A sad gas station becomes a happy gathering space in Jamaica Plain
artful designs
that are much happier. At first, it was a basketball that became a planter.
'I posted it on social media, and I had like 30 people reach out wanting one,' she said.
She expanded her idea into a line of
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'I do a lot of like wedding pieces,' she said. 'if it's like a destination wedding, I'll make their like airport outfit.'
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After some success, Stamatos began hosting popups for her brand around town. The next step was to make the concept a destination.
An obvious sad place that could be happy was a shuttered gas station in Jamaica Plain (the former JP Gas), which had been sitting there, walled out,
Stamatos and Hyde Park's Roundhead Brewing teamed up to turn the space into a hangout spot. With inspiration from
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Making Sad Things Happy in Jamaica Plain.
Eric Romaniecki
The spot is open on Fridays from 3 to 8 p.m. and Saturdays noon to 8 p.m., with plans to stay open through September. The GPS address: 561 Centre Street. Stamatos has brought in food vendors who sell hot food outisde;
The place hasn't needed much marketing, she said. Locals spotted the new paint and a Making Sad Things Happy sign and were already curious. When the spot opened on May 1, it was gorgeous out — and packed within hours.
The crowd at Making Sad Things Happy at closed gas station in Jamaica Plain on May 2, 2025. The pop-up event included beer from Roundhead Brewing Company. Christina Stamatos says MSTH will be there during weekends all summer.
Eric Romaniecki
'The gas station is a beautiful place to sit. It has cover. It absorbs the sun — it's great for that. It was an eyesore because it was like a dead spot,' he said. 'But put some greenery on some fence and bring beautiful people inside. That's the missing part. [It's about] using spaces and leveraging the beauty they hold for the events you want to make, in contrast with like demo-ing it down and going shiny new from top to bottom."
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Meredith Goldstein can be reached at Meredith.Goldstein@Globe.com.
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