UPDATE: Other Side Cafe set to move camp in December

Their breakfast burrito often made me weep with hungover gratitude. As a freshman in college, their brie-and-apple sandwich expanded my culinary horizons, and their vegetarian-friendly menu made me feel cool (before I threw in the towel and happily cut into a steak a year later). Their bathrooms make me a little dizzy, it's usually louder than necessary, and I like that my head almost touches the ceiling on the second floor. These cherished tidbits are about to become nostalgic memories: word on the street is that Newbury Street's well-loved OTHER SIDE CAFÉ is set to close in late December, along with Malaysian grub go-to Island Hopper.

But why? What on earth would fit that strange little space better than an indie hole-in-the-wall restaurant with bikes lining its wrought-iron patio fence? Well, my friends, a Minnesotan furniture chain store, that's what.

According to the Boston Globe, popular home furnishings store Room & Board has been in negotiations to take over 40,000 square feet of retail space currently occupied by the two restaurants (along with mattress store Sleep-a-rama) since early November. Hubway recently confirmed the news on its Twitter feed, mourning the biking community's loss.

Never fear: Other Side manager Reiley Markey reassures that this doesn't mean the end. A move is indeed in the works, but he couldn't say when a potential re-opening would be at this point.

"Customers have started to figure it out," Markey says. "The rumors are true, but we will be looking at new spaces soon, hopefully somewhere nearby."

DECEMBER 9 UPDATE: Don't freak out about finding another place to stuff your face with killer chili just yet: word on the street is that Other Side, along with Island Hopper, has been given a small extension and will be around until January 2012. So, if you need a beer after the prolonged family time of the holidays (who doesn't?), they'll happily oblige.