Local Coffee Shop ‘Glazed Bytes’ Replaces Starbucks In Chestnut Hill

CHESTNUT HILL, MA — A new locally-owned coffee shop, “Glazed Bytes,” has replaced the former Starbucks location in The Shops at Chestnut Hill.

Founded by Northeastern University graduate James Park, Glazed Bytes officially opened its doors on October 1 and offers coffee and espresso drinks, specialty teas, sweet and savory “bytes,” and sandwiches and salads.

Park, who came to Boston from Korea for college, opened Glazed Bytes to create a place for community members to gather and enjoy coffee and treats, including their signature “croffle,” a cross between a croissant and waffle. He felt that Chestnut Hill was the best place for his very first location.

“It’s going pretty great,” Park said. “I really like this area and I want to focus on building this location and eventually I’d like to franchise.”

According to his wife, Lizzie So, Park has always had a passion for coffee and would soon like to expand the menu to include more coffee options and desserts.

“Later on we we want to introduce more desserts, especially because more people are going gluten free and we want to have an option for them,” So said.

“Right now our coffee is all medium roast and some customers would like to see a dark roast, so we are looking to expand that as well,” Park added.

Park said he is honored to be able to open his store in a former Starbucks store, as it gives him a great opportunity to grow his business in a popular location. He hopes to eventually begin to open other locations in the Boston area, including one near Copley Square.

“I love Starbucks and Peet's and all those franchises and feel lucky to be creating a new one in this space,” he said.

“What’s good about this location is we get a lot of the mall employees coming in everyday, and we are getting to know all their names and they are helping to spread the word,” So added.

The shift from corporate franchise to locally-owned coffee shop is significant, said Debora Konig, Area Director of Marketing at Copley Place and The Shops at Chestnut Hill. When Starbucks left, Simon Property Group jumped at the chance to replace it with an independent store, and Glazed Bytes is now the only coffee shop inside the mall.

“When we were presented with the opportunity to invite a locally-owned coffee shop in after Starbucks left the space, we took it,” Konig said in a statement. "We hope Glazed Bytes sees success in the beginnings of their operations, especially with the holidays fast-approaching and the center expecting increased foot traffic.”

For more information about Glazed Bytes or to view a full menu, visit https://www.glazedbytes.com/.