The granite building next to the Newton Centre Green Line stop was designed in 1890 by Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge for the Boston & Albany Railroad. When the tracks were lowered in 1906, the building gained an extra granite story on the track side. For most of the past four years, that lower story looked out over trains while the rooms above sat empty.
Since late September, those rooms have been busy in the evenings. Wicked Local reported on September 30 that 70 Union Street had "come back to life after four years of vacancy." The new tenant is Lockheart, a Southwestern-style restaurant whose first location opened in Wellesley in 2022.
The building's last two tenants were known for daytime meals. This one doesn't open until late afternoon. That change in hours matters more for the village than the change in cuisine, because it arrived just as Newton Centre's outdoor season is ending.
A diner, a lunch spot, then four dark years
Before Lockheart, the station housed Deluxe Station Diner. Jamie's on Union followed it under the same ownership, and Boston Restaurant Talk reported it open in September 2020. Jamie's served its last meals on Friday, August 19, 2022, closing after lunch, according to Boston Restaurant Talk's report that month.
Jamie's closed in the same summer that Lockheart first opened in Wellesley Square. The Wellesley restaurant spent four years building a following before its owners took on the empty station.
The station's place in transit history explains why its corner is so visible. The MBTA says the Boston & Albany's Highland Branch became rapid transit in 1959 and still runs today as the Green Line D Branch. Because the building stands right beside the stop, its four dark years were hard to miss for anyone using the station.
How the station got from a permit to a dinner service
The reopening was in the works well before the licensing hearings. What Now Boston, citing city records, reported that the property had been under renovation since 2024. The work included demolition, a restaurant buildout of roughly $1.2 million, and upgrades to the fire-protection system. The public licensing steps came later and moved quickly:
- April 2026. Union Depot LLC, doing business as Lockheart, applied for a liquor license, a common victualler license, and an entertainment license.
- June 16. Newton's Board of License Commissioners approved the local licenses 3–0, on the condition that outstanding paperwork be filed, as Fig City News reported.
- August 18. In its roundup of Newton restaurant openings and closings, Fig City News reported that the state license was still pending. The applicants' attorney said the opening would follow approval within "a matter of days," then added, "a few weeks hopefully."
- September 9. The state's active retail license roster shows an all-alcohol restaurant license issued to Union Depot LLC, doing business as Lockheart, at 70 Union Street.
- September 30. Wicked Local reported the restaurant open.
Once the state license was in hand, the restaurant opened within about three weeks, which matched the attorney's estimate.
What the evening schedule looks like
Lockheart's Newton page lists these hours:
- Sunday through Thursday: 4 p.m. to 11 p.m.
- Friday and Saturday: 4 p.m. to midnight
- Kitchen: closes at 10 p.m. every night
- Weekend brunch: listed as "Coming Soon"
For the building, this is a change in daily rhythm. The rooms that once closed after lunch now open just before evening rush hour on the D Branch. The application materials described in June also included an option to stay open as late as 1 a.m. for World Cup matches and other late sporting events. The filings planned for up to 86 seats indoors and a seasonal outdoor patio, and the applicants agreed to close the patio by 10 p.m. Those numbers come from the plans submitted for licensing. With November close, the patio will matter much less than the dining room for the next several months.
Tacos make up most of the menu. Fillings include short-rib birria, chicken tinga, and a lobster BLT. Around them are street corn, sheet-pan nachos, bowls, salads, and a few larger plates. Reservations go through OpenTable, linked from the restaurant's site.
The Wellesley location shows what weekend mornings at the station could look like once brunch starts. There, brunch runs Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with breakfast tacos, omelet de birria, huevos rancheros, and fried chicken and waffles. Newton hasn't announced a start date, so for now the station's daytime hours are still open.
Co-owner Mark Hicklin described the goal this way in Wicked Local's opening coverage:
"Lockheart is, I'd like to say, a place for everybody. We want people to feel comfortable walking in the door."
The outdoor season closing around it
Newton Centre's warm-weather calendar is ending around the station. The city's Crystal Lake page lists the Newton Centre swimming beach as closed for the season. The city's 2026 farmers' market schedule ended the Tuesday market at Cold Spring Park on October 27. The Saturday market at Newton North High School has one more date, October 31.
From November on, the dated events on the city and library calendars move indoors, and most are daytime events:
| Date | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday, October 31 | Last Saturday farmers' market of 2026 | Newton North High School |
| Saturday, November 7, 9:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. | Friends of the Library Annual Big Book Sale | Druker Auditorium, Newton Free Library |
| December 4–6 | December Mayor's Mini Golf, benefiting the Holiday Gift Drive | City Hall |
| Sunday, December 6, 2 p.m. | A Musical Journey with the Willow Flute Ensemble | Druker Auditorium |
| Sunday, December 13, 2 p.m. | Roberto & Kathryn: Return Engagement! | Druker Auditorium |
The city's events page says Mayor's Mini Golf is run with the Health and Human Services Department and Newton Rotary, with The Village Bank as sponsor. The details for the Big Book Sale are on the Newton Free Library's event listing, and the two December concerts are on the library's December calendar.
On Newton Centre's own streets, the holiday event to watch for is the Holiday Shop & Stroll. The city's Newton Centre plaza page lists last year's on December 4, 2025. Most of the events in the table end by mid-afternoon. An early December evening near the Green Line stop now has a lit dining room at its center.
The rest of Union and Centre Streets this fall
The station is the largest change in the village this year, but other storefronts have turned over too. In its August roundup, Fig City News reported that Something Sweet opened over the summer at 1280 Centre Street, Suite 8. Farther along Union Street, Tess has taken over the storefront at 91 Union Street where Sweet Dream used to be.
This winter will be the first since 2022 that the station has been open, with Tess and Something Sweet as its newest neighbors.
A reopened landmark down the street changes what an evening on your block looks like. If you live near Union Street or the Newton Centre Green Line stop and want to know how changes like this might show up in your home's value, Eileen Strong O'Boy can walk the block with you and put together a valuation that reflects how Newton Centre looks this fall. Request a Home Valuation whenever you're ready.
