"From the landlord to the Town Hall to the sign permit, everything went without a hitch." That's how Karla Murphy described opening Matt's Curiosity Shoppe with her son Matt this summer, in an August report from the Winthrop Pilot. The shop is at 50 Crest Ave. It buys and sells antiques and collectibles. It opened in the same weeks that one of Winthrop's oldest businesses closed for good.
That timing sums up Winthrop this fall. Long-running storefronts in and around Winthrop Center are closing. Newer activity is collecting around the Revere Street and Crest Avenue end of town, where a new shop, a volunteer-built garden, and a street project down to its punch list are all landing within a few months of each other. The Chamber of Commerce's two remaining evenings in French Square are where these pieces meet.
A summer of goodbyes in Winthrop Center
Woodside ACE Hardware closed this summer after 94 years. The Winthrop Pilot called the store and its greeting sign "a familiar welcoming point at the main entry to Winthrop." That leaves one other hardware store in the southern part of town. The article doesn't name that store, and neither does any other source we found.
In the same report, the Pilot noted that Robin's Nest was preparing to close after 10 years. The gift shop is at 79 Jefferson Street in the center of town. The Winthrop Transcript first covered the announcement in June. That story said details on timing and final sales would follow. We haven't seen confirmation that the doors have closed. If Robin's Nest is part of your holiday shopping, check with the shop directly. In a social media video quoted by the Pilot, owner Robin McSorley said she was "making way for that next generation of entrepreneurs who are going to step in and bring new energy and new ideas to our community."
Drop Zone Brewery, the town's first brewery, closed in June 2025 after three years. The Pilot framed all three closures around one question: what, if anything, should be done to grow a small business community that "consists heavily of restaurants." A hardware store, a gift shop and a taproom are exactly the kind of non-restaurant storefronts that question is about.
What's landing around Revere and Crest
The newer activity is centered on one intersection, and it comes from three sources: a family business, a volunteer group and the town itself.
Matt's Curiosity Shoppe, 50 Crest Ave. The shop is co-owned by longtime resident Karla Murphy and her son, Matt, according to the Pilot. Karla Murphy chairs the Winthrop Commission on Disabilities. She told the Pilot that opening a business in town felt very different 10 to 12 years ago, when "I heard some people couldn't even get their business off the ground." The Chamber welcomed the shop as a new member, and it's signed up as a vendor for the Halloween Haunt.
Crest Ave Park and the Revere Street median. TreeWinthrop, also known as Winthrop Loves Trees & GROW, is leading a project at Crest Ave Park. The plan is to clean up the garden beds, create a pollinator garden, apply for official Monarch Waystation status and clear space for three serviceberry trees to go in next spring. The Winthrop Transcript reported that the group got permission from the Department of Public Works director and consulted the tree warden. The group has also adopted the median at the corner of Revere Street and Crest Avenue. It's already planted with bee balm, black-eyed Susans, blue asters, purple phlox and common milkweed. The volunteer workday was set for October 10. The group is still collecting donations for trees and plants, and volunteer information is available at 617-721-4162.
Revere Street itself. In his October 1 report to the Town Council, Town Manager Tony Marino said, "The Revere Street TIP is wrapping up, and the contractor is working on punch list items." He added that the town is "happy to move forward with revamped Revere Street, including new utility work and sidewalks," according to the Winthrop Transcript.
TreeWinthrop called the Crest Avenue site "a highly visible corner of Winthrop." As of the October 1 report, that corner had native plantings in the median, a new shop on Crest Avenue and a Revere Street project in its final punch-list stage.
The rest of the town's work list this fall
The same October 1 council report gave status updates on projects elsewhere in town.
- New fire station, Pauline Street. Marino called it the largest ongoing project in town. Once stormwater pipe work and retaining wall deliveries are done, the report said general contractor G&R Construction would begin site and foundation work in early October.
- Yirrell Beach. Coastal berm installation continues. After a September 10 meeting with residents, the town identified five beach access ramps it plans to install once the berm is in.
- Grandview Avenue. A proposed riprap wall to stop erosion at 242–244 Grandview Avenue was expected to take about two weeks once work began.
Revere Street is the only one of these projects the report described as wrapping up. The fire station was scheduled to move into its foundation phase, and Yirrell Beach has a second phase, the ramps, still to come.
French Square has two evenings left this year
The Winthrop Chamber of Commerce has two events left in French Square this year, plus a bike event before the first one.
| Date | Event | Where | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 24 or Sun., Oct. 25 | Bike Winthrop Halloween ride / 8th Annual Halloween Bike Parade | Not listed | 10 a.m. start |
| Thu., Oct. 29 | Halloween Haunt in Winthrop Center | French Square | 4 to 6 p.m. |
| Fri., Nov. 27 | Victorian Nights & Holiday Lights | French Square | 3 to 7 p.m. |
The bike event is listed on two different days. The Chamber's events calendar lists Bike Winthrop's 8th Annual Halloween Bike Parade for Sunday, October 25, at 10 a.m. The Winthrop Parks & Recreation calendar lists a Bike Winthrop "Halloween Ride" for Saturday, October 24, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Neither listing gives a starting point. Check with Bike Winthrop before you put costumes on the kids and bikes.
The Halloween Haunt has the clearest plans. The Chamber's announcements name the vendors and information tables signed up so far. They include Pizza Center & Baked By Kimberly, S&A Makery with handmade jewelry, Sublime Soul Crochet, local artist Lisa Golini with paintings and holiday items, Coastal Yoga, Infinity Auto Service, Sunny Days Daycare, Jack-O-Forever Halloween, East Boston Central Catholic School and Matt's Curiosity Shoppe. The Crest Avenue shop that opened this summer will have a table in Winthrop Center by the end of October.
The Chamber posted vendor rates for the Haunt. Craft and information tables cost $45 for Chamber members and $75 for non-members. Food vendors pay $50 for members and $100 for non-members. New Chamber members get one free table at either the Haunt or the Holiday Lighting. Vendor questions go to 617-846-9898 or [email protected].
The Chamber's save-the-date for Victorian Nights & Holiday Lights on November 27 promises holiday lights, Victorian-inspired décor and community festivities, with "more details coming soon." Nothing published so far confirms a tree lighting or names the vendors.
What's on hold, and what has already ended
Sip & Savor Winthrop was set for October 8 at Cottage Park Yacht Club, with $35 tickets. It would have brought back the Sip of Winthrop and Taste of Winthrop for the first time in 10 years. The Chamber postponed it and said all tickets will be refunded to the original payment method. The Chamber also said the event "is not going away," but it hadn't announced a new date as of this writing. The Chamber billed the evening as a celebration of the town's restaurants, businesses and community.
Other parts of the summer routine have already wound down or are running on seasonal schedules. The 2026 Winthrop Farmers Market at Ingleside Park ran Sundays from June 21 through September 27. The MBTA labels the Winthrop Ferry as seasonal and links a timetable that took effect August 17. The MBTA page doesn't list an end date for the season, so check it before planning a harbor trip later this fall.
A 94-year-old hardware store closing and a new antiques shop opening on Crest Avenue are the kinds of local changes our team tracks. Madelyn Garcia Real Estate has worked in the communities around Chelsea for decades, in English and Spanish. If you own in Winthrop and want to know how this year's changes around Revere Street and Winthrop Center might affect your home's value, ask us for a free home valuation and local market consultation.
