😬☕ THIS is why your Starbucks closed

🥩🫛 Two chefs, two cities, four courses … zero dollars. Chef Bianchi, of Boston's Matria, is teaming up with Chef Guillermo, of InterContinental Seattle Bellevue, for a four-course menu starting Oct. 9. We have a free pair of tickets ($278 value) for each of the three nights. Become a member first and come back to enter tomorrow!

🦞 Speaking of boujee foodie freebies: Cambridge’s Summer Shack is offering all October babies a complimentary one-pound lobster all month long! Just flash your ID. 

👀 What’s on tap today:

Up first…

See ya later, Starbucks. Recently, the coffee chain suddenly shuttered nearly 20 of its Greater Boston locations, a sizable chunk of Boston’s local coffee scene.

But what do these closures mean, and how will they impact Boston’s local cafes? The Globe and Boston.com got on the case:

☕ Starbucks is having an identity crisis. From its inception in the ‘70s, the Starbucks brand was rooted in cozy “cafe culture.” But after a series of pandemic-era changes that prioritized automation, in-app ordering, and drive-thrus, the brand has been reduced to “an adult beverage machine with a digital front,” alienating customers and slowing sales, Ron Shaich, founder of Au Bon Pain and Panera, told the Globe. Now, the chain is attempting a massive rebrand to bring back its soul.

📉 But Starbucks isn’t the only one struggling. “The entire specialty coffee industry is in turmoil right now,” local coffee tycoon George Howell told Boston.com. Since the first Starbucks opened here 31 years ago, the city’s coffee scene has become completely saturated. Couple that with sky-high coffee prices, unpredictable tariffs, and changing consumer behavior post-pandemic, and you get a market that’s nearly impossible to crack. 

😬 So are the closures good news for local coffee shops? TBD. With all those challenges at play, many local cafe owners don’t expect them to move the needle much, and certainly don’t have the cash to expand into the now-vacant spaces. Jaho Coffee Roaster & Wine Bar owner Anil Mezini, who inquired about a few, found that the rent is “higher than anything we’ve done before.” And he has a shop in Back Bay! 

🙏 That said, there is some hope. Jennifer Park, owner of Davis Square’s Diesel Cafe, has seen some new faces in the shop since the Starbucks across the street shuttered.

💸 New, trendy coffee chains might be the true successors. So who DOES have the cash to capitalize on the vacant storefronts? Chains like Blank Street, Caffè Nero, or Blue Bottle Coffee, which have already been chipping away at Starbucks’ market with trendy flavors and plentiful seating. According to local real estate pros, they’ll be foaming at the mouth to take over these spaces.

🎱 But either way, it’ll be a waiting game. Until we learn what’ll replace the shuttered locations, local coffee shops won’t truly know what their future holds. “I’m holding my breath to see what’s next,” Park said.

🫘 Thirsty for more? You can read Boston.com’s full story here, and the Globe’s here.

🍁🍂 Go too early and the colors haven’t woken up. Go too late and they’ve already gone to bed. But hit New Hampshire at just the right moment? Pure fall magic. Peak foliage rolls through the state in waves — meaning you can chase the colors from north to south all October long. Don’t miss your chance to experience New England at its best; plan your perfect fall getaway to the Granite State today. 

Choosing your first health plan? Focus on three things: premiums (what you pay monthly), deductibles (what you pay before coverage kicks in), and networks (which doctors are included). Blue Cross makes comparing them easy. 

💅 Boston’s bike lanes are getting an upgrade. Officials have a new plan to ditch the divisive flexposts that separate many of the city’s bike lanes from the street, which are pricey to maintain, easy to break, and TBH, kinda ugly. Solutions will look different from lane to lane, but the name of the game will be finding options that are durable, yet quick to install. So far, frontrunners include these fashionable zebra-striped barriers (which are already in place on Arlington Street), and fast-setting “concrete islands” coming soon to Boylston. Stay tuned!

🏋️ Harvard’s iconic fitness deal is O-V-E-R. In September, the university abruptly cut off the 700-plus Allston/Brighton residents who used an under-the-radar deal to access its athletic facilities like a pool, gym, and track for just ~$5/month. And spoiler: They weren’t happy. Turns out, the offer was part of an expired decade-long deal the school cut with the city to dole out community benefits in exchange for continuing developments in Allston. But despite what the school may say, the move leaves many folks without an affordable alternative (even the local YMCA is $60/month).

🤑 These local schools are RICH rich. Boston Business Journal put together a list of the country’s wealthiest colleges, and in a surprise to no one, Mass. absolutely dominated. Harvard and MIT topped the list at No. 3 and 4 in the country with eye-popping endowments of $50.87 and $24.60 billion (which total out to $5.43 million and $5.28 million per undergrad student, BTW). But schools like Amherst, Williams, and Wellesley also cracked the top 30, coming in at No. 16, 22, and 30, respectively. You can check out the whole list here.

🚉 The leaves are falling. And so are … Amtrak fares. Literally. Right now, you can nab train tickets for up to 25% off during Amtrak’s falling fares sale. Here’s what to know: The deal applies to tickets from Oct. 14 to Dec. 18, on routes across the country (though there is a blackout from Nov. 21 to Dec. 1). During that time, you can snag deals like $18 from Boston to Providence, or $63 from Boston to NYC. The only catch? You gotta move quick, because the sale ends on Oct. 7. Happy travels!

🍂 Kick off your fit girl fall. Boston’s Parks Fitness Series started up on Oct. 5, bringing free workout classes to parks around the city, from barre to strength to zumba! Sign up here.

🕵️ Step into your fav reality show. Tonight, Club Cafe is putting on an IRL version of “The Traitors” filled with deceit, challenges, a prize pot, and (probably) some wildly inaccurate Scottish accents.

💘 Watch fellow B-Siders fall in love. Or so we hope! We’re hosting another round of The Dating Game tonight at Aeronaut, where B-Side members will blind date onstage for your viewing pleasure. 

📖 Go on a bookish blind date. You can delete Hinge, because on Oct. 7., the Fenway Community Center will set you up on a blind date with a book. Use one of theirs, or bring your own book to swap (just make sure to write it a dating profile!).

🧶 Cozy up and get creative. Trident is hosting a free cozy crochet night on Oct. 7. Bring your own project or nab a beginner-friendly kit on-site and mingle with fellow granny hobby enthusiasts.

🎉 Head to a public garden party. Friends of the Public Garden’s annual Backyard Bash is bringing FREE lawn games, food trucks, and even a Sofar Sounds concert to the Common on Oct. 9.

👻 Put the BOO! in book fair. JP’s best indie bookshops, local authors, and artists will all be posted up at the Loring Greenough House on Oct. 9 for a spooky, boozy book fair. 

🧘 Find your zen … and a freebie. This just in: Beyond Yoga is giving away vouchers for a FREE pair of its darkest night leggings (usually $97!) to anyone who signs up for its Oct. 9 and 10 yoga classes.

We thought we were over the lookalike contests trend. Turns out, all they had to do to get us back on board was swap Timothée Chalamet for an adorable dog.

On Sunday, Boston had its first-ever DOG lookalike contest for Cori Copley, the black lab who serves as the “canine ambassador” of the Fairmont Copley Plaza hotel. Not only was it the cutest lookalike contest we’ve ever seen, but easily the most competitive — out of the eight pups competing, we can honestly say that all of them looked like Cori.

Although all the entrants were very good, only one could take home top honors (not to mention a free stay at the Fairmont Copley Plaza, a membership to Park-9 Dog Bar, and a supply of Polkadog treats). And that pup was Maya, who loves apples, peanut butter, carrots, and daily walks. 

You can check out all of the adorableness here.

— Written by Gia Orsino and Claire Nicholas

🐶 Thanks for reading! They’re all just … so … good *sobs*.

💜 Special shoutout to today’s sponsor, Visit NH, for supporting local journalism and reminding us why fall is New England’s best season. 

🧑‍⚕️ The results are in: 32% of B-Siders say they’re putting off scheduling their annual physicals. One reader said: “There are too many different things wrong.” Yeah …

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