Beantown Taqueria to close for renovations by the end of the month
MIT is suing Beantown for failing to vacate the property by June 30, 2026
Levy Le–The Tech
Beantown Taqueria will officially close its storefront at 245 Massachusetts Avenue at the end of this month, with no concrete plans to return. The restaurant will offer special deals, such as its all-day $2 tacos on Taco Tuesdays, throughout October.
The fast-casual restaurant’s departure follows Cambridge Pizza’s closure this past June, with both businesses leaving due to renovations to install a loading dock, ramps, and an elevator, and to make the property ADA compliant. MIT first informed Beantown of the planned construction on Feb. 5, 2025; subsequently, the restaurant announced its closing the following May.
However, the Institute “fell behind” on its plans, according to general manager Hugo Mendez, and the delayed renovations — which finally began in summer 2026 — allowed Beantown to remain open for another year.
This time, Beantown’s departure appears to be final. Public records obtained by The Tech reveal that the MIT Investment Management Company (MITIMCo) is suing Beantown Taqueria for failing to vacate the property by a June 30, 2026 deadline. MITIMCo claims that Beantown, which operates on a month-to-month rental basis, owes $7,452.88 in unpaid rent and related charges.
According to court records, defendant and property tenant Fawwaz Mohammed Aburubayah requested a jury trial, which is scheduled for Nov. 5 at the Cambridge District Court. The Tech requested comments from lawyers and representatives for Aburubayah and MITIMCo. Neither has responded.
Possibilities for relocation
Mendez hinted that Beantown’s delay in moving out was because it has not secured a new location, as Aburubayah was hoping MIT would help the small business relocate. However, the Institute didn’t have any available spaces, and Beantown is still “scrambling trying to find a place,” said Mendez.
Although Mendez would prefer to remain near MIT, high rent makes such a scenario unlikely. For example, he inquired about moving into the vacant property at the Albany Street and Massachusetts Avenue intersection that previously housed Oath Pizza.
“The rent itself, it’s $20,000 a month,” Mendez said. “You would have to be making around $2 million in sales per year for rent to be 10% of that, which is a high ask. It’s more than twice what we do in a year here.
Another option for Beantown’s future is to continue operating from their food truck. Mendez said that he hopes a private property owner will allow Beantown to set up their food truck at a parking lot near the MIT campus, allowing the business to continue serving their loyal customers.
A potential avenue for doing so is the MIT food truck program, which brings food trucks to the Kendall/MIT Open Space to serve lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Wednesday.
“It’s a possibility,” Mendez acknowledged. “We can serve the whole menu out of the food truck.”
Community responses
News of Beantown’s closure has been met with sadness and anger from students and alumni. Many respondents to The Tech’s survey said they visited the restaurant at least once a week, drawn by its $2 taco deal and late hours.
“It is deeply unfortunate,” Sam Gordon ’18 wrote. “Beantown was a staple of late night food, especially when powering through a pset and realizing everything else was closed.”
In light of Beantown and Cambridge Pizza’s closures, MIT community members also pointed to a broader decline in affordable non-dining-hall food options open late at night, particularly ones that take TechCASH as payment.
“The southern side of Mass Ave is really losing its charm,” Michelle Su ’29 remarked. “Maybe this means our student orgs should more frequently cater from local restaurants instead of Chipotle and such for events.”
Beyond its food offerings, Beantown also served as a place for community members to socialize. Students reminisced about Taco Tuesdays with their class and project teams, grabbing food together after playing board games like Blood on the Clocktower, and even waiting out a Random Hall fire alarm there during a snowstorm.
Beantown’s popularity within the MIT community shaped Mendez’s experience, too. He said he feels “blessed” to have gotten to know generations of students who have frequented Beantown since it opened in 2012, adding that he has “learned a lot from serving this beautiful community that’s the MIT students.”
“We’re hoping that we can come back somehow, and revitalize [Beantown] to keep building our memories” with the MIT community, Mendez said.