"We heard through family connections on the Maugus restaurant opportunity and jumped on it right away," Kostas Saranteas told The Swellesley Report in October 2025, when his family agreed to buy the restaurant at 300 Washington Street. The same report said he and his wife were close to retirement and wanted a smaller place with less demanding hours. It also said the Maugus would stay a breakfast and lunch restaurant.
That was a year ago. This month, as The Swellesley Report reported on October 7, the Wellesley Select Board approved amendments to the cafe's common victualler and all-alcohol licenses. The Maugus Cafe can now open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day, and the owners plan dinner service and special events after 5 p.m.
For the stretch of Washington Street facing Clock Tower Park, this matters beyond one restaurant's hours. Life on this block runs on daylight. The posted kitchen hours end by 9 p.m., and this month's community events end before dark. A diner that has been a morning fixture since the 1930s is now the business asking to keep the lights on later.
A year of quiet changes behind the same counter
The Papakonstantinou family ran the Maugus for more than four decades. Their last day as owners was October 31, 2025. Kostas, Anna and Stratis Saranteas came from Acton, where they had run the Atlantic Sea Grill for 11 years. Kostas told The Swellesley Report that the family got into the restaurant business mainly because Anna and Stratis love Mediterranean cooking and know it well.
In January the "Maugus Restaurant" became the Maugus Cafe. The plans that went with the new name were practical: easier access at the front door, a grease trap and a second unisex restroom. Those changes aren't glamorous, but a grease trap and a second restroom are what a kitchen needs before it can serve a full dining room at night.
The room kept its bones. The Swellesley Report visited during the summer soft opening and wrote down what was new and what stayed:
- Gone: the red carpet
- Kept: the counter stools, the booths and the back room for big groups
- Added: a counter with stools looking out on Washington Street, plus an outdoor seating area with umbrellas and potted flowers
- Behind the counter: a new espresso machine using beans from Atomic Coffee Roasters, making about a dozen kinds of coffee
The menu is the same story. The diner basics are still there, with a Mediterranean slant that the Maugus always had a little of. Breakfast includes steel-cut oats, yogurt bowls, Nutella pancakes and six omelettes, one of them a Spanakopita Style Omelette with spinach, feta and a phyllo crumble. Lunch adds a Souvlaki Bowl and a Greek Village Salad alongside the burgers and wraps.
The official grand reopening was Friday, October 9. It had free coffee and 50% off a special menu, and the owners waited until school was back in session to hold it.
The hours, side by side
Before the license change, the Maugus kept the same schedule it always had. It opened at 7 a.m. on weekdays and 7:30 a.m. on weekends, and it closed at 5 p.m. every day. The new hours mean more when you compare them with the neighbors a short walk away on Washington Street.
| Spot | Address | Evening hours listed in October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Maugus Cafe, previous schedule | 300 Washington St. | Closed at 5 p.m. daily |
| Maugus Cafe, newly approved | 300 Washington St. | May operate until 10 p.m. daily |
| Yama Japanese Restaurant | 245 Washington St. | Dinner 5 to 9 p.m. weekdays, 4:30 to 9 p.m. weekends |
| Mortadella Head | 263 Washington St. | 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily |
| Singh's Cafe | 312 Washington St. | Check with the restaurant |
In the table, the latest posted closing time on this cluster is 9 p.m. at Yama. A 10 p.m. license would make the Maugus the place allowed to stay open latest, at an address that until this month closed at 5 p.m.
Why the Clock Tower block runs on daylight
Look at October on this block. The two big Wellesley Hills events this month both happen in daylight.
The pumpkin patch at Wellesley Hills Congregational Church, 207 Washington Street, is in its 23rd year. It runs every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. through October 31. According to the town calendar, the money goes to the church's youth service trip and the Wellesley Food Pantry.
The Halloween Stroll is Saturday, October 31, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., starting at Clock Tower Park, according to the Town of Wellesley's calendar. The Swellesley Report's Halloween roundup says kids are encouraged to trick-or-treat at Wellesley Hills businesses, with games, music and treats in the park.
The pumpkin patch closes at 6 p.m. The Stroll ends at 1 p.m. The Maugus used to close at 5 p.m.
All three ran on the same daytime schedule. The park fills up at midday and the sidewalks get busy on weekend mornings. Until this month, the restaurant across from the park closed for the night along with everything else.
What the license allows, and what it doesn't promise yet
The license sets the latest the Maugus may stay open, and the schedule is still being worked out. The Swellesley Report described dinner service as "in the works for the coming months" and said it would start on select days. So expect dinner to start gradually. The Maugus can open until 10 p.m. seven days a week, but that doesn't mean it will right away. The cafe's own website announces that it is open and links to the menu, but it doesn't list evening hours yet.
The change also goes against what the owners said when they bought the place. A year ago the Saranteas family described a smaller business with easier hours and a breakfast-and-lunch menu. Now they have permission for a 15-hour day and an all-alcohol license. Nothing has been said about what will be on a dinner menu. What is on record points toward Mediterranean food: the family ran the Atlantic Sea Grill in Acton for 11 years, and the daytime menu already includes souvlaki and spanakopita flavors.
An October Saturday around the park
With the Maugus open and the evening hours coming, a full Saturday on this block in the last weeks of October could look like this:
- Breakfast at the Maugus counter. It opens at 7:30 a.m. on weekends. The Spanakopita Style Omelette and an Atomic espresso are the new additions.
- Pumpkins across the street. The patch at 207 Washington Street opens at 10 a.m. every day through October 31.
- The Halloween Stroll on the 31st. It starts at Clock Tower Park at 11 a.m. and finishes at 1 p.m., with trick-or-treating at Hills businesses.
- An early dinner nearby. Yama starts weekend dinner at 4:30 p.m., and Mortadella Head is open until 8 p.m.
Once the Maugus starts its dinner service, that fourth stop could move back across the street to the counter where the day began.
If you live near Clock Tower Park and want to know how changes along Washington Street in Wellesley Hills affect your plans, The Walsh Team Partners would be glad to talk it through with you. Request a complimentary consultation, and we can meet for coffee at the Maugus counter.
