At 4 p.m. this Saturday, November 7, Brattle Street becomes a Thai night market. Until 10 p.m., the Loy Krathong Thai Night Market will offer Thai street food, handmade goods, a beer garden, a DJ and Thai cultural performances. The organizer is Nathika Events LLC. The market is named for Loy Krathong, Thailand's Festival of Lights. It falls on the full moon of the twelfth month of the Thai lunar calendar, when people float small baskets called krathongs on rivers. The baskets are made of banana leaves, flowers, candles and incense.
The market lasts one evening. The street it fills has spent the fall picking up small, permanent additions. A chocolatier moved into a booth inside a shop that opened in 1883. A Lebanese bakery with 13 seats took the corner of Brattle and Mt. Auburn. A Korean barbecue restaurant has filed plans for 26 Brattle St. and is working through the slow approvals that come with grilling at the table. In Harvard Square this season, change shows up as one counter at a time, and most of those counters sit within a few minutes' walk of where the night market sets up.
The Short Stretch Where It's Happening
| Address | What's there | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Brattle Square | About Thyme, a Lebanese fast-casual bakery | Open since September |
| 4 Brattle St. | Listed location for the Loy Krathong Thai Night Market | Saturday, November 7, 4 to 10 p.m. |
| 26 Brattle St. | Gen Korean BBQ House | Planned, no opening date |
| 1316 Massachusetts Ave. | Spindler Confections outpost inside Leavitt & Peirce | Open |
Leavitt & Peirce is the one address off Brattle. It sits on Massachusetts Avenue, a short walk from the others, and it shows the pattern most clearly.
A Chocolate Counter Inside an 1883 Tobacconist
Leavitt & Peirce opened in 1883 and is still full of Harvard sports memorabilia and old decor. This summer the shop had an empty booth after Fruition Chocolate, a New York-based chocolatier, closed its counter there. Cambridge Day reported that owner Paul MacDonald contacted Jeremy Spindler, founder of North Cambridge's Spindler Confections, about filling the space. Spindler is now in its 10th year. Manager Norris Duncan told the outlet that gourmet chocolate fits the shop's push to sell more than tobacco.
"We both specialize in selling affordable luxuries."
That's how Spindler described the two businesses to Cambridge Day.
The outpost carries Spindler's full line of handmade chocolates, including its best sellers, assorted bonbons and chocolate-covered caramels. Spindler also said he hoped to sell a few items only at this location, such as lobster-shaped chocolates aimed at visitors. The Spindler Confections visit page lists the Harvard Square outpost as open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. The original shop at 2257 Massachusetts Ave. is open Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Spindler also plans to build a "Mini Museum of Chocolate and Confectionery" inside the booth, possibly not until spring. It would show vintage candy boxes, advertisements and molds from the mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries, when Cambridge was a candy-making hub. If it arrives on that timeline, a shop that has stood since 1883 will host a display about the city's candy industry from the same era.
The Bakery at the Corner of Brattle and Mt. Auburn
The second new counter is at 1 Brattle Square. The Harvard Crimson reported in June that About Thyme, a Lebanese fast-casual bakery from owner Taha A. Mikati, was moving into the corner of Brattle Street and Mt. Auburn Street. The plan was seating for 13 and a menu of saj-baked wraps, labneh, coffee and matcha. The early-August target slipped. Boston Restaurant Talk updated its coverage on September 16 to say the bakery was open. By early October, Boston Magazine was writing that it was already drawing crowds.
Both businesses fit into space the square already had. Spindler's booth was planned to open September 14, and About Thyme was reported open by September 16.
The Bigger Plan Is Moving at the Speed of Permits
A larger project down the block is moving much more slowly. Boston Restaurant Talk reported on October 22 that Gen Korean BBQ House plans a Harvard Square location at 26 Brattle St. and gave no opening date. The plan has been in the works for a while. In May, the Cambridge Somerville Independent reported that the project was cleared to proceed once fire inspectors and the owners had talked through safety measures for tabletop grilling. A Harvard Square Business Association representative then estimated roughly another year for permitting and buildout.
The timing tracks the size of each project. The fall's two openings took over a booth and a 13-seat corner. The project that needed a fire-safety review is the one measured in seasons.
Saturday on Brattle Street, in Order
Store hours and the market's schedule overlap for two hours on November 7, so the order of an afternoon matters.
- Before 6 p.m. Stop at the Spindler counter inside Leavitt & Peirce at 1316 Massachusetts Ave. It closes at 6 on Saturdays.
- From 4 p.m. The night market opens on Brattle Street with Thai food, handmade goods and the beer garden.
- After dark. The organizer promises lanterns lighting up the night, and the performances and DJ run until the 10 p.m. close.
The Harvard Square Business Association's event page presents the market as a way to share Loy Krathong with the Cambridge community through food, crafts, decorations, music and performances. Tickets and details are on the Eventbrite listing.
The Crossing Between the Kiosk and the Coop
Anyone crossing at the center of the square this fall has walked over a temporary repair. The City of Cambridge scheduled new asphalt at Harvard Square's two Super Crosswalks, between the Kiosk and the Harvard Coop, for October 1. Both crossings were closed while the work was done. The Department of Public Works notice says full reconstruction is planned for spring 2027. That means this holiday season's foot traffic will cross the patched surface, and the permanent rebuild comes after.
After Thanksgiving, the Calendar Fills In
Once the night market is over, the square's events move into the holidays. Most of these dates come from the Harvard Square Business Association's 2026 schedule. The Holiday Fair dates come from the fair's own site, and the tree lighting hours come from the Cambridge Office for Tourism:
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| November 27 to December 31 | Sparklefest |
| November 28, 4 to 7 p.m. | The Charles Hotel Tree Lighting, 1 Bennett St. |
| December 2 | Giving Tree Kickoff and Holiday Concert |
| December 11 to 13 and 18 to 20 | Harvard Square Holiday Fair |
| December 12 | 19th Annual "Everyone Loves Latkes" |
| December 18 to 20 | Last Minute Shop Over Weekend |
| December 19 | Santa Claus Jazz Band Concert |
The Cambridge Office for Tourism listing calls The Charles Hotel event the 41st annual tree lighting, with a gingerbread house, seasonal drinks and snacks, and live holiday music.
The Holiday Fair is in its 37th season, a juried mix of New England craftspeople and importers, and it is moving this year. The two listings give different addresses. The business association's page puts the fair at One Brattle Square, at street level. The fair's own location page says the lower level of the Galeria building, at the corner of JFK Street and Winthrop Street. Check the fair's site before you go.
If you live within walking distance of Brattle Street, nearby blocks like these are part of what your home is worth. The Steph Crawford Group follows how changes in Cambridge, down to a single storefront, show up in local values. When you're ready to see where your place stands, start with a home valuation, or read more about the city on our Cambridge neighborhood page.
