Jeff Brown

People playing pickleball under a very large bubble.

Marcus Lewis Tennis Center announces move

March 1, 2025

by Jeff Brown

Marcus Lewis recently announced that he will build a new tennis and pickleball facility at 45 Nagog Park Road, on land behind the River of Life Church. His tennis center has been leasing property off Granite Road in North Acton since 2014. Rather than negotiate a new lease,…

Velvet Vine Café ribbon cutting

February 21, 2025

by Jeff Brown

The Velvet Vine Café at 166 Great Rd. opened in January and, on Friday, February 14, they hosted a ribbon cutting celebration. Several Town officials congratulated Crystal Blais and Sarah Fitzmaurice on their new venture. The owners report that the operation has been going well and have found…

Stop and Shop’s Roving Robot

February 21, 2025

by Jeff Brown

Acton’s newest grocery store has a new employee. Meet Marty, the unassuming, rather shy robot who has free reign over the entire store. He (I am referring to Marty as “he” but the gender of the robot is not apparent) is dark gray, over six feet tall, rather…

Growing McDonald’s the Wright way

February 21, 2025

by Jeff Brown

February is Black History month and a local Black businesswoman, Paula Wright, is celebrating 40 years as a McDonald’s restaurant owner. She owns, with her son Donny, sixteen McDonald’s franchisees, including the one in East Acton, not far from the Concord line. Their other restaurants are in eastern…

Business Spotlight: Squashwest Sports and Fitness

February 1, 2025

by Jeff Brown

Acton has its own squash club on Knox Trail in South Acton: Squashwest Sports and Fitness, the area’s only facility devoted entirely to squash. Built in 1977 with four hardball courts, the courts were enlarged in the 1990s to conform to the international standard, and a fifth singles…

Gardner Field playground adds sculpture and Little Free Library

January 10, 2025

by Jeff Brown

Gardner Field in West Acton center is now home to a new Little Free Library. Installed in mid-December, it is full of books and ready for the neighborhood to stop by and browse. The playground at Gardner Field was completed and dedicated last summer, but there were details…

Business Briefs: Two new restaurants, one bike shop, and a gas station re-opening

January 10, 2025

by Jeff Brown

Velvet Vine Café is set to open in mid-January at 166 Great Road in the space recently occupied by the Holy Grail restaurant. Construction is nearly done; final inspections are underway and the hiring of the kitchen staff is nearly complete. As a café they will be serving…

Habitat for All information sessions

January 10, 2025

by Jeff Brown

In November the Acton Planning and Conservation Divisions, along with the Sustainability Office, held information sessions entitled, “Habitat for All.” This effort was funded by a state grant with the purpose of involving the community in finding better ways to combine the needs of natural resource protection and…

Stop & Shop grand opening

December 21, 2024

by Jeff Brown

After over two years of planning, the new Stop & Shop opened on Friday, December 13, at 252 Main St. at the former location of K-Mart. A ribbon cutting ceremony in the produce section capped off the morning’s activities, which included several speeches by Stop & Shop personnel,…

Feast & Fettle acquires WECO

December 13, 2024

by Jeff Brown

Feast & Fettle has acquired WECO, the food preparation and delivery service that began in 2020 at the start of the Covid epidemic. For a time, WECO was headquartered on Arlington Street in West Acton, before moving to Salem, New Hampshire earlier this year. The building they used…

Erikson’s Grain Mill expands

December 7, 2024

by Jeff Brown

One of the oldest continually-operating businesses in Acton, Erikson’s Grain Mill, has doubled its retail space. The grand opening, held November first, showcased the larger area with a full selection of bagged dog food and horse feed, and bigger items such as dog crates that were previously difficult…

Silver Girl restaurant announces opening

December 7, 2024

by Jeff Brown

Two-fifty-one Arlington Street in West Acton is about to be born again. The restaurant Silver Girl opens December 20 after months of preparation by the owners Dawn Aguiar and Tamara Deluzio, who also own Eve and Murray’s at the other end of West Acton center, right below True…

News Brief: Stop And Shop Opening Nears

November 27, 2024

by Jeff Brown

The new Stop and Shop store at 252 Main Street, Kelly’s Corner, former home of KMart, is tentatively set to open on December 13. Shelves are filling up with non-perishables while workers continue with the final details. The sign on the façade was installed this week. The parking…

Exchange Hall sold to Belmont Church

September 21, 2024

by Jeff Brown

Historic Exchange Hall at 2 School St., South Acton was sold on August 6 to the Anointed Worship Center, a Christian church currently located on Trapelo Road in Belmont. The sale price was $1,070,000. Glenn Berger, former owner of the building and owner of Acton Woodworks, a remodeling…

Business Briefs, September 13, 2024

September 14, 2024

by Jeff Brown

Acton Convenience changed hands. Ricardo Trindade sold his business on 465 Great Road in July to a company that operates out of Lowell. He still owns a store at 75 Great Road and he has named that location Great Road Convenience and a storefront sign is on order.…

WECO continues to deliver

August 30, 2024

by Jeff Brown

For most, the recent pandemic was an unpleasant memory of masks, disinfectants, and 6-foot distances. But some good things came from Covid. And one is WECO: the food preparation and delivery service, born in March of 2020, as we plunged into the unknown. Many businesses including local restaurants…