"Lockheart is, I'd like to say, a place for everybody," co-owner Mark Hicklin told Wicked Local in a September 30 story. "We want people to feel comfortable walking in the door."
That door belongs to the 19th-century station at 70 Union St., right beside the Newton Centre Green Line stop. Until this fall it had been closed for nearly four years. Lockheart is a southwestern-style restaurant that first opened in Wellesley in 2022, and its arrival means the building closest to the trolley platform is open in the evening again. The timing is good. The station started serving in late September, and the Harvest Fair brings a carnival to Newton Centre Green on October 17 and 18.
The building came back slowly
Nearby residents watched this corner stay dark for a long time. The quiet wasn't neglect. It was a long renovation, and the station's own history explains why it took so long.
- 1884: The Boston and Albany Railroad commissions the station. It was one of a series of carefully designed stations in the Boston suburbs.
- 1886: H. H. Richardson dies. His successor firm, Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge, keeps using his design style for the stations still unbuilt, including this one.
- 1891: The station opens, built by the Norcross Brothers firm of Worcester.
- 1905–07: The building is heavily modified when the tracks are lowered below street level to eliminate grade crossings.
- July 1959: After the Highland branch closes in 1958, streetcar service begins on what is now the Green Line D branch.
- 2012: The MBTA sells the building.
- 2020: Jamie's on Union replaces the long-running Deluxe Station Diner under the same ownership. It closes in 2022.
- January 2024: A demolition permit starts a full interior buildout. In March, a restaurant fit-out of roughly $1.2 million follows.
- September 2025: The building changes hands for about $2 million.
- June 16, 2026: Newton's Board of License Commissioners votes 3–0 to approve Lockheart's license, on the condition that remaining paperwork is filed.
- Late September 2026: Boston.com's September 17 preview lists the opening for the week of September 20, and Wicked Local reports the restaurant open on September 30.
According to the plans filed with the city, the room has 86 indoor seats and a seasonal patio. The applicants agreed to close the patio by 10 p.m.
What the station is serving now
At the licensing hearing, the applicants' attorney, Carolyn Conway, described Lockheart as a family-oriented American bistro with a southwestern flair and an affordable menu, modeled on the Wellesley location. The current menu matches that description. Starters include lobster guac and Texas-dry-rub wings. Tacos include tuna poke, Korean Brussels sprouts, smoked carnitas, short-rib birria and a lobster BLT. Veggie enchiladas and fajitas round it out.
Hours are still settling. The licensing plans allowed the restaurant to stay open as late as 1 a.m. The attorney said that late closing was mainly meant for occasions like World Cup matches or late West Coast baseball games, and that the kitchen would serve until at least 10 p.m. As of early October, the restaurant's reservation listing shows dinner daily from 4 to 10 p.m. The bar stays open until 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until midnight on Friday and Saturday. Check with the restaurant before planning around a late table.
The 4 p.m. dinner start matters on Harvest Fair weekend.
Harvest Fair weekend, mapped against the station
The fair takes up two days. Cushing Amusements runs the carnival on Newton Centre Green at the corner of Centre Street and Langley Road.
| When | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday, Oct. 17, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. | Carnival rides and games | Newton Centre Green |
| Sunday, Oct. 18, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. | Carnival continues | Newton Centre Green |
| Sunday, Oct. 18, from 11 a.m. | Harvest Fair booths, two music stages, pumpkin decorating | Green and Langley Road parking lot |
| Either day, from 4 p.m. | Dinner service begins at Lockheart | 70 Union St. |
City materials don't agree on when the Sunday fair ends. Times of 4 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. all appear, so treat late afternoon as the wind-down. The main stage in the Langley Road lot opens with Chills at 11 a.m. The Heather Mumford Project plays at 12:30, the displayers at 2, and The Quality and Value Music Performers close the stage from 3:30 to 4:30. The community stage runs every 45 minutes:
- CK Brass, 11 a.m.
- Suzuki School of Newton, 11:45
- Creative Steps Dance Studio, 12:30
- The Conservatory at Highlands, 1:15
- City Hall Strummers, 2
- Thillai Fine Arts Academy, 2:45
- Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, 3:30
The fair's food plans are unclear this year. The city's Harvest Fair page says it is not accepting food vendors in 2026. The 2026 exhibitor application, however, still describes food trucks along with the carnival, two stages and pumpkin decorating. The 2025 fair, held on a single day, October 19, advertised international food trucks and more than 100 booths. Whatever ends up parked on the Green, the village itself has more places to eat than it did a year ago, and they are all within walking distance of the carnival.
A few blocks of newer arrivals
Most of Newton Centre's openings since 2025 are daytime shops built around a specialty: cakes, candy, tea, dumplings, refills. The station gives that cluster a dinner room at the transit end of Union Street.
| Business | Address | What it is | Opened |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luna's Cakes + Coffee | 1269 Centre St. | From-scratch cakes, pastries and coffee from sisters Valentina and Valeria Restrepo, in the former Starbucks | By October 2025 |
| Formosa Bun & Dumpling Factory | 740A Beacon St. | Kristina Pan's Taiwanese menu, built around family-recipe pan-fried bao and dumplings | Soft launch December 2025, grand opening March 28, 2026 |
| Tea22 | 212 Sumner St. | Thai tea, coffee, bubble tea and slushes in the former Pon de Joy space | June 2026 |
| Something Sweet | 1280 Centre St., Suite 8 | Nostalgic and Swedish candy and chocolates, plus parties and in-store events | Summer 2026 |
| Tess | 91 Union St. | Clothing boutique in the former Sweet Dream space | By August 2026 |
The building at 1280 Centre St. has also been rearranged. Fulfilled Goods, Shara Ertel's refillery, moved in with Lucinda Chrislip's Derby Farms Flowers & Gardens. After food was added in the spring, the shop was reorganized so each business has its own floor. That puts candy, flowers and refills under one roof in Piccadilly Square, a short walk from the Green.
Here is how the walk can go on fair Saturday. Pick up coffee and cake at Luna's on Centre Street. Spend the afternoon at the carnival until it closes at 5. Stop upstairs at 1280 Centre for candy. Then walk down Union Street to the station, where dinner service started at 4.
The Saturday after
October 24 is the next busy day on the calendar, and the city has moved part of it. Newton's Halloween Party is coming to Newton Highlands this year, from 2 to 5:30 p.m. Circus Complex will run circus activities on Hyde Field, alongside an inflatable and corn maze. Trick-or-treating will be on Lincoln Street, and Big Joe the Storyteller will tell ghost stories at the Linda Plaut Arts & Culture Center at the Brigham House. Earlier that day, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., the 27th annual Halloween Window Painting returns as a contest. Students in grades 3 through 8 will paint the windows of participating merchants in seven villages, with October 25 as the rain date. Both events end in the afternoon, and dinner at 70 Union St. starts at 4.
Interested in what new storefronts like the Union Street station mean for your corner of Newton Centre? M|E Collective follows these village changes block by block, and we're glad to walk through what they mean for your home. Book an appointment whenever you're ready.
