The Allston flagship of Blanchard’s closed Oct. 24 after more than 70 years on Harvard Avenue, and an Asian lifestyle retailer is now listed as the incoming tenant at 103 Harvard Ave., according to reporting by boston.com and Universal Hub.
TESO Life appears on the TESO Group website as the planned occupant of the former liquor store, boston.com reported Nov. 5. The listing shows the Allston site as “coming soon” without an opening date. TESO Life did not immediately respond to boston.com’s request for more information that Thursday night.
What TESO Life sells — and where it already operates
TESO Life specializes in Asian lifestyle products, including cosmetics, snacks and merchandise, boston.com reported. Universal Hub described the chain’s mix as Asian cosmetics, snacks, home goods and trendy toys, and noted that TESO was founded in Flushing, New York, in 2017.
The company already opened a TESO Life store on Washington Street in Downtown Crossing in June, according to both boston.com and Universal Hub. That downtown outlet gives the New York–based retailer a second Boston footprint if the Allston “coming soon” listing turns into an open store.
For readers tracking Boston business news, the swap matters because Harvard Avenue is one of Allston’s densest retail corridors — a stretch where liquor, late-night food and student-facing shops have long overlapped with apartment density near Commonwealth Avenue and Brighton Avenue.
How Blanchard’s Allston reached closing day
The 8,000-square-foot store announced its closure in late September after more than 70 years in business, citing declining sales and management changes, boston.com reported in its Nov. 5 follow-up. An earlier boston.com story on Sept. 23 said an employee confirmed a mid-to-late October closing after signs went up reading “Fall 2026, Store Closing, All Inventory Discounted.”
Owner Chris Corey told staff in an email posted online that the family had made the “difficult decision to permanently close” later in the year, boston.com reported. “This business has been a part of my family since 1954,” Corey wrote, according to that account. Universal Hub later pinned the final Allston closing date as Oct. 24.
According to Blanchard’s website as summarized by boston.com, the company was established in 1838 with a first store in Scollay Square; John Corey purchased the company in 1938. The Allston location opened in 1954 and was described as the company’s flagship. Other Blanchard’s locations remain open, including Jamaica Plain, Brockton and Revere, boston.com reported Nov. 5.
What is — and is not — confirmed about the lease
As of Nov. 5, boston.com’s reporting rested on the TESO Group site listing rather than a city lease filing or a company confirmation of an opening date. Universal Hub likewise framed the change as TESO Life “now listing” the former Harvard Avenue address. Neither outlet reported a firm grand-opening day.
That distinction matters for Boston news readers and for neighbors watching vacant storefronts. A “coming soon” web listing signals intent; it does not, by itself, prove construction timing, build-out scope or whether the liquor license footprint will be replaced by a retail use that keeps evening foot traffic on the block.
Allston has already seen several longtime businesses leave Harvard Avenue and nearby streets in recent years, boston.com noted in September when it listed Great Scott, Twin Donuts and other small-business closures as context for Blanchard’s exit. TESO Life’s planned arrival would put a nationalizing Asian lifestyle format into a space that for decades sold beer, wine and spirits to students and longtime residents.
Our Take: Harvard Avenue’s retail churn is not finished
Analysis — labeled opinion separate from the reporting above. Harvard Avenue’s mix has always been opportunistic: high foot traffic, student rents and relatively large floor plates invite rapid tenant turnover when margins tighten. Replacing an 8,000-square-foot liquor flagship with a lifestyle retailer that already tested Downtown Crossing is a bet that Allston’s daytime and evening shoppers will buy cosmetics and snacks where they once bought six-packs. Whether that bet sticks depends less on nostalgia for Blanchard’s neon and more on rent, build-out costs and how fast TESO can convert a “coming soon” listing into open doors — a pattern other Boston neighborhoods know well when legacy retail exits.
What to watch next
Watch for a firm opening date from TESO Group or TESO Life, any Boston Licensing Board or Inspectional Services filings tied to 103 Harvard Ave., and whether Blanchard’s remaining Corey-family stores absorb Allston customers. Until TESO publishes a date or city records show active fit-out permits, the responsible line remains the one boston.com and Universal Hub used: TESO Life is listed as the incoming tenant, coming soon, with no date yet.
Sources
- boston.com: Here’s what’s taking over the former Blanchard’s in Allston
- Universal Hub: Allston Blanchard’s to be replaced by an Asian lifestyle store
- boston.com: The rumors were true — Blanchard’s in Allston is closing
- TESO Group store locations
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