If you’ve walked past the Giroux building in the past few years (the large building in between Emery Park and the Visitors Center on Massachusetts Avenue), you’ve probably noticed how quiet it is.
Last year, Via Lago closed its doors after 37 years in business, and the storefront that used to house the Chinese restaurant Sanyo is now a Russian School of Math.
And for the past few months, Abbott’s Frozen Custard has kept its lights off and doors closed. But if you peek through its front window, the shop looks fully set up.
So — what’s going on with Abbott’s?
The frozen custard shop that’s had a storefront on Massachusetts Avenue in Lexington Center for six years permanently closed its doors due to low sales, Jason Denoncourt, who owned Abbott’s Lexington location, told the Observer.
“I’m incredibly grateful to have run a business in my hometown and work closely with the community and many students, but with two straight years of pandemic and four consecutive years of town construction in front of our store during our busy season, we could not overcome financial burdens,” he said. Denoncourt opened the Lexington location in 2018 and stopped operations in November 2024.
Abbott’s is a franchise with more than twenty locations in upstate New York and a few others scattered along the East Coast. The only Abbott’s store that’s currently open in Massachusetts is in Needham.
Abbott’s closing brings the number of ice-cream and ice cream-adjacent parlors in Lexington Center down to three: Rancatore’s, Fruitee Yogurt, and the combined Baskin-Robbins and Dunkin’ across from Fletcher Park.
“Small business ownership is incredibly challenging, and I applaud every business that continues to provide the community with services,” Denoncourt said.
The Giroux Building is owned by the Burlington-based commercial real estate agency, Linear Retail Properties, LLC. Linear also owns Fiorella’s storefront on Waltham Street.
As of July 14, Linear did not have a new tenant lined up to replace Abbott’s, Julia Brutto, Linear’s vice president of operations, told the Observer. But Linear is “working actively to lease the Giroux Building,” she said. The Building has over 5,500 square feet of available space, including the space formerly occupied by Via Lago.
“While this was an independent business decision outside of our corporate control, we are incredibly grateful to the residents of Lexington for making us a town staple and for their years of wonderful support,” Alicia Bakewicz, Abbott’s Frozen Custard Operation Director, said. “We truly loved being a part of this community and would like to return one day with a new local partner.”
Linear has lost two more food vendors on Mall Road Burlington, Starbucks and Clover. Their spaces are advertised as available for lease. I’m sure they will be filled any day now as Governor Healey’s efforts to make Massachusetts more affordable take effect!
Hopefully, this is the start of a readjustment to rent costs in Lexington Center. When successful businesses need to shut down or move to Boston to get relief from high rents, there is a discrepancy between property owners’ expectations and the businesses communities want.