Allston’s retail profile rising
Over here is the Earthwatch Institute, a leading environmental organization supporting scientists in the field. And over there is Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Project, whose nonprofit work supports artistic, cultural, and educational activities. Nearby, the Harvard Allston Education Portal is getting rave reviews from neighborhood residents who come for mentoring and other activities, including lectures about current topics by Harvard’s top faculty members. There’s also a new family-style restaurant, Stone Hearth Pizza, smack in the heart of Barry’s Corner, which will have a plum spot in the space formerly occupied by a Citgo station, and whose renovations will include landscaping and outdoor seating. Then there is Maki Maki, a sushi restaurant and another new lessee up the street in the Brighton Mills Shopping Center, which offers low prices (for sushi, anyway), an all-you-can-eat sushi buffet, and seating for 178. Together, they’ll provide roughly 60 jobs and bring paying customers into the area. “It...