A storefront on Boylston Street that has cycled through a beloved half-century-old pizzeria, an abandoned marijuana dispensary plan, and a short-lived pizzeria revival is getting a new tenant: Achilito’s Taqueria, the fast-casual Mexican chain, is set to open its newest Boston-area location at 1114 Boylston Street, right next to Berklee College of Music.
Word of the move first surfaced in August after signage went up outside the building, according to Boston Restaurant Talk. The site sits at the edge of the Back Bay and Fenway neighborhoods, a stretch of Boylston Street with heavy foot traffic thanks to Berklee students and easy access via the MBTA Route 55 bus and the Copley Square Green Line stop, according to Dispensary Genie. Per a message from Adam Castiglioni cited by NBC Boston, Achilito’s is planning to occupy the exact footprint once held by Little Steve’s Pizzeria.
A Storefront With a Rough Recent History
The original Little Steve’s Pizzeria had been a neighborhood fixture at that address since 1968, closing only a few years ago after more than five decades in business, per NBC Boston. The pizzeria shut down when property owners moved to lease the space to a recreational cannabis venture, according to Universal Hub’s account of the site’s history, cited in the same NBC Boston report.
That dispensary, proposed by Cypress Tree Management Inc. under the name Redi, secured host community agreements and municipal zoning approvals in 2020 and 2021, but the project was ultimately abandoned and the pot shop never opened, according to city records reviewed by the same outlet. The storefront sat in limbo for years before food service returned to the block.
Pizza’s Brief, Ill-Fated Comeback
In January 2025, the Boston Licensing Board approved a Common Victualler License for Pizza Box LLC, managed by restaurateur Koushik Babu Koganti, to revive Little Steve’s Pizzeria at the address with hours running until 2 a.m. on weekdays and 2:30 a.m. on weekends — a scaled-back version of the 3 a.m. closing time originally requested. Koganti is the founder and CEO of Flying Lion Hospitality Group, which also runs Boston Halal, Madras Dosa Company, and Don’t Tell Aunty around Greater Boston, according to background reported by WhatNow…