Newton Centre Restaurants in Fall 2026: What's New

"Lockheart is, I'd like to say, a place for everybody," co-owner Mark Hicklin told Wicked Local in its Sept. 30 story on the reopening. "We want people to feel comfortable walking in the door."

The door he means belongs to the 19th-century station building at 70 Union Street, right beside the Newton Centre Green Line stop. For about four years the windows were dark. Now the building has its lights on most nights until 11 p.m., and until midnight on weekends. That changes how the village works after dark. The busiest corner of Newton Centre spent the whole summer filling in around this building, and with the depot open, the walk that starts at the station connects to everything else. It also points the next part of the season one stop down the line.

Four dark years at the corner everyone passes

The station's restaurant history is longer than its vacancy. Fig City News traced it in June. Deluxe Station Diner ran there for years. In 2020 the same owners turned it into Jamie's on Union, which closed in 2022. The MBTA had sold the building back in 2012, and it changed hands again in September 2025.

The rebuild was slow and expensive. According to Fig City News, a demolition permit came in January 2024 and a restaurant fit-out of roughly $1.2 million followed that March. A fire-protection acceptance test, usually one of the last steps before opening, happened in June 2026. The city's license board approved Lockheart's licenses 3–0 on June 16, but the restaurant still needed approval from the state. By Aug. 18, Fig City reported that the state's roster of active licenses still showed nothing issued for it. It was open by late September.

Here is what the building looks like now:

• What it is: Lockheart, a southwestern-style tacos-and-cocktails restaurant. The first one opened in Wellesley in 2022.
• Hours: Sunday through Thursday 4 p.m. to 11 p.m., Friday and Saturday 4 p.m. to midnight. The kitchen closes at 10 p.m. every night.
• Brunch: The Newton site lists weekend brunch as "Coming Soon," with no start date yet.
• Size: The plans call for 86 indoor seats and a seasonal patio. The owners agreed to close the patio by 10 p.m.

Lockheart opens at 4 p.m., so it belongs to the late-afternoon and evening part of the village day. The daytime part grew up around it while the building was still under construction.

What filled in while the depot was dark

Most of Newton Centre's 2026 openings are small. They sit within a few blocks of the station on Langley Road, Sumner Street, Centre Street and Beacon Street. With the depot open, they line up as one walk that starts at the station door.

Langley Road. Newton Asian Market opened June 13 at 22–28 Langley Road. On Oct. 14, the Newton Beacon described its produce displays, tanks of live seafood, and four kinds of durian. Manager May Xia told the Beacon that shoppers like the prices and the easy parking. She also said many people eat at Ding's Kitchen next door and then shop at the market. The store has the same ownership as the C-Mart chain, and Xia said its sale items change with the festivals on the Chinese calendar. Market Tiamo is a few doors away at 36 Langley Road.

Sumner Street. Tea22 opened softly in June at 212 Sumner Street, serving Thai tea, Thai coffee, bubble teas and slushes. It took over the space Pon de Joy left when the mochi donut shop closed early this year.

Centre Street. Something Sweet opened this summer upstairs at 1280 Centre Street, Suite 8, above Rosenfeld Bagel. It sells nostalgic and Swedish candy and hosts birthday parties and in-store events. Farther along, The Cork & Board at 1207 Centre Street marked four years in Newton Centre on Aug. 14. Fig City News reported that the party had wine, cake, and dumplings from a neighbor.

Beacon Street. The dumplings came from Formosa Bun & Dumpling Factory at 740A Beacon Street, which held its grand opening March 28. Owner Kristina Pan's pan-fried bao first built a following at Newton's Taiwan Day festival.

Union Street. Lockheart's own street changed too. Tess, a clothing boutique, now fills 91 Union Street, where the Sweet Dream chocolate and pastry shop used to be. Dear Duchess is at 49 Union Street.

Newton's Director of Economic Development, Lauren Berman, explained the turnover to Fig City News in August. "Newton continues to be a desirable place to open a restaurant," she said, and she credited the walkable village centers.

The weekend that put the village on one map

Last weekend's Harvest Fair on Newton Centre Green, at Langley Road and Centre Street, was the first big test of the new layout. This year the fair added something new, a Harvest Trail that sent people from the Green into the village's shops and restaurants.

The trail's stops show how far the village now reaches:

The old station sat on the same map as the Green, the wine shop and the Langley Road storefronts. A year ago the building wouldn't have been on it at all.

This Saturday, the calendar moves one stop down the line

The next city event isn't in Newton Centre. The City of Newton announced that "Newton's Halloween Party is coming to Newton Highlands this year." It runs Saturday, Oct. 24, from 2 to 5:30 p.m., and the schedule spreads it across the village:

1. 2 to 3:30 p.m.: A live music and dance party with Jammin' with You. At the same time, Newton's own Circus Complex runs circus activities on Hyde Field.
2. 2 to 5:30 p.m.: An inflatable corn maze on Hyde Field for ages 2 and up, plus Halloween family photos by Famili Photography of Auburndale. Halloween cupcakes start at 2 p.m., while supplies last.
3. 3 to 3:45 p.m.: A wood-carving demonstration by Tim Randall.
4. 3:30 to 5 p.m.: Trick-or-treating on Lincoln Street.
5. 4:45 to 5:30 p.m.: Ghost stories with Big Joe the Storyteller at the Linda Plaut Arts & Culture Center at the Brigham House.

Costumes are encouraged. The party ends at 5:30, and Lockheart has been open since 4 p.m. by then, one Green Line stop back toward Newton Centre.

Mid-November brings the next opening, also on Beacon Street

The fall's next restaurant opening is also near Newton Highlands. What Now Boston reported Oct. 14 that Sichuan Ember is moving into 1134–1136 Beacon Street, the former Scafidi Bros. Market & Deli space. Scafidi Bros. closed in February 2026, and before that the building housed Delitizer Deli, Diamond Bakery and Ravioli's Brick Oven Pizzeria.

According to What Now Boston's reading of the city permits, co-owner John Ma plans to renovate the 1,500-square-foot space for about $80,000. The plans show seating for up to 40 and hours from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. The owners have also applied for an alcohol and/or entertainment license. The permit filings list ingredients for dishes such as fuqi feipian and braised pork belly.

The grand opening target in those permits is Monday, Nov. 16, 2026. The restaurant had no online presence yet when What Now Boston published, so treat the date as a target, not a promise. If Sichuan Ember opens on time, it will be open from late morning, a different part of the day from the station's 4 p.m. start.

Where the season stands on Thursday, Oct. 22

The station building has a restaurant again for the first time since 2022. Weekend brunch there is still listed as coming soon. Newton Centre's newer daytime spots on Langley Road, Sumner Street and Centre Street are now part of the same walk. The city's Halloween Party is in Newton Highlands on Saturday, and the next opening is planned for Beacon Street on Nov. 16.

If you're curious how Newton Centre's changing storefronts fit into the bigger picture of the village, from the depot on Union Street to the corner of Langley Road, I'm always happy to talk it through. Reach out to Zahra at Home Search with ZZ to schedule a consultation, or request a free home valuation if you'd like to know what your own place on these streets is worth today.