"We have loved every single moment of serving you over the past 37 years," Mandarin Cuisine wrote in the Facebook post announcing its closing. MassLive covered the announcement on Oct. 5, 2026. The restaurant at 238 Highland Ave. opened in 1989 and will close for good on Oct. 31.
According to MassLive, the same post also said that new owners will take over. Needham's long-running food businesses usually change owners when the founders step away. Over the past year and a half, the town has seen far more handoffs than empty dining rooms, and Mandarin's is already moving through Town Hall.
What the town record shows about 238 Highland Ave.
You can see a restaurant changing hands in Needham before anything changes at the door. Selling a liquor license means a public hearing before the Select Board. On the Sept. 8, 2026 Select Board agenda, one item was a public hearing on an application to transfer an all-alcohol license from Low & Zhang Corporation d/b/a Mandarin Cuisine. The agenda listed Jing Chen as director of Buda X Inc. and Yu Chen as proposed manager of record.
This isn't a rushed deal. The board's minutes from July 21, 2026 show the Mandarin license hearing was already on the calendar then, and the board continued it to its Aug. 11 meeting. Those July minutes name a different proposed manager, Li Wei Pan. So the transfer has been in front of the town since at least midsummer, months before the public goodbye.
Some things are still unknown. Hoodline called Buda X the incoming operator, but it didn't give a restaurant name, menu concept, renovation plan or reopening date. No coverage so far confirms whether the board approved the transfer. The only facts on record are the hearing dates and the applicant's name.
The handoff Needham watched this summer
French Press Bakery and Café on Chapel Street went through this in August, more visibly. On Aug. 20, founder Raji "Jay" Spencer announced on the café's Instagram that he was passing the business to Arthur Davtian. Davtian had been executive pastry chef and assistant general manager. As the Needham-Dedham Times reported, Spencer said he wanted more time with his children and plans to stay on as a business advisor with a flexible schedule.
The new owner already knew every part of the shop. "I've been here from the beginning," Davtian told the Needham Observer. "I was their overnight baker and worked my way up." He started in 2015, a few months after Spencer opened. Today he runs a staff of 30 bakers and baristas at 74 Chapel St., and the kitchen bakes 200 to 300 croissants a day.
Davtian plans to keep the shop familiar. The Observer reported that he'll add Middle Eastern flavors from his Armenian heritage over time, without moving far from what French Press is known for. Another staff member is taking over as executive pastry chef, and Davtian said he'll keep working in production while spending more time out front.
The founder steps back, the baker who started on the overnight shift takes over, and the menu changes gradually.
The same move, repeated across town
French Press isn't a one-off. Last year's business awards had already shown the pattern. At the Charles River Regional Chamber's eighth annual Needham Night in August 2025, two of the four honorees had changed hands, one through family and one through new owners. Needham Local covered the ceremony.
| Business | How it changed hands | Where things stand |
|---|---|---|
| Volante Farms | Third-generation owner Melodie Volante retired. Her daughter Teri Volante Boardman and Teri's two brothers now run it as fourth-generation co-owners. | Won the chamber's Legend Award in 2025 and employs about 200 people |
| Cook Craft Kitchen & Bar | Diana Sepulveda and her husband Edison Gutierrez bought it about three years before the 2025 awards | Named the chamber's Business of the Year in 2025 |
| French Press Bakery and Café, 74 Chapel St. | Founder Jay Spencer handed it to longtime baker Arthur Davtian in August 2026 | Open seven days under the new owner |
| Mandarin Cuisine, 238 Highland Ave. | Closing Oct. 31, 2026. A license transfer to Buda X Inc. went to a Select Board hearing | New name, concept and opening date not yet announced |
Volante Farms is the longest-running example. The farm moved from Newton to Needham more than 60 years ago. When the family accepted the award, Melodie Volante said the business was in good hands, though she still gets the occasional question. "You just don't find that type of family-run business in a town these days," the chamber's Lise Elcock told Needham Local.
Cook shows that a handoff can work just as well when the new owners come from outside the business. Sepulveda told Needham Local that since buying the restaurant, she and Gutierrez have focused on community outreach, such as delivering pizza to local dance troupes and joining raffles. "I love that about Needham, everybody's kind of independent, but everybody really works together," she said. "We've felt support from other businesses."
At the same event, Rotary Club of Needham president Jim Dietel described the town's business mix as "mom-and-pop shops all up and down Highland [Avenue], up and down Great Plain [Avenue]."
When there is no successor
Not every story ends with a new owner. The Needham Observer reported in July that Masala Art at 990 Great Plain Ave. was winding down after 23 years. Village Bank plans to take over the expiring lease for a branch with rotating pop-up retailers and is aiming to begin the build-out in early 2027. That July 23 story also mentioned that Kosta's Pizza & Seafood had closed the month before, which puts its closing around June 2026.
Those two show what happens otherwise. A restaurant that closes without a buyer can leave the food business for good, and a dining room becomes a bank. Mandarin is set up to avoid that because the license application went in first. Whatever opens next at 238 Highland Ave., the record so far points to another restaurant.
Highland Avenue's other open questions
That matters more on Highland Avenue right now, because nearby parts of the street are in flux. In a July 2026 update on commercial projects, the Needham Observer reported several changes:
- Pure Hockey was moving off Highland Avenue to the ground floor of the renovated former You-Do-It Electronics Center at 40 Franklin St. Onyx Partners will take the top two floors. The Needham-Dedham Times said the renovation was expected to wrap up by the end of summer, but the new store's opening hasn't been confirmed.
- The former Acapulcos building at One First Avenue and Highland had been demolished, and no replacement tenant or use had been announced.
- The medical-office project at 629 Highland Ave. was still a hole in the ground. Construction costs stalled the original plan, and the owner was looking at other uses.
Among a demolished building, a stalled foundation and a store moving out, a restaurant with a buyer already in the license pipeline is the steadiest part of that stretch.
Before Oct. 31, and after
You have less than three weeks for a last meal at Mandarin Cuisine. According to MassLive, the menu includes Chinese-American standards like General Tso's Chicken, Peking Duck and Egg Foo Young, plus low-calorie dishes and lunch specials. The owners asked customers to "stop by before the end of October to say goodbye."
To follow what happens at 238 Highland Ave. after that:
- Check Select Board agendas and minutes on the Town of Needham website for the outcome of the Buda X license transfer. The July continuance and the September hearing were both posted there.
- Watch for Design Review Board filings on new signs or exterior changes. Those reviews brought the Pure Hockey and Onyx plans for 40 Franklin St. into public view.
- Stop by French Press at 74 Chapel St. to see the transition up close. It's open 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday.
Changes along Highland Avenue and in Needham Center affect what it's like to live nearby, and they come up when neighbors talk about their homes. If you live near Needham Heights and wonder how these changes might figure into your home's value, Elissa Rosenfelt is glad to talk it through with you. You can start with an instant home valuation anytime.
