualified match.


  • CAN-DO is looking for volunteers to help provide free tax help to people with low to moderate incomes. Learn more.


  • Halva Kebab, the new Turkish restaurant at the former New Yorker Diner location in Watertown Square just received a nice write-up from the Globe’s Sheryl Julian.

  • RTX, the company formally known as Raytheon, no longer has a presence in Waltham, after being based in Massachusetts for more than a century. Employees and operations in Waltham were reassigned to RTX's facilities in Andover and Tewksbury, while corporate HQ has moved to Arlington, Virginia. (BBJ)
 
  • Needham-based Kudo Biotechnology and Volante Farms were awarded grants through Commonwealth Corp. to train a total of 104 workers and create 43 new jobs by 2025, Rep. Denise Garlick reports. The program helps employers increase skills and opportunities for workers.

  • If you appreciate our advocacy and events, we’d appreciate it if you’d take one minute to post a Google review for the Charles River Chamber here. Thanks for your time!

Needham medical building approved 

The Needham Planning Board has unanimously approved Boston Development Group’s proposed 50,000-square-foot medical office building on Highland Ave., reports the Needham Observer.

The 629-661 Highland Ave. project will replace five existing buildings on the 2-plus-acre site with a single two-story building of atop a two-level garage.

...While the ZBA stands by Needham Children's Center 

Also in Needham, the Zoning Board of Appeals “sent a clear signal last week that it has found no justification to revoke the building permit issued in September for a childcare facility at 1688 Central Ave.” reports Observer’s Peter O’Neil.

But that hasn't stopped abutters from continuing to drag developer (and former select board member) Matt Borelli through the mud while providing no evidence that Borelli is doing anything more than trying to earn a living by building a new home for a family-owned local business at a time when parents are desperate for child care.
 
The whole NIMBY fiasco has gone from embarrassing to ridiculous and back.

There's no indication this will be ending anytime soon either. Opponents threatened this week to keep appealing, O'Neil reports.

Did you experience flooding this week? 

Finally this morning, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council released a report earlier this year on the Increasing Threat of Stormwater Flooding in Greater Boston.

One of the report's key recommendations was to make information about stormwater flooding locations more transparent to residents, businesses and municipal leaders across the region. 

And we all saw what happened on Monday, when heavy rains and winds lead to extreme flooding, damage and power outages that caught so many unprepared across our communities and throughout New England.

If your business or home experienced flooding this week, please complete this brief survey. Data collected will help state and municipal agencies understand where exactly communities experienced the worst flooding in order to help the Greater Boston area withstand and prepare for damage from stormwater. 

Report flooding here


And that's what you need to know for today, and the rest of 2023, unless you need to know how to get some sleep if you're stuck overnight at an airport while traveling this week.

And to all a good night!

 
Greg Reibman (he, him)
President & CEO
617.244.1688
Powered By GrowthZone