Nahant This Fall: A First Coffee Counter On Nahant Road, A Library Week, And What The East Point Ruling Hasn't Changed Yet

Three things set the shape of a Nahant fall this year. Each one sits at a different point between decision and daily use. The coffee and ice cream counter at 157 Nahant Road is finished and open. Residents vote on the library on October 20, four days before it hosts the town's Fall Festival. East Point is where the state's highest court gave the town its biggest win in eight years, yet the loop trail there is the same one people walked last October.

The Gap That Closed On September 17

Until this fall, there was nowhere in Nahant to buy a cup of coffee or a scoop of ice cream. Peabody Weekly News reported that when cousins Xhoraldo Gjinaj and Mark Noci started planning What's The Scoop? Ice Cream Cafe, the town had neither one. The shop held its ribbon-cutting at 157 Nahant Road on September 17. Town Administrator Alison Nieto, Board of Selectmen Chairman Rob Tibbo and Selectman Patrick O'Reilly attended.

The owners were open about their reasoning in that coverage. They first planned an ice cream shop, but keeping one busy through a New England winter is hard, so they added coffee to stay open all year. The hours bear that out. The counter opens at 6 a.m. Monday through Friday and at 8 a.m. on weekends, and it closes at 9 p.m. every night except Sunday, when it closes at 8. A 6 a.m. opening is a commuter's hour, not a beach-day hour.

What's on the counter:

• Coffee: Atomic Coffee Roasters, plus specialty drinks such as tiramisu and Biscoff lattes. Noci told the paper the Biscoff latte has become one of his favorites to make.
• Ice cream: Leiby's, in flavors from black raspberry and pistachio to Cookie Monster and campfire s'mores. Scoops also come sandwiched between oatmeal raisin, M&M or chocolate chip cookies.
• The mascot: a small David sculpture with an ice cream cone stuck in its face. Noci ordered it expecting something much bigger and told the paper, "I got catfished."

The owners aren't new to the street. Noci owns Seaside Pizza, a short walk down the road, and Gjinaj worked there for five years. Of the season's three changes, this is the only one that's already finished. You can walk in tomorrow at six.

A Library Week That Starts With A Vote

The library takes a few more steps. On Tuesday, October 20, the Special Town Meeting takes up a single warrant article. It asks residents to appropriate up to $1,000,000 for Phase 4 of the library restoration. The listed work covers fire safety, plumbing, electrical and HVAC upgrades, plus interior refurbishment. Both the official warrant and the Advisory and Finance Committee's report are posted on the town's Special Town Meeting page.

On Saturday, October 24, four days after the vote, the same building hosts the Nahant Public Library Fall Festival. It's free and goes ahead rain or shine. The lineup includes 3rd Alarm Brick Oven Pizza, Party Pigs, a live owl show, Hocus Pocus witches, arts and crafts, a touch-a-truck with a fire truck, a Johnson School art show, and library tours. On the tours, visitors can see the building the town just voted on. The start time is 11 a.m. The library's page gives two different end times, 1 p.m. in the description and 2 p.m. in the calendar header, so check before you plan around the end.

The library's programs run well past the festival:

The library is a halfway case. The building is open and busy, and its next phase depends on what happens in the meeting hall on the 20th.

East Point, Where The Ruling Arrived Before The Change

East Point is the change residents have waited longest for, and it's the one furthest from showing up on the ground.

On September 3, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled unanimously that Nahant may pursue conservation and public-access easements across about 12 acres of Northeastern University's East Point property. That decision reversed a lower court ruling. Itemlive reported that the conservation easements would bar new construction in those areas. That would block the university's proposed 55,000-square-foot facility while still letting existing buildings be maintained and used. A third easement would give the public the right to access and use Canoe Beach for outdoor recreation.

The ruling ends one stage of the case. Itemlive's account of how the town got here, and what comes next:

1. 2018: Northeastern announced plans to expand its Marine Science Center campus at East Point. The plan included the new building, new parking and a geothermal wellfield of about one acre with 80 wells.
2. 2021: Town Meeting voted 647 to 271 to authorize the Select Board to pursue the easements. Residents also voted 655 to 14 to put $1.5 million in Community Preservation Act funds toward the taking.
3. May 2025: A Superior Court judge ruled for Northeastern, dismissed the town's petition, and awarded the university more than $1 million in fees and costs.
4. September 3, 2026: In a decision written by Justice Elizabeth Dewar, the SJC reversed that judgment.
5. Next: The case returns to Superior Court. The town proceeded by straight condemnation, so no taking has happened yet. A judge will appoint commissioners to set the compensation owed to Northeastern, and the easements can be taken only once that compensation is paid.

The town and the university read the ruling very differently. Itemlive quoted Nieto saying the town "looks forward to moving forward with this process." Northeastern's vice president for communications, Renata Nyul, said the university was "deeply disappointed." She warned the decision could affect research at the Marine Science Center and urged the town to seek an agreement. Whether that happens hasn't been reported. The October 20 warrant has no East Point article. The Nahant Preservation Trust's post on the ruling links to coverage but gives no update on settlement or the court schedule.

The court explained its reasoning partly through what's already next door. The town created the Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. Memorial Park in the 1980s. It placed Northeastern's parcel in a natural-resource zoning district in 1991, and it named the property in several open-space plans.

What The Walk Looks Like This Month

• Lodge Park is open dawn to dusk, with trails that look out on the ocean and the Boston skyline, history boards, and leashed dogs allowed. The town's 2022 management plan describes a loop trail of about 1,800 feet with informal side trails to benches and viewpoints. It also flags steep cliffs.
• The history underfoot: According to the same plan, East Point was fortified for coastal defense in 1941 with gun emplacements and control structures. It was reactivated in 1952, Nike missile facilities went in in 1954, and Northeastern acquired most of the point in 1967.
• Canoe Beach: The town already lists it among its five free, public beaches. It's the rocky beach divers favor, between 40 Steps Beach and the Marine Science Center. Its small lot requires a Nahant resident parking sticker, and there's no water quality testing.
• Inside the Marine Science Center: Northeastern lists free public tours on Tuesday, October 13 and Tuesday, October 27, both at 2:30 p.m. Each is capped at 15 people and requires registration. Visitors check in with campus security, and the university says it can't accommodate weekend or after-hours visits. Registration is on the university's public tours page.

The SJC ruled that the town may continue pursuing the access easement, but the easement itself does not yet exist, and no taking has occurred. Until the compensation phase ends, the trail, the parking rules and the tour schedule are the ones in this list.

The Rest Of The Fall Calendar

A few dates that don't depend on any vote or court:

• Through Wednesday, October 14: The Nahant Dory Club's fall haul for boats under 34 feet, with Hiline Marine and Transport. The date for larger boats is still listed as to be determined.
• Saturday, October 17: The Nahant PTO's Halloween Boo Bash and Trunk or Treat. Trunk-or-treat runs 4 to 6 p.m. in the Fire Station/DPW parking lot, and the bash runs 4 to 8 p.m. at the baseball fields on Flash Road.
• Sunday, November 29, 3 p.m.: The Dashing Rock Celtic Trio at The Village Church, 27 Cliff St. The listing doesn't say whether admission is charged.

Tuesday, October 27 fits several of these together. The counter at 157 Nahant Road opens at 6 a.m., the Marine Science Center tour starts at 2:30 p.m., and voting in the library's pet costume contest opens that day.

East Point's long dispute now moves into a compensation phase, and the town's next decision on its library is due October 20. Annie has followed changes like these from inside the community for years. Annie Wachtel offers a confidential consultation if you'd like a calm, informed read on what East Point and other pending local decisions could mean for a Nahant property you own or are considering.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.