Rox Diner Closes Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

NEWTON, MA — If you've walked past the corner of Walnut and Highland avenues in Newtonville lately, you may have noticed that the tables and chairs that once filled Rox Diner are gone.

There was no notice on their website, no note posted to the Facebook page and no sign on the door, but according late last month, the owner cleared out and the landlord put the 1,950 square foot space up for lease, officially making Rox Diner in Newtonville the latest local restaurant to close its doors. Requests for comment from the owner were not returned, but a person close to the business confirmed that the restaurant has closed for good. A quick count of empty storefronts in that area recently reveals at least five other businesses are no more.

Such closures are becoming familiar as businesses large and small struggle with either months of closure or severely diminished business amid the pandemic. While the state's moratorium on evictions has just been extended even as the state slowly reopens to allow outdoor dining and limited indoor dining, it just doesn't seem to be enough for many businesses to catch up.

Add to that, for restaurants on Walnut Street the road was under construction for at least a week amid the pandemic.

A number of experts predict many more restaurants will continue to struggle even as more municipalities follow Boston and Waltham and now Newton allowing restaurants to more easily offer Al Fresco dining options.

"We have been speculating that, unfortunately, about 3,500 food and beverage establishments will not make it," said Steve Clark, director of government affairs for the Massachusetts Restaurant Association.

Clark said it is hard to pin the exact numbers, but he's hopeful with the recent addition of indoor dining that with the four ways to reach customers, guests will continue to patronize, more often than they did before.

Newton Needham Chamber of Commerce president Greg Reibman said based on what he's seen, Newton will continue to see restaurants, many of which were already struggling with narrow margins pre-pandemic, close for good.

Restaurants are asked to take a whole lot more steps for not the same amount of customers, he said.

John Fortin and Paul Louderback worked together at a design firm before deciding to open a restaurant together. In 2007 Fortin noticed that Auntie B's in West Roxbury, right around the corner from his house, was for sale and he and Louderback took the leap. Four years later, after KFC closed at the corner of Walnut and Highland, they opened their second diner in Newtonville. Louderback and Fortin eventually parted and each took one restaurant. The West Roxbury location that Fortin owns is separate and still up and running.

The space is one of at least five businesses listed as available in Newton, according to the realtor.

Previously:

• Newton Pizza Spot Closes For Good Amid Coronavirus ...
• Newton To Allow Expanded Al Fresco Dining

—Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna). Have a press release you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how to post a press release, a column, event or opinion piece.