A Decade-Old West End Cafe Is Closing Amid Massive Development in the Neighborhood

A coffee shop located by North Station and TD Garden will close at the end of the month. Equal Exchange Cafe (226 Causeway St., Boston), which has been in operation for 11 years, reportedly posted a note on the front of its space indicating that September 30 would be its final day of operation.

Equal Exchange — which is a worker-owned cooperative — began in 1986 when founders Jonathan Rosenthal, Michael Rozyne, and Rink Dickinson began meeting to discuss how food is grown and distributed. It eventually grew into many things, and then into a fair trade coffee company in 1991. Since then, Equal Exchange has partnered with cocoa, sugar, and dairy coops and opened several cafes throughout the United States, including the one on Causeway Street.

The note on Equal Exchange Cafe’s door indicates that the coop itself will remain operational and that it will continue to work with cafes and food retailers across the US.

Perhaps not coincidentally, Boston’s West End is in the midst of a massive redevelopment. The Hub on Causeway is on the verge of opening, bringing with it a 15-screen multiplex, a 25,000-square-foot sports bar, a restaurant from Guy Fieri, and an 18-vendor food hall. Plus, Night Shift Brewing recently opened a brewery, taproom, and cafe on Lovejoy Wharf, as did Alcove, a restaurant with a decidedly different vibe than the area’s ubiquitous sports bars.

• Equal Exchange Cafe in Boston’s North Station Area Is Closing [BRT]
• North Shore-Style Roast Beef and More Join the Lineup of Upcoming Food Hall [EBOS]
• A Sports Bar With Topgolf Suites Will Open by TD Garden [EBOS]
• Guy Fieri Is Bringing Flavortown to Boston, and There Will Be Tequila [EBOS]
• The Year of the Food Hall: Updates on Boston’s 2019 Food Hall Boom [EBOS]
• Night Shift Brewing Dives Into the Coffee Business With Expansion to Lovejoy Wharf [EBOS]
• Longtime Industry Vet Debuts His First Restaurant Tonight in Boston’s West End [EBOS]