When the student rush returns to Allston this weekend and next week, there will be some notable additions to the neighborhood, like grocery store bfresh replacing the Staples near the Brookline border, Bee’s Knees Supply Co. in the Joshua Tree location on Commonwealth Avenue, and the renovated Wonderbar on Harvard Avenue, which has welcomed DooWee & Rice to its kitchen.
There will also be a significant loss: Do Re Mi.
According to Brad Searles of Bradley’s Almanac, a sign (see below) has been posted on the front door of the award-winning Cambridge Street karaoke business that signals the end. Do Re Mi, which has had a disconnected phone line for a few weeks, states it officially closed August 9, but will open a new location “around this area.” It does not specify a timeline, and urges customers to check doremikaraoke.net for updates.
There is currently nothing posted on the homepage that reflects the closing.
Last spring, the Boston Redevelopment Authority approved a $7 million plan to demolish the then-17-year-old DoReMi Karaoke to make way for more housing. From Curbed: “Everybody’s favorite rubber stamp(TM), the Boston Redevelopment Authority, has O.K.’d the development of 40 apartments at 442 Cambridge Street in Allston. The four-story development, which will also include 1,631 square feet of commercial space as well as 57 parking spaces and room for 40 bikes, will replace the 17-year-old DoReMi karaoke studio and the house behind it.”
Do Re Mi featured 19 private karaoke studios and 13 languages, and the space has long been a fun alternative to the bar and nightclub scene in that area of Allston, attracting a wide cross-section of people. The new development should also further turn Cambridge Street into a parking lot between the stretch of Harvard Avenue and Union Square.
Below is an artist rendering from 2014 of the new housing plan, via Curbed.
