Dudley Cafe soon to open near Harvard Square, site of a former Hi-Rise Bread Co. coffee shop

Dudley Cafe recently revealed its branding at 1663 Massachusetts Ave., not far from Cambridge’s Harvard Square. (Photo: Marc Levy)

A name once more associated with raucous club nights in Harvard and Central squares is returning with coffee and pastry, as Solmon Chowdhury and his wife Rokeya bring a Dudley Café outpost to the former Hi-Rise Bread Co. space at 1663 Massachusetts Ave., in the Baldwin neighborhood between Harvard and Porter squares.

It will be the second Dudley Café location after one opened in 2014 on Warren Street in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood near Dudley Square.

The Cambridge cafe will open “any day,” said Lesley University president president Janet Steinmayer on Friday. The location is owned by Lesley.

The Hi-Rise branch closed in July 2021 amid Covid pandemic doldrums – one remains open on Concord Avenue on Observatory Hill – and the space has been empty since. The Chowdhurys said in a spring fundraiser on Numarket that the couple “have deep roots in Cambridge, living and working in the city for several years.”

Solmon Chowdhury had been associated with rowdy club scenes, such as at the former Om in Harvard Square, then Moksa and Naga in Central Square, those rebranded into Monroe in 2016 before being replaced in 2017 by La Fábrica Central under different ownership. The clubs had been the scene of crowds, overserved kids and nonfatal shootings, stabbings and street brawls, but by the time of the Monroe rebrand Chowdhury was described by an attorney as being in his mid-40s and turning to different kinds of eateries – including a food-only Shanti Indian restaurant in Kendall Square and Dudley Cafe coffeeshop and convenience store in Boston.

“Dudley Café originated out of the immense need for a community space and a community sponsor for local art, culinary desires and culture in Roxbury,” the Chowdhurys said on Numarket. “Acknowledging that immense need is everywhere and the wish to highlight the cultural diversity through the menu options and names, Dudley Café in Cambridge will be available as a space for individuals and groups to gather, to meet, converse, learn, grow and to explore a culinary journey of Indian-inspired café items.”

The Roxbury location has been “more than just a coffee shop,” Eater’s Terrence Doyle said in 2019. “It also provides internships and employment opportunities to the neighborhood’s youth – the cafe has a partnership with Madison Park Technical High School and hires students for baking and front-of-house jobs.”

Steinmayer said Lesley was pleased to be able to bring in a minority-owned business and chose the Dudley Café as a tenant “because of the way that they not only operate their business, but the way that they operate in the community.”

The Roxbury site is known for rice bowls, salads and what Eater calls “an outstanding breakfast sandwich.” A menu for the Cambridge location hasn’t been posted.

A voice mail was left Friday with Solmon Chowdhury seeking more information about the opening.