The 1890 train station at 70 Union Street has a tenant again. After about four years of vacancy, Lockheart opened there in late September. It is the second location of a southwestern restaurant that started in Wellesley in 2022. Co-owner Mark Hicklin told Wicked Local, "Lockheart is, I'd like to say, a place for everybody. We want people to feel comfortable walking in the door."
The opening lands in the same few weeks that Newton Centre's other evening gathering spot is up for review. The pilot plaza in the Langley Road parking lot is due for reevaluation by October 31, 2026. So the village is adding a late kitchen in a landmark building just as it decides what to do with the open-air space where its weeknight events have been held. Both decisions affect what a Newton Centre evening looks like after 6 p.m.
Four Years Dark, Then a Kitchen Open Until 10
The building has a longer history than most restaurant spaces in the city. The City of Newton's historic walking guide says the station was built in 1890 by Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge, the firm that took over H.H. Richardson's practice. It belongs to the Newton Railroad Stations Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
Its recent history explains the four empty years:
| Year | What happened at 70 Union Street |
|---|---|
| 1890 | Station built by Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge |
| 1891 | Station opens to rail service |
| 1976 | Listed with the Newton Railroad Stations Historic District |
| September 2020 | Jamie's on Union replaces Deluxe Station Diner under the same ownership |
| 2022 | Jamie's on Union closes |
| June 16, 2026 | Newton's Board of License Commissioners approves Lockheart's licenses 3–0 |
| Late September 2026 | Lockheart opens |
Even after local approval, the opening took a while. The June vote depended on the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission. When Fig City News checked in mid-August, the state roster still showed no issued license for Union Depot LLC, the company doing business as Lockheart. The applicants' attorney said the restaurant would open within "a matter of days" once approval came through. The license application names the owners as Anthony Killough, Mark Hicklin, Aaron Chamberland and Ruben Garza, plus two investment firms.
The menu centers on tacos, from carnitas to tuna poke and Korean Brussels sprouts. It also has lobster guacamole, Texas dry rub wings, bowls, salads, and larger plates like veggie enchiladas and fajitas for two. The license application covers nine outdoor seats on city property, and the owners agreed to close the patio by 10 p.m. Before opening, the restaurant described the patio as seasonal, so check whether it is set up on any given night.
Where 10 p.m. Falls on Newton's Clock
The hours are what set the depot apart. Lockheart is open Sunday through Thursday from 4 to 11 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 4 p.m. to midnight, with the kitchen closing at 10 p.m. every night. Weekend brunch is listed as coming soon.
Compare that with the rest of the city. In August 2026, Fig City News added weekly hours to its directory of 187 places to eat in Newton. The busiest moment it found was Friday at 1 p.m., when 175 places are open at once. By 9 p.m. on a Friday, 83 are still open. By 10 p.m., 35 are. Only five stay open until 1 a.m.
That means a kitchen serving until 10 p.m. and a bar open until midnight on weekends puts Lockheart among the small group of places still open when most of Newton has closed for the night. It is also on Union Street, by the Newton Centre stop on the Green Line's D branch, in a building that went up as a train station.
Lauren Berman, Newton's director of economic development, told Fig City News that "Newton continues to be a desirable place to open a restaurant." She credited village centers for giving restaurants a walkable base of residents and daytime workers.
The Plaza Running Out the Clock
The other evening venue in the village is temporary by design. The Newton Centre pilot plaza takes up 24 spaces in the triangular Langley Road lot and was installed in May and June 2025. The Traffic Council later approved keeping it through October 2026. That end date was debated for most of the past year.
- January 2026: A City Council committee voted 6–2 to move the reevaluation date up to May 31.
- February 2, 2026: Councilor Susan Albright used a charter objection to delay the full Council vote. She called for a master plan for Newton Centre.
- March 2, 2026: The full Council amended the proposed end date to June 30, then voted 9–15 against moving the end date up at all. That left the October timeline in place.
The Newton Beacon described mixed feedback. Some people worried about what fewer parking spaces would mean for businesses, while others welcomed the added foot traffic.
Mayor Marc Laredo's February 15 letter supported keeping the plaza in the lot while the city explores a permanent plaza on the adjacent Newton Centre Green. If that plaza is built, parking in the lot would come back. His April update said the city was working with Parks & Recreation and holding a community meeting and site visit to gather ideas. The Parks & Recreation Commission scheduled a Newton Centre Plaza discussion for its September 29 meeting. The plaza's future after October 31 remains open until the reevaluation happens.
This year's programming shows what kind of space the plaza has been. The city's Department of Arts and Culture ran Plaza Tuesdays through June, including Zumba with Councilor Martha Bixby and a June 30 World Cup event with Newtonville Books. The fall series started September 15 and runs from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.:
- September 15: Amy Thomason, vocals and keyboard
- September 22: Trench Coats
- September 29: Memo Rubio, finger-style guitar
- October 6: The All Newton Music School Faculty Jazz Trio
The city's page lists October 6 as the last date. An August 27 OurNewton announcement said the series would run through October 20, so check the Plaza Tuesdays page before planning around a later week. The same city page suggests picking up dinner from a nearby restaurant to eat on the plaza, or dining out afterward.
Filling the Hour Between 6:30 and 10
A Plaza Tuesday ends at 6:30 p.m., and Lockheart's kitchen takes orders until 10. Several businesses that opened in Newton Centre over the past year fall in that gap.
Formosa Bun & Dumpling Factory at 740A Beacon Street held its grand opening on March 28. Owner Kristina Pan's pan-fried bao buns first built a following at Newton's Taiwan Day festival. Tea22 opened softly in June at 212 Sumner Street, in the former Pon de Joy space, serving Thai tea, Thai coffee, bubble tea and slushes. Something Sweet opened this summer at 1280 Centre Street, Suite 8, upstairs above Rosenfeld Bagel. It sells nostalgic and Swedish candies and chocolates and hosts birthday parties.
Two familiar storefronts have changed too. Tess, a clothing boutique, now occupies the former Sweet Dream space at 91 Union Street. Star Foods at 19 Pelham Street now operates as House of Noodles – Star Foods.
For the rest of October, the dates are set. The last city-listed Plaza Tuesday is October 6, the plaza's reevaluation deadline is October 31, and Lockheart's weekend brunch is still listed as coming soon. If you want more Newton events by village, our Newton fall calendar covers them, and the Newton neighborhood page has more on Newton Centre and the other villages.
Eric Glassoff has followed how Newton Centre's storefronts and public spaces have changed over more than two decades of work in Newton. If you'd like to talk about how projects like the depot reopening or the plaza decision affect your part of the city, schedule a free neighborhood consultation.
