Unique Chocolate Retail Opportunity in Harvard Square

Clay Gordon -

The Opportunity in Brief

This is a unique chance to have a retail outlet for your chocolate business in a registered historic retail storefront in Harvard Square.

The current owner is looking for a craft chocolate maker/confectioner to complement the existing goods on offer, which include a tobacco bar, cigars, grooming and toiletries, and traditional board games, especially chess.

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Sublet approximately 200 sq ft of move-in ready space for $1200/month, inclusive, with no long-term lease commitment.
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Leavitt & Peirce will not be staffing/running the shop.

Leavitt & Peirce has been a shopping destination in Harvard Square for over 100 years and features significant walk-by traffic consisting of a high proportion of young people who seek out unique goods and experiences and have demonstrated disposable income to spend on their interests.

Leavitt & Peirce; Tobacco, Gifts and Games
Serving Harvard Square with the best in rolling tobacco, pipe tobacco, pipes, smoking accessories, gifts and toiletries since 1883.
Leavitt & Peirce

Click to visit the Leavitt & Peirce website. You must confirm you are 21 or over to continue.

The Location

Founded in 1883 by Fred H Leavitt & Wallace W Peirce, Leavitt & Peirce is the oldest continually-operated business in Harvard Square that is still in its original location. In the early days, Leavitt & Peirce was conceived of as a social club for Harvardians, featuring a lunch counter, Harvard ticket sales, and a billiards parlor on the second floor.

Today, Leavitt & Peirce is known as a tobacco shop and specialty store with a chess parlor available on their mezzanine. Leavitt & Peirce is known for offering a wide selection of unique curated gifts and tobacciana alongside its collection of Harvard memorabilia.

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In 2019, Forbes ranked the Leavitt & Peirce store as number eight in its list of the Top Ten Independent Retail Experiences in the US.

Leavitt & Peirce has been an iconic Harvard Square destination for more than 100 years – that also features walk-by traffic.

The Space

View from the front of the store, central aisle, to the space for rent. Leavitt & Peirce is the place to shop for gifts, tobacco, games, and toiletries. And now, chocolate.

Furniture for setting up a sales station with POS and the POS itself are the only fixtures/furnishings not included in the monthly rent, wich includes utilities and WiFi. (There is no available hand-wash sink.)

Exterior views. The window in the [C] image is available for the renter.

History of Leavitt & Peirce

The interview video below features the current owner, Paul Macdonald. It provides more insight into the history of Leavitt & Peirce and the unique role it has played in the Harvard community for over 100 years – namedropping some of its most (in) famous clientele.

Press for Leavitt & Peirce

Peering Through the Smoke of Time at Leavitt & Peirce | Magazine | The Harvard Crimson
Leavitt & Peirce has been selling cologne, chess sets, and the gentleman’s indulgence since 1883. But the original owners of the store engineered it to become a quasi-social club for Harvardians in the late 1800s and early 1900s. And a social club it did become.
The Harvard Crimson

Interested in taking advantage of this unique opportunity?

Email Paul Macdonald