Two Wellesley Square shops with 32 years apiece were gone or on their way out by mid-January 2026. Wellesley Toy Shop at 59 Central Street had closed by January 4. By January 10, Comina, the home decor shop at 566 Washington Street, was running a closing sale and was set to close that month. Ten months on, the two spaces have gone different ways. The Central Street storefront is selling gifts again. The Washington Street space is becoming a martial arts gym. As a result, the Square's year-round gift shopping is concentrated on Central Street and the short run of Church Street beside it, and the December 6 Holiday Stroll runs on that same stretch.
Central Street kept its gift counter
According to The Swellesley Report, Bridgewater Chocolate opened in the former Toy Shop at 59 Central Street in the last week of October. The confectioner is owned by Erik Landegren and Andrew Blauner and has storefronts in Westport and West Hartford, Connecticut, plus a factory store. Wellesley is its only store outside Connecticut.
The timing works in its favor. The store's first weeks fall in the run-up to Thanksgiving, and the Swellesley piece put its chocolate turkeys at roughly $10 to $230. Store manager Vanessa Brandt told the outlet what would arrive next:
"We'll be getting our Thanksgiving products in soon, like chocolate turkey centerpieces, various assortment boxes topped with a ribbon, and more, so please stop by and see what we have."
Bridgewater's locations page lists Wellesley hours of 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday. On the Stroll Sunday, that means the shop is open the whole afternoon and closes after the tree lighting.
The storefront has a longer gift history than its last tenant. The Toy Shop moved into 59 Central around 2015, when the related Wellesley Gift Shop next door closed. So the space spent about a decade selling toys and has now passed to a chocolatier. If you still have a Wellesley Toy Shop gift card in a drawer, owner Andy Brown arranged for Learning Express of Needham to accept it.
Washington Street's gift space went to fitness
Comina's former space at 566 Washington Street is turning into something else. Wellesley Jiujitsu has filed to open a martial arts studio in more than 3,000 square feet there, next door to Tutto Italiano. It plans classes in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, kickboxing and wrestling for both kids and adults. The co-owners are Paul Rosado, a jiu-jitsu black belt and longtime coach, and Paul Karger, who ran GLORY Kickboxing's U.S. operations and chaired the Massachusetts State Athletic Commission. Rosado told The Swellesley Report the studio is aiming to open in December.
The same outlet calls the town's run of new studios and bakeries a fitness-versus-pastries arms race. The two early-2026 closures fall on either side of that line. The Central Street space went to sweets, and the Washington Street space went to training.
Washington Street does have a strong gift stop this season, but it is temporary. The Cashmere Sale pop-up is back for its 16th year at a new location, 595 Washington Street. It runs from October 16 through December 22. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday, according to the pop-up's own listing. Two things to plan around: the Sunday close of 4 p.m. comes before the Stroll's tree lighting, and the shop is gone three days before Christmas.
The year-round gift walk, in address order
The established gift shops with current addresses are on Central Street, with a short detour onto Church Street. Here they are in the order you'd reach them on foot:
- Wellesley Holiday Boutique, 17 Central Street. The Square's merchant directory lists gifts, clothing and jewelry.
- Clever Hand Gallery, 52 Central Street. An artisans' cooperative.
- Bridgewater Chocolate, 59 Central Street. Chocolate turkey centerpieces and ribbon-topped assortment boxes are on the way for Thanksgiving.
- Wellesley Books, 82 Central Street. Open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, and closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas, per the store's site. It has the latest weekday hours on the walk.
- Sara Campbell, 8 Church Street. American-made apparel. The Swellesley Report's 2025 holiday gift guide described the location as the brand's new home.
Church Street has one more name to know. The Swellesley Report reported in September that The Bra Shop, a Worcester-based lingerie store, planned a November opening at 22 Church Street, with professional fittings by appointment and walk-in shopping.
Central Street has one address that won't change for now. Wonder, the virtual food hall, had filed a commercial building permit application in July for 56 Central Street. In October it withdrew its sign and minor construction applications before the Design Review Board, and the town has not issued a building permit. Orangetheory, the current tenant at 56 Central, has told members it is committed to staying in Wellesley Square. For this holiday season, the gift shops between 17 and 82 Central stay as they are.
December 6 runs on the same blocks
The Wellesley Square Merchants' Association's Holiday Stroll page shows how closely the Stroll follows that Central Street walk. The Sunday, December 6 schedule, which the association labels preliminary:
- Noon to 5:30 p.m.: strolling entertainment around the Square, with 50 carolers, Frosty and Rudolph, Buddy from "Elf," and the Grinch
- 1 to 5 p.m.: pictures with Santa by 75 Central Street
- 5 to 5:30 p.m.: the Town Tree Lighting Ceremony at the Wellesley Square Fire Station, 100 Central Street
Put the two lists side by side. Santa at 75 Central sits between Bridgewater at 59 and Wellesley Books at 82, and the tree lighting is a short walk farther up at 100. On Stroll day the gift shops and the event share one stretch of sidewalk. The Toy Shop used to have a part in the day, too. When it closed, The Swellesley Report remembered that "even Elmo was a regular at the store, or at least during Wellesley Square's Holiday Stroll." This is the first Stroll since 2015 without a toy store at 59 Central.
The Scavenger Hunt is on the same day. The association will pick four winners, each receiving hundreds of dollars in gift cards to Wellesley Square stores, and will announce them the week of December 14. Details are due before Thanksgiving.
Parking through January 2
Thanks to the Select Board and the Town of Wellesley, street parking in Wellesley's commercial areas is free for two hours through January 2. Two hours is enough to walk 17 to 100 Central, stop into a few shops, and pick up caramels or toffee at 59 Central. The window also covers the Cashmere Sale's final days and the week after Christmas, when gift cards get spent.
The rest of the gift calendar
Two November dates come before the Stroll. Wellesley Marketplace takes over Wellesley High School, 50 Rice Street, on Saturday, November 21, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with VIP entry at 9 a.m. It has more than 200 vendors, and all proceeds go to scholarships and community grants. On Thanksgiving morning, November 26, the Wellesley Turkey Trot 5K starts at 8 a.m. from 181 Linden Street. Its course leaves Linden Square and runs through Wellesley Square and the Wellesley College campus before heading back. That puts runners past the Central Street shops several hours before Bridgewater's turkey centerpieces are on Thanksgiving tables.
A few Square storefronts will look different by the time the lights go up on December 6. If you're thinking about how your own home will look to buyers in the new year, Molly Campbell Palmer can start with your instant home valuation and talk through timing over coffee in the Square.
