When a Swellesley Report writer stopped into Liliko at 268 Washington St. this July, a fire inspector was already there. The team had just spent a weekend stocking shelves, and the store passed its final town inspections that week, clearing the way for a soft opening.
The people behind Liliko are Ying Chen and her husband, who founded Weee!, the online grocer that calls itself "America's largest online Asian supermarket." They chose a small storefront next to Quebrada in Wellesley Hills.
That choice is part of a pattern on this stretch of Washington Street, roughly from the Marathon Sports block to the Clock Tower. Operators with national reach are picking the Hills for some of their first physical locations. Meanwhile, the block's oldest restaurant came back this summer by changing as little as possible. The new arrivals and the old anchor are both betting on the same few blocks.
A store stocked by a data scientist
Liliko doesn't feel like a typical neighborhood shop, and the reason is how it was built. Weee! sells thousands of products. Liliko carries about 1,000 of them, focused on Chinese, Japanese and Korean goods. Weee! also covers Southeast Asian, Vietnamese and Filipino products. Chen is an expert in data science and statistics, and she told Swellesley that logistics are key to the business.
The shelves reflect that approach. Chen's picks during the July walkthrough included banana milk drinks and take-home ramen kits from Ichiran, the Japanese ramen restaurant. The snack aisle runs from Hi-Chew to unusual Oreo flavors to honey butter chips. The team also follows TikTok to keep up with product trends, which makes sense for a company whose online business has nearly a million followers there.
The soft opening was a Saturday in late July, and a formal grand opening was listed for August 29. Either way, the store has been open since that July weekend.
The first Pvolve in Massachusetts picked the Marathon Sports block
Three doors' worth of addresses away, at 251 Washington St. in the Marathon Sports block, Pvolve is preparing a fitness studio. The company has dozens of locations, mostly in the United States, and Wellesley will be its first in Massachusetts.
The brand was founded by Rachel Katzman in 2017. It focuses on low-impact, resistance-based workouts that combine strength, mobility and stability training, and it promotes its partnership with Jennifer Aniston. If you've walked by recently, you've seen that partnership. Aniston now covers the studio's windows.
Pvolve didn't pick Wellesley on short notice. A Pvolve press release in fall 2024 announced plans for a Massachusetts studio and already named Wellesley as a candidate. Two years later, the company is still targeting a winter opening, and its own location page still lists Wellesley as "Coming Soon" with no date.
Liliko and Pvolve have something in common. Each one brought an established operation from somewhere else, and each picked this stretch of Washington Street over the rest of Massachusetts.
Across from Clock Tower Park, the Maugus kept its stools
The Maugus Restaurant has been in a modest storefront across from Clock Tower Park since the 1930s. It changed hands in 2025 and reopened a year later under new ownership as Maugus Cafe.
Swellesley's July visit described an owner, Kostas Saranteas, who polished the place up without erasing its history. The red carpet is gone. The counter stools and booths stayed, and so did the back seating area for larger groups. He added a counter with stools looking out on Washington Street and a few outdoor tables under umbrellas.
On the menu, the biggest change is coffee. Maugus partnered with Atomic Coffee Roasters for specialty-grade beans and installed a new espresso machine that turns out about a dozen kinds of coffee. The food leans a bit more Mediterranean while keeping the breakfast-and-lunch format. There are six omelettes, including a Spanakopita Style Omelette with spinach, feta and phyllo crumble. Lunch includes a Souvlaki Bowl and a Greek Village Salad, alongside burgers and an avocado burrito.
Swellesley's own description of the room was "different, but familiar." Hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends.
That gives the street a clear split this year. Liliko and Pvolve are bringing new national operations into small storefronts. The street's longest-running restaurant came back with a light touch, leaving the stools where they were.
The block by address
Here's how the stretch lines up, walking up Washington Street from the Marathon Sports block. Swellesley's dining index, updated in September 2026, lists the established spots between the new ones.
- 251 Washington St. Pvolve, in the Marathon Sports block, opening this winter.
- 257 Washington St. Coconut Thai Cafe.
- 259 Washington St. Jeje's Coffeehouse.
- 263 Washington St. Mortadella Head.
- 268 Washington St. Liliko, next to Quebrada.
- 288 Washington St. Comella's.
- 300 Washington St. Maugus Cafe, across from Clock Tower Park.
- 323 Washington St. The Wellesley History & Exhibit Center.
- 341 Washington St. Wellesley Hills commuter rail station, with 55 parking spaces.
The Exhibit Center at 323 is in the Stanwood House, built in 1916. The Wellesley Historical Society bought it in 2013. It's open to the public, and the current exhibit is "A Time of Revolution." Between the coffee at Jeje's or the Maugus and the train platform at 341, the oldest building on this list is also the one that tells the street's history.
Where the fall calendar happens
The newcomers have changed what's on the shelves. This fall's events on the block are still put on by the long-standing local groups.
- Saturday, Oct. 10, 4 to 5 p.m. A free family concert of Prokofiev's "Peter & the Wolf" at Wellesley Hills Congregational Church, 207 Washington St.
- Thursday, Oct. 29, 6 to 9 p.m. The Wellesley Historical Society's Oktoberfest Fundraiser at the Exhibit Center, 323 Washington St. It's a 21+ evening with local craft beer and hors d'oeuvres, and individual tickets have been listed at $65. One calendar listing shows an earlier date of Oct. 8, so check with the Society before you plan your evening around it.
- Saturday, Oct. 31. The Halloween Stroll, run by the Wellesley Recreation Department and the Wellesley Hills Merchants. It starts at the Clock Tower and is aimed at children 0 to 8, with trick-or-treating at stops along the way. Families should bring their own bags.
The Halloween Stroll is the one event where the merchants themselves host. Kids will collect candy from businesses along the stretch, and for anyone who missed the summer reopenings, it's an easy first walk past the new and refreshed storefronts.
The rest of the town is planning, too
If you want a say in what changes on Wellesley's main roads, the Town is collecting input now. Its Central/Washington corridor process, centered on Wellesley Square, is asking about roads, intersections, sidewalks, traffic and parking. There's a public meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 14, at 6:30 p.m. at Hunnewell School. The Town's schedule puts implementation planning in 2027 and a funding request at Town Meeting in 2027 or 2028.
On the Hills stretch, the next change is set for this winter, when Pvolve plans to open at 251 Washington St.
Changes like these, a refreshed landmark, first-in-state tenants and a full fall calendar, are details I follow closely as I help homeowners present what's special about where they live. If you live near the Clock Tower and wonder how a busier Washington Street might affect your home's story when you sell, Judy Korzenowski would be glad to talk it through with you. Request your complimentary consultation & market valuation.
