Why Westwood's Restaurant Scene Is Suddenly Getting Interesting

By Caitlin Brady

The Walsh Team - William Raveis Real Estate

Westwood Resident & Real Estate Advisor

One of the things I like about living in Westwood is noticing the small changes that gradually change how you experience the town.

Islington Center is a great example.

Walk east on Washington Street from the Islington train platform today and you can pass a white-tablecloth Italian restaurant, then a neighborhood pizza counter that's been part of this stretch for years. Neroli Ristorante sits at 282 Washington Street with house-made pasta and a carefully built wine list. A few storefronts away, Islington Pizza and Sub Shop is still the kind of familiar neighborhood place where regulars don't need much time with the menu.

I think having both matters.

A community doesn't become more interesting simply because something new arrives. What makes a place feel established is when the new businesses and the longtime favorites can exist together.

Islington is starting to feel like a village center again, not simply a stretch of road you drive through.

What's especially interesting is that this didn't happen by accident. The town's own planning documents once described some of these parcels as deteriorating properties in need of revitalization. What we're experiencing today can be traced back to a very specific decision Westwood made about what this part of town could become.

Two Doors on Washington Street, One Town Vote

In May 2018, Westwood Town Meeting approved zoning changes covering eight parcels along Washington Street: four owned by the town and four by Petruzziello Properties, the developer that ultimately built out the corridor's mixed-use spaces.

One of the stated goals was attracting new retail and restaurant tenants. The plan also called for revitalizing underused properties while preserving and reusing the historic Blue Hart Tavern building rather than simply tearing it down.

The financial projections were significant too. At the time, the town estimated that the redeveloped parcels could increase annual tax revenue on that stretch from roughly $62,000 to around $481,000 once completed.

Most of us aren't thinking about municipal tax revenue when we're deciding where to grab dinner. But we do experience the result: storefronts that were once empty or underused now have activity in them.

Sometimes the best measure of redevelopment isn't a rendering. It's whether people actually want to spend time there.

And It's Not Just Islington

Islington Center may have the clearest before-and-after story, but the growth in Westwood's restaurant scene isn't limited to Washington Street.

Bar 'Cino on High Street has become another local option for a more casual night out. Around town, you also have places like Kosmos, Vico Ristorante Italiano, Sweet Basil and Shkodra Byrek, each offering something different.

The mix is what I find interesting:

• Neroli Ristorante for a more elevated Italian dinner
• Islington Pizza and Sub Shop for the neighborhood staple
• Bar 'Cino for something casual and social
• Nearby:
• Kosmos - Walpole for Greek and Mediterranean flavors
• Vico - Norwood and Sweet Basil - Needham for a couple other nearby Italian favorites
• Shkodra Byrek - Dedham for something completely different from the traditional suburban restaurant mix

Not all of those restaurants have anything to do with the Islington redevelopment. But together they tell a larger story: there are simply more reasons to live in Westwood if you want more nearby options.

The Part of Westwood You Don't See in the Listing Photos

This is where my perspective as both a Westwood resident and a real estate agent tends to overlap.

When people are considering a move here, they naturally ask about the house, the schools, the commute and the neighborhood. Those things matter. But eventually the questions become much more personal.

Where will we grab dinner on a Friday night? Can I pick something up without driving twenty minutes? Is there somewhere to meet a friend? What do we actually do here on a weekend?

Those questions don't usually appear on a property listing, but they have a lot to do with whether a town feels like home.

A Little More Reason to Park the Car

The Islington Center Task Force spent more than two years studying the redevelopment proposal before it went to a vote. The 14-member group included representatives from town boards, Islington residents and local business owners.

Among its goals was attracting new retail and restaurant uses.

That's the planning language. The everyday version is much simpler.

You have more reasons to park once, walk around and stay awhile.

For a suburban community, I think that's meaningful. It doesn't mean Westwood suddenly becomes an urban village, nor should it. It simply means some of the conveniences and experiences people want are becoming easier to find closer to home.

And Fall Is When Westwood Really Feels Like Westwood

The timing of all of this feels especially relevant in the fall because this is when so many of the things I enjoy about living here start happening at the same time.

The Westwood Young Women's Club's annual Harvestfest at Martha Jones Elementary School has grown into one of those events families recognize on the calendar. Recent years have included pumpkin decorating, a petting zoo, balloon twisting, live music, a Westwood Public Library story walk and food trucks.

Around the same time, First Parish of Westwood holds its annual pumpkin sale, with proceeds benefiting local charities through Pumpkins with a Purpose.

Individually, these might seem like small things. A pumpkin sale. A school event. A new restaurant. A pizza place that's been there forever.

But when you live somewhere, those small things are often what create your relationship with the town.

That's the Westwood Story I Find Most Interesting

Real estate naturally focuses our attention on houses. I spend a lot of my day thinking about them too.

But choosing where to live is rarely just about the house.

It's choosing how you want your everyday life to feel.

It's the five-minute trip for pizza. The Friday night dinner close to home. The fall event your kids expect to go to every year. The places where you start recognizing people and eventually stop thinking of yourself as someone who moved to Westwood and simply start thinking of Westwood as home.

A great community isn't defined by one restaurant, one event or one redevelopment. It's what all of those things add up to.

That's what I think is happening in Westwood right now.

Islington Center is becoming more active. The restaurant options around town are getting better. Longstanding community traditions continue to bring people together. And little by little, there are more reasons to stay local.

As someone who both lives here and helps people make decisions about living here, that's the part of Westwood I think is worth paying attention to.