Large white letters run along the Lagrange Street side of the building at Lagrange and Centre and spell out BLANCHARD'S. They look like they should be neon but aren't. On September 24, the Boston Licensing Board approved the store's sale to Bhavin Patel, and the name is changing to Kappy's Fine Wine & Spirits. According to Patel's attorney, Jackson Christian, almost nothing else about the store will change. Michael Pignone, who has run it for the Elder and Corey family since 1999, will stay on as manager. At the hearing, nobody said whether those white letters will be redone to read KAPPY'S.
The same thing happened up and down the street this season. A new name went up in a familiar room, often run by someone already on the block, serving the kind of food or drink the room was already known for. The one change that broke the pattern was a closing with no replacement, and that is the one people are most likely to notice day to day.
September and Early Fall, Address by Address
| Address | What changed | When |
|---|---|---|
| 1761 Centre St. | Yeanie's opened in the former Christo's space | September 20, 2026 |
| 418 Lagrange St. at Centre | Blanchard's sale approved, becoming Kappy's | September 24, 2026 |
| 1894 Centre St. | Klin Thai approved for beer, wine and cordials | September 3, 2026 |
| 667 VFW Parkway | Bruegger's Bagels closed | Reported September 2, 2026 |
| 1785 Centre St. | Centre Squeeze Juicery taking orders | Opening date unconfirmed |
| Former Mission on Fire space, VFW Parkway | Leonardo's Bar Ristorante planned | Listed for 2027 |
The Christo's Space Went to the Shop Next Door
Christo's served its last pizza on July 26, 2025. Almost fourteen months later, on Sunday, September 20, 2026, Yeanie's opened at 1761 Centre St., a 1950s-style burger and chicken place with a jukebox and swivel seats. Universal Hub called it the neighborhood's "most yellow" restaurant.
The new owners weren't new to the block. Yeanie Bach and her husband, Phi Pham, own Bánh Mì Ơi, the shop right next door, and this is their second Yeanie's. The first one is in Dorchester. So Centre Street's newest restaurant comes from a team that already had a counter on that stretch.
Boston.com's October 2 roundup describes the menu: smashed Angus burgers on brioche, fried chicken sandwiches, extra-crispy fries with a slightly sweet edge, and classic shakes. The restaurant's website lists the West Roxbury location as open every day from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. With Bánh Mì Ơi next door, two storefronts in a row now belong to the same owners.
One Address, Five Names, Two Cuisines
The quieter news this month came from 1894 Centre St. On September 3, the Licensing Board approved a beer, wine and cordials license for Klin Thai. The restaurant has 16 seats and opened in 2025.
The license is new. The kind of restaurant in that room isn't. In its report, Universal Hub traced the address back more than fifteen years:
- Samia's, a Middle Eastern restaurant, until 2009
- The King, also Middle Eastern, from 2009
- Sticky Rice, a Thai restaurant, from 2011
- Som Tum Modern Thai Cuisine, from 2017
- Klin Thai, from 2025
That's five names and only two cuisines, with Thai food served there continuously since 2011. Klin Thai also isn't the only Thai option nearby. Phuket, a block down Centre, has had a beer-and-wine license for a long time, and Thai Spice is a third Thai spot on the street. It's mainly take-out and has one table. With this approval, the street has two Thai restaurants where you can order a beer with dinner.
The license itself also explains why turnover here tends to happen inside the same rooms. Klin Thai's is one of the licenses the state legislature granted Boston only for the 02132 Zip code. The city got similar licenses for other outer Zip codes to help restaurant owners outside the Seaport, downtown, Back Bay and the North End. These licenses can't be resold, and they go back to the city if the holder closes. That means a license stays in West Roxbury only as long as the restaurant holding it stays open.
The VFW Parkway Room Gets Another Name
The longest lineage this season belongs to a space on the VFW Parkway. Boston Restaurant Talk reported on August 27 that Leonardo's Bar Ristorante plans to open in the space that was most recently Mission on Fire. Before that it was Sofia's, before that Vintage, and before that Fontaine's. Mission on Fire was reported closed in late October 2025.
Like Yeanie's, this new name comes with history. A job post cited in that report says Leonardo Testa, son of restaurateur Vinny Testa, is behind the restaurant. According to the post, he has his father's recipes and has updated them, so the menu will have many of his father's old favorites alongside new dishes. The same post describes a family-style Southern Italian room modeled on 1940s restaurants in lower Manhattan and Brooklyn. It promises shared plates, red and black tablecloths, hand-painted murals, and big-band music.
Don't plan a holiday dinner there yet. Boston.com's September 10 roundup lists Leonardo's opening date as 2027. Published reports also give two different street numbers for the space, but they agree it's the former Mission on Fire, and that's the easiest way to picture where it is.
A Juice Counter With No Confirmed First Day
Centre Squeeze Juicery at 1785 Centre St. is the one newcomer that isn't replacing a familiar name. In January, What Now Boston reported that owner Yianni Gerasimidis, a graduate of the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts, was planning a takeout spot for fresh-pressed juices, smoothies, superfruit bowls, flavored lemonades, and a full coffee and espresso menu. The menu's signature item is the Freddo Espresso, a Greek iced coffee made by shaking a hot double shot with ice until it turns thick and frothy, then pouring it over fresh ice. It's a nod to Gerasimidis's Greek roots.
The January report said no opening date had been set, and we couldn't find a later announcement, but the shop is taking orders now. The January plan called for 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day. As of early October 2026, the shop's own online menu and its delivery listing show something closer to 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., with coffee, Freddo drinks and smoothies available from about 7:15 a.m. until just before 3 p.m. In practice that makes it a morning and lunch stop, and it's worth checking the order page before an afternoon visit.
The Room Nobody Has Taken Over
One closing this season left a real gap. The Bruegger's at 667 VFW Parkway closed after at least a couple of decades in business. Universal Hub covered it on September 2 under the headline "West Roxbury becomes bagelless." No replacement has been announced, and none of the reports on the other changes above mention another bagel shop in the neighborhood.
Until someone takes over the space, here are the nearest bagel shops Universal Hub listed:
- Exodus Bagels, off Belgrade Avenue in Roslindale
- Cafe Fresh Bagel, in Dedham Center
- Rosenfeld's, in Newton Centre
Each of those means leaving West Roxbury, which no other change this fall required. Yeanie's took over a former pizza room more than a year after Christo's closed, and Klin Thai carries on a run of Thai restaurants at its address that goes back to 2011. Kappy's keeps the same manager behind the counter, and Leonardo's is moving into a dining room that has carried four other names before it. Only the bagel shop on the VFW Parkway closed without a successor.
Seeing a familiar storefront on Centre Street change hands always raises questions, whether you're curious about the block or thinking about your own place nearby. At Muncey Group, we track these changes because they're part of daily life in West Roxbury, and we're glad to talk through what's happening on your stretch of the street. Schedule a consultation and we'll share what we're seeing.
