Flour Bakery + Cafe’s 10th location will open in April inside the concession stand in the oldest park in the United States—the Boston Common—which is also Emerson’s main green space.
The bakery will replace Earl of Sandwich, a sandwich shop that opened in 2012 after spending over a million dollars to renovate it from a long-vacant men’s restroom, according to a report from Commonwealth Beacon last year. It closed last August. The city said in a December release that renovations on the structure would begin this winter.
Flour, a local chain that has nine locations across Boston and Cambridge, is famous for its sticky buns and BLTs. Their signature buns will be featured at the Common location and will be made throughout the day and served warm for customers.
“You know the Krispy Kreme neon signs that say [“Hot Now”]?” said Joanne Chang, founder of Flour Bakery + Cafe. “It was like their thing 20 years ago. I don’t know if we’re going to have a neon sign, but if you come in and get a sticky bun we want it to be fresh out of the oven.”
Even when the Boston Common is covered in snow, Chang, a Downtown resident, walks her dog, Beezy, through the city’s most famous park. When she saw that the city put out an application for businesses to manage the concession stand in the Common, she thought she’d throw her well-known local bakery’s name in the hat.
They found out they were selected in December.
The new location will have a “best of” menu of their classic pastry offerings and some new pastries and surprises—including biscuits for Common dogs like Beezy and summertime soft serve. The menu includes egg sandwiches, cookies, a selection of cakes and pies, and soft-serve ice cream during the summer months. Chang said they are also testing out the possibility of a Flour hot dog.
“We went through the application process, and as we got closer and closer … we realized that this might actually be a thing,” said Chang, a decorated pastry chef who created Flour 25 years ago.
Chang said that the renovations being made to the stand to update it into the bakery are general cleanup, new plumbing for an espresso machine, and extra electricity for the soft serve machine. The patio seating in front of the stand will also return, she said.
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Flour’s nine locations are often situated in bustling Boston transport hubs or busy commute areas, including short walks off the Charles/MGH Red Line stop and the Back Bay Orange Line stop.
Emersonians are aware of the abundant ecosystem of coffee and bakery shops around them, from local to international chains surrounding campus in every direction. When Emersonians were asked what they thought of the coming boulangerie, the consensus was: It makes sense.
Chang said that Flour took the oversaturation of coffee into consideration when researching the new location, but thinks their new location can be a healthy compliment to the campus cafe selection.
“When it’s really nice outside, and Shakespeare in the Common is going on, or I see Emerson kids having class out here; I just think it’ll be a great place to grab something quick and go back sitting on the grass or to class, or wherever,” said Chang.
Freshman visual media arts major Aidan Brown hadn’t been to a Flour before, but said he would “definitely” get ice cream if it was there. His relationship with coffee is on and off, but he called himself a “sucker for weird pastries and flavors.” He said he is excited to try it, but he wouldn’t go just because it was convenient if he didn’t like it.
“You can’t go wrong with ice cream,” said Brown. “But coffee-wise, you really can, so I won’t be too trusting [yet].”
Nirvana Ragland, a tea drinker and senior journalism major, called the location choice interesting and strategic. She said she probably would not go there herself, but would recommend it to someone looking for coffee or pastries.
“It’s kind of unexpected, and considering where it is going to be located, it’s pretty different from where the other locations are,” said Ragland. “I think it makes sense.”
The Common is a spot on many commuters’ routes home, but it is also a major tourist destination and a stop on the Freedom Trail. The Friends of the Public Garden estimate around seven million people visit the Common and Public Garden each year.
“I’m really excited for Flour,” said senior journalism major Eva Levin, who lives in East Boston and often passes the stand commuting to campus and her job in Beacon Hill. “Their pastries are some of the best in Boston and I’m excited to have it on my commute.”
Walking past the concession stand in the snow on Feb. 11, Chang, who attended college in Cambridge, reflected on the 25 years it had been since the first Flour location opened in the South End. The bakeries were a “part of Boston longer than most college kids have been alive.” The tenth location being in the heart of the city was a full-circle moment for the bakery.
“It’s kind of like our love letter to Boston,” she said.