Eye-glass chain Warby Parker opened their first Rhode Island store on College Hill at the end of October. The Providence location, one of the company’s over 100 brick-and-mortar retail shops, sits at the corner of Thayer and Meeting Street.  

Despite financial difficulties stemming from the pandemic, two businesses on Thayer Street are expanding their physical spaces.  Chinatown on Thayer and Metro Mart, located at 277 Thayer St. and 221 Thayer St., respectively, have both leased the storefronts adjacent to them and are expanding their businesses.

Since Aug. 28, film buffs have been able to return to the Avon Cinema to watch the latest motion pictures in person. The 80-year-old independent theater recently opened its doors to the public after a five-month hiatus.

Before the pandemic, customers in East Side Pockets watched their orders being prepared from behind a glass wall. Still, the glass could not contain the crackle of frying oil and the wafting smell of grilled meat — mouthwatering hints for hungry customers.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought swift change to Thayer Street: as small retailers and restaurants struggled, some chains and franchises have opened their doors.

Earlier this semester, a Monday afternoon on Thayer Street would mean students filling the windows of Blue State and Ceremony Tea, with lines stretching along the counters of Bajas or East Side Pockets. Now, the street is nearly deserted. 

When I first returned to Brown last summer after a several-month break from College Hill, I didn’t first stop at the Main Green, Faunce House or my friend’s off-campus house — I made a beeline for the steak nachos at Baja’s.

Thayer Street restaurant Durk’s Bar-B-Q closed its doors on Dec. 22, marking the end of the establishment’s three-year run on College Hill.

Despite the challenges of seasonal student presence on Thayer Street, the crowd of customers shows that Ceremony finds business steadily growing.

Lois Hollingsworth owned Zuzu’s Petals, a dress boutique on Thayer Street, for 24 years. But in 2015, she chose to shutter her store because of what she described as a drastic change in Thayer’s character.