I Visited the Boston Taco Bell Where Great Scott Used To Be

I forced myself to do something sad and uncomfortable. I forced myself to go to the Boston Taco Bell that replaced Great Scott.

 

Great Scott sat comfortably on Comm. Ave. at the corner of Harvard Ave. in Allston from 1976 until 2020. I could go on and on about the beloved club’s cultural significance and the role it played as a hub for multiple communities over the years, but I did that already. It’s in this oral history I organized for GBH and NPR Music a few years ago, and it’s totally worth the read. Great Scott was special.

 

Then, like too many local music venues, Great Scott was no more. Yet another casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic, the club closed its doors in early 2020. There was talk of a revival at another Allston location, and there was even a celebratory pop-up, but in the fall of 2023, it became official: 1222 Comm. Ave. wouldn’t even be Great Scott’s ghost anymore. It would become a Taco Bell Cantina.

 

I Visited the Boston Taco Bell Where Great Scott Used To Be

I can’t claim Great Scott the way a lot of the folks I chatted with in the abovelinked oral history can. But I certainly spent a few memorable nights there. A Walter Schreifels solo show in 2009. My friend Paul Driscoll’s bachelor party a few years later. Cave In at least once that I remember. I can close my eyes and picture the room in all its scruffy detail. Great Scott was that kind of place.

 

So to walk into that physical space in 2024 and have it be a chain restaurant? I can’t think of a bigger 180. Comfy shadows banished by stark light. Time-worn character replaced by fresh, clean lines. It was jarring. But it was also Taco Bell. So I grabbed a Cheesy Bean and Rice Burrito for myself and Black Bean Crunchwrap Supreme for my 15-year-old and I took some pictures.

• “Make Boston Shitty Again”

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  It's no secret that local celebrity Robby Roadsteamer and his partner in crime, Boston punk legend Dave Tree, have already paid tribute and lamented the loss of Great Scott.

• The Front Door

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  Remember that feeling you'd get when you'd walk into Great Scott and whoever was on the door that night would greet you and I.D. you and it always felt friendly and welcoming? That's gone now!

• Kiosks

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  Then: A merch table, where you could buy t-shirts and music from the band and sometimes even chat with them post-set. Now: A way to order chalupas where you don't have to chat with anyone at all, ever.
• Taco Art

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  I mean, this actually would have made sense hanging in between old show flyers at Great Scott if it was hung ironically.

• “The Bar”

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  Here's the thing about Great Scott that doesn't get talked about enough: it was a great local bar. Sure, the shows and theme nights were great. But you could pop in during the day for a couple of pops and be in good company with the bartender and regulars. Now, it's a different kind of "pop" altogether.

• Tacos

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  "The Answer is Always Tacos." Actually, I can't fault this. That's a factual statement.
• A Window To a Changing Comm. Ave.

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  It just felt weird to look out the front window of Great Scott and have it not be the front window of Great Scott. No showgoers and smokers killing time on the concrete patio.

• Grumpy Old Man

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  I love Taco Bell. I just don't love that there's one where it shouldn't be.