Comments on: Trouble in Paradiso

By: orietta

orietta — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 14:41:35 +0000

I am Oscar’s niece-just wanted to pass along that Oscar passed away on September 19. You can view his obituary at Barile funeral home. We are all very broken up about this, as I imagine you all must be. Thanks.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 23:46:22 +0000

“I, Oscar De Stefano, will be taking on a less complicated life”
Indeed, sadly, Oscar passed away today. thought you might want to know.

By: Joseph Teller

Joseph Teller — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 00:25:40 +0000

Thanks for passing along this info. I had gone in to the square this week and was surprised to see it closed, everything papered over (the note was evidently gone by the time I went there).

(Folks on Livejournal, BoSton community, pointed out your post about this to me, which is why I came to find your blog).

By: Terri

Terri — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 20:28:32 +0000

Agreed. It’s sad how Harvard Square just keeps looking less and less like a place I know. I’m trying to grow with it, and hoping that it can retain some local flavor. (Abercrombie and Fitch did leave–something to cheer about!)

As for the rest of your post… as we’ve discussed, I’m a nostalgic type, too. Of course, you know this. All I can think is that losing these things reminds us how much we enjoyed them and how we made them a part of who we are. It’s a reminder to drink in moments like the one you described–that first day you were in Cambridge and found yourself at Cafe Paradiso–as they’re happening. I think, maybe, that those kind of moments are a part of what it’s all about (whatever it is…). And they don’t come along all the time.

By: Editrix

Editrix — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 17:35:56 +0000

Eloquently put — though I wish you hadn’t had to report it. I know it’s unrealistic to expect the places I love to remain unchanged, but I still feel twinges when I remember that Wordsworth is no more.

By: Kim

Kim — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 13:43:41 +0000

OH NO!!!! I LOVE Cafe Paradiso! It was always one of my stops when I was in Harvard Square. I loved their cookies. And, the Greenhouse is gone??? Where in the world will we get decadent desserts???

By: Ezra

Ezra — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 21:12:15 +0000

Ron, I didn’t even know they had a location in Lowell, to be honest. The sign only mentioned Hanover Street. While “taking on a simpler life” sounds like retiring, the fact that they’re keeping at least one location open, combined with “We have come to terms with this location”, sounds like it might just be scaling back after a ruckus with the landlord. But that’s just an educated guess.

By: Ron Newman

Ron Newman — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 19:53:58 +0000

Do you know if they are keeping the location in Lowell?