Empty storefronts. A wave of closures. As businesses leave Harvard Square, some fear what’s coming next.
“I think what’s gotten people’s attention at Harvard Square over the last, say, two to three years has been the number of businesses that have had to leave — particularly in the very central part of the square,’’ said Cambridge Vice Mayor Jan Devereux.
Last call at John Harvard’s arrived 20 minutes before midnight.
By then, the post-commencement crowd had petered out. The music — a low, thudding bass — faded. On every TV, the Toronto Raptors trounced the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of the NBA finals. The stalwarts lifted their pints and cried, “Last call!’’ in raucous unison as a blonde barkeep clanged an iron bell.
John Harvard’s Brewery & Alehouse celebrated its last hurrah May 30 before shutting its doors for good, ending a 27-year-long run on Dunster Street in Harvard Square. It was just the latest in a wave of closures in the square that has some business owners and residents on edge, fearing what it portends for the bustling district.
