Reading's Rebuilt Station Corner and the High Street Tenants Built for Staying Put

Where High, Haven and Chute streets meet beside Reading Station, the town scheduled the intersection to reopen by Oct. 30, with a row of temporary concrete blocks marking the edge of a new raised plaza. Through most of September and October, drivers couldn't get through here. The blocks are meant to protect the new plaza while drivers get used to the layout, and permanent decorative bollards come later, Patch reported on Oct. 27.

That corner is where downtown Reading's next stage is landing. The two businesses getting ready to open beside it are meant for lingering: an Italian-American dinner spot and a coffee bar that also pours cocktails. The same week the town announced the reopening, Reading's other commercial center added two stores you can get in and out of fast. In October 2026, the town gained new businesses in two places at once, and they are aimed at very different trips.

What the plaza is, and what it cost the fall calendar

The raised intersection is the centerpiece of the $4.1 million downtown streetscape project. The contractor is J Marchese & Sons of Everett, and the state helped pay for it with a $2.6 million One Stop for Growth grant awarded in 2023. The design adds a raised platform with stamped concrete pavers where people cross between Reading Station and the corner of High and Chute. It also includes new lighting, landscaping, drainage upgrades and wider sidewalks that businesses can use for pop-up events, according to the Daily Times Chronicle.

That finish line came with a cost. The full closure started Sept. 8 and was supposed to last about five weeks. Traffic was barred from High Street between Washington and Woburn streets, and drivers were detoured along Lincoln Street. The construction also moved Halloween. Reading usually holds trick-or-treating downtown, but this year the town partnered with the Burbank YMCA on a "Trunk or Treat" and haunted house on Oct. 23. In her report, covered by the Daily Times Chronicle, Town Manager Jayne Wellman named the Haven and High street construction as one reason. Others were crowd safety, the cost of candy for downtown businesses, and staffing shortages in the Recreation Department.

So downtown spent October without its biggest street night of the year. The reopening is how it gets that time back. The town's own words, as Patch reported, called it a moment that "marks a major project milestone, and we invite you to celebrate by visiting the area and patronizing the local businesses."

The two businesses lining up at the corner

The Daily Times Chronicle described the raised crossing as reaching right to the High and Chute corner. That puts it by the site of a new Italian restaurant and the long-running Last Corner Restaurant. Two openings are planned on this stretch:

• DiBlasi's Food and Drink, 42 High St. This is the former Green Tomato space. Chef Greg Maganzini is cooking Italian-American comfort food rooted in his family's Trentino background, with craft cocktails. When Ryan Patterson and Maganzini went to the Select Board, the Daily Times Chronicle reported, they described a family-friendly restaurant where drinks go with the meal. They did not pitch a bar. The restaurant's own site says "Coming November 2026" and gives no exact date.
• Bean & Barrel, High Street. This is a bakery, café and bar under one roof, with espresso, baked goods and cocktails. Giuseppe Fodera is leading the project, What Now Boston reported in January. It takes up half of the former Lava Laundry space, and the bread and pastries will come from Parziale's Bakery, according to the Daily Times Chronicle's streetscape coverage. As of the town manager's October update, it was expected "in the coming weeks."

Morning coffee and an evening meal cover the hours on either side of a train commute, and these two are going in on the corner the town just rebuilt for people on foot. Other recent openings across town fill in more of the day. Wellman's report lists Virginia's Cafe, Oasis Bakery and Tosca Forno among the businesses that opened in Reading during 2026. She called this run of openings a "Reading Renaissance."

Walkers Brook got the other kind of opening

On the I-95 side of town, October's news was about errands. Trader Joe's and Dion's Wine & Liquors opened at The Crossing at Walkers Brook, 34 Walkers Brook Drive. The two stores split a building that Staples used to fill alone, according to an Oct. 20 announcement from Wilder, the firm that leases the center.

Wilder openly calls the split a bet on frequent trips. The announcement says the space now holds "high-frequency uses," and Principal Andy LaGrega said the pair "give customers a reason to return frequently." It is the 22nd Trader Joe's in Massachusetts. The Reading store was designed for this location, with custom interior artwork based on local landmarks. The chain's store locator lists daily hours of 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Dion's dates to 1933 and is now run by the fourth and fifth generations of the Dion family.

A grocery run off exit 57 and a dinner reservation across from the commuter rail platform are different trips, and October gave Reading new options for each.

November on and around the rebuilt corner

The new plaza gets its first real test between now and Nov. 21. Several of the town's November events are within easy reach of downtown, and the rest are a short trip away.

Some details beyond the table. Show times come from the RMHS Drama site. The Pumpkin Smash is the first one Reading has held, and The Reading Post says it combines pumpkin composting with family activities, so it's a use for whatever is left on the porch from October. The Veterans Day ceremony is run by the town's Veterans Services Department and appears on the Town of Reading's November calendar, along with the Garden Club meeting and the Good Shepherd fair. The STEM Expo is hosted by the Reading Memorial High School Robockets, FRC Team 4761. It's aimed at students in kindergarten through eighth grade, all ages are welcome, and the Reading Cultural Council is sponsoring it, per The Reading Post.

Nov. 21 is the busiest Saturday on the list. The fair on Woburn Street ends at 2 p.m., and the library expo runs from 1 to 3 p.m. on Middlesex Avenue, so you can do both in one afternoon.

What the corner still doesn't have

Reopening the intersection doesn't finish the project. Patch reported that sidewalks, traffic signals, street lighting, landscaping and final paving are still underway, with the whole project expected to wrap up in 2027. Most of the trees and shrubs won't be planted until spring. The town's late-stage plan also called for curb and sidewalk work on the station side along Lincoln Street through the end of October.

More changes are coming soon. Monster Mini Golf is expected to open in December in the former Reading Athletic Club space, and an upscale women's boutique is planned for 175 Haven St. The MBTA's double-track project between Reading and Wilmington will eventually bring accessible platforms to Reading Station. The town has asked that the MBTA's planned curb work move to the Lincoln Street side, because High Street just got its own rebuild. Next spring, the corner will be a construction-free plaza with plantings, permanent bollards and, if the November openings hold, two new places to eat beside the station.

As businesses move in near the station and the plaza fills out, it's fair to ask how that affects home values and rents within walking distance. If you'd like to see the numbers for a home near downtown or Walkers Brook, Juan Concepcion can walk you through what local changes like these mean for your property and your budget. Schedule a consultation.