What are the best businesses to open in Leather District?

The top businesses to open in Leather District include Deli with a ~82% chance on average of surviving more than 2 years, best-case locations reaching ~83%, followed by Scandinavian Restaurant and Mixed Martial Arts Studio.

What businesses are most in demand in Leather District?

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 survivability analysis, the most in-demand business types in Leather District are Delis, Scandinavian Restaurants, and Mixed Martial Arts Studios.

How much money could a business in Leather District make?

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, selecting one of the best locations in Leather District could lead to making ~2% more than selecting an average location, and ~4% more than one of the worst locations.

Is Leather District a good place to start a business?

Leather District is ranked number 59 across neighborhoods in and around Boston to start a business, with an average Survivability Score of ~76%. The survivability gap between the best and average addresses in Leather District reaches ~2% for the strongest-performing business categories.

Business Survivability in Leather District, Boston

StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Leather District is a Deli with a ~82% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average.

April 24, 2026•18 min read

Quick Summary

Best business: a Deli in Leather District (~82% average survival rate, ~83% at best locations)

Neighborhood rank: #59 across all neighborhoods in and around Boston

Neighborhood average: ~76% two-year survival across all business types

Rankings updated quarterly with latest market data

Detailed methodology

Last reviewed: May 8, 2026 by Bobby Koons, Founder & CEO, StreetSpring

In this article:

Summary
Is Leather District a good place to start a business?
How to find the best location
Best businesses to open
How much money could a business make?
What businesses should open next?
Frequently Asked Questions

Summary

StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Leather District is a Deli with a ~82% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, with the best locations offering a ~83% chance; next is a Scandinavian Restaurant with a ~82% chance, followed by a Mixed Martial Arts Studio with a ~81% chance.

Should you open a business in Leather District?

**Peer neighborhoods:** Looking at demographic mix and amenity density across the 24 metros StreetSpring covers, Leather District clusters most tightly with **Hayes Valley (San Francisco)** and **Bella Vista (Philadelphia)**. Common thread: many nearby parks, busier daytime population, and many anchor tenants. Survival outcomes for those neighborhoods provide a useful comparison set for Leather District.

**Where Leather District businesses actually fail.** Among the 93 tracked subtypes, **Scandinavian Restaurants** post the highest average survivability (82%). But across Leather District's sites, the spread for this subtype runs **75% to 86%** — a 11-point gap that says *the address matters more than the subtype*. For saturation context, Middle Eastern Restaurants are the most densely-clustered tracked subtype in the neighborhood (33 competitors within 0.5 miles).

StreetSpring's analysis places Leather District at #59 in Boston for new business survival odds, with a neighborhood-wide average of ~76%.

The survivability gap between the best and average addresses in Leather District reaches ~2% for the strongest-performing business categories.
However, those same business types at the weakest addresses in Leather District can score considerably below average. Even the most in-demand concept in Leather District will struggle if it opens at the wrong address.
The 8.9% commercial vacancy rate in Leather District is a leading indicator of the neighborhood's business health; StreetSpring factors this directly into each business type's survivability score.

Employment and vacancy figures sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey.

Which blocks in Leather District offer the strongest survivability?

StreetSpring's Leather District data goes block by block — not just neighborhood averages — so you know which specific storefront gives your concept the strongest foundation. Below is the best location for a Deli in Leather District:

How to use our data when you tour spots

Loading live map preview...

Per StreetSpring's 2026 dataset, this circle traces the top-performing area for a Deli in Leather District. Even the best-ranked neighborhoods contain locations that underperform — and the worst-ranked ones have hidden gems. StreetSpring's prediction model analyzes 100 factors across competition, spending on the specific potential business, projected revenue, projected market share, Revenue Capture Score, mobility patterns, and many more.

Check if this location is still available →

Which business types have the highest survivability in Leather District?

#1-5: Highest Survivability in Leather District

Deli — ~80%–~83% survivability range, with an average of ~82% across Leather District.
Opening a Scandinavian Restaurant in Leather District shows ~82% average survivability. Top locations reach ~83%; lower-end sites show ~80%.
Mixed Martial Arts Studio (Ranked #3): ~81% average in Leather District. Best-case storefronts: ~83%. Challenging locations: ~79%.
Mexican Restaurant is ranked #4 for top businesses to open in Leather District: ~81% chance on average, best at ~83%, challenging at ~79%.
Hot Pot Restaurant — ~79%–~83% survivability range, with an average of ~81% across Leather District.

#6-10: Strong Performers in Leather District

Opening a Day Care Center in Leather District shows ~81% average survivability. Top locations reach ~83%; lower-end sites show ~78%.
Russian Restaurant (Ranked #7): ~81% average in Leather District. Best-case storefronts: ~82%. Challenging locations: ~79%.
Japanese / Sushi Restaurant is ranked #8 for top businesses to open in Leather District: ~81% chance on average, best at ~82%, challenging at ~78%.
Indonesian Restaurant — ~79%–~82% survivability range, with an average of ~81% across Leather District.
Opening a Polish Restaurant in Leather District shows ~80% average survivability. Top locations reach ~81%; lower-end sites show ~78%.

Top 3 Compared Nationally

Deli — See how this compares to other cities →

The revenue potential of a Leather District location

Best location vs. average location

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, identifying the optimal address for your business type in Leather District could lead to you making ~2% more than if you selected an average location, and ~4% more than if you selected one of the worst locations.

How StreetSpring calculates location value

No two business types have identical location needs; survivability scores reflect these differences at the address level.
Among all variables that affect business outcomes, location has the highest predictive weight in our models.
Maximizing your Survivability Score is the most reliable path to profitability.
StreetSpring's address-level precision means the difference between choosing a site with a 65% survival rate and one with a 90% rate — even within the same neighborhood.

Which business types are most underserved in Leather District?

The top businesses to open next in Leather District:

Delis — ~82% average survival rate, up to ~83% at best locations
Scandinavian Restaurants — ~82% average survival rate
Mixed Martial Arts Studios — ~81% average survival rate

Even the best-ranked neighborhoods contain locations that underperform — and the worst-ranked ones have hidden gems. Our platform incorporates data from thousands of neighborhoods nationwide. StreetSpring's model accounts for Leather District's 93.8% employment rate when projecting survivability — businesses reliant on discretionary spend benefit disproportionately in well-employed neighborhoods. StreetSpring refreshes survivability scores every week to reflect new competition and updated spending data — see which locations in Leather District are available right now and how they rank.

See the Survivability Score for your new business

Related Articles:

See the Boston Business Survivability Rankings
See the Boston Neighborhood Survivability Rankings

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are the most common questions about opening a business in Leather District.

What type of business should you rent your Leather District storefront to?

According to StreetSpring's 2026 data, the strongest tenant types for a storefront in Leather District are Delis, Scandinavian Restaurants, and Mixed Martial Arts Studios.

Among all variables that affect business outcomes, location has the highest predictive weight in our models.
StreetSpring's address-level precision means the difference between choosing a site with a 65% survival rate and one with a 90% rate — even within the same neighborhood. Landlords can use StreetSpring to match their exact address to the tenant types most likely to stay open and paying rent for 2+ years.

Should you rent your Leather District storefront to a Deli?

The data shows a Deli is the safest long-term bet for a Leather District storefront. Top locations reach ~83% survivability; the least favorable addresses in this neighborhood score around ~80%.

StreetSpring's address-level precision means the difference between choosing a site with a 65% survival rate and one with a 90% rate — even within the same neighborhood.

What should I consider when opening a business in Leather District?

When evaluating potential locations in Leather District, start with the Survivability Score. It accounts for competition, spending, mobility, and market share in a single figure.

Among all the inputs that shape survivability, Revenue Capture Score carries the most predictive weight.
No third-party scoring system produces these results — every prediction is generated by StreetSpring's own analytical models.
Access StreetSpring's current survivability data for any address in Leather District for free at any time.

See the best place for your business at StreetSpring.

Using predictive analytics, StreetSpring helps entrepreneurs and landlords make smarter location decisions. Aggregated survivability rankings for Boston are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.

Build-out budget rules-of-thumb for this neighborhood

Area to check	What can go wrong	How to de-risk it
CAM + hidden costs	Stated rent looks great, then CAM fees, signage charges, and after-hours utilities add 15-30%.	Get the full operating expense breakdown for the past 2 years. Ask which costs are landlord-capped vs. uncapped.
Competitor density	Counting only direct competitors and missing adjacent-category overlap (e.g. coffee shop near a bakery).	Map all businesses serving overlapping customer needs within a 5-min walk. Use StreetSpring's competitor view as a starting point.
Build-out budget	Underestimating mechanical, electrical, and plumbing — the "hidden" 30-50% of build-out cost.	Get 3 quotes from licensed contractors and pad budget by +20% for surprises. Confirm landlord TI allowance in writing.

Full dataset for Boston: /resources/data/boston-survivability-scores-2026.csv — includes all business subtypes, all neighborhoods, survivability scores, and tier assignments. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Visual Data

Dumbbell chart comparing best vs worst locations for businesses in Boston — Best vs worst neighborhood per business type in Boston — the gap shows how much location choice matters for each subtype.

Treemap of Boston business mix by survivability score — Treemap of business mix in Boston — cell size = number of locations, color = average survivability score.

How we measure this: Foot traffic measured at the city-block level using a combination of pedestrian-network analysis and Walk Score.

**Authoritative baseline:** BLS Business Employment Dynamics, March 2025 release publishes 5-year survival rates by industry. For sectors StreetSpring covers, the range runs from **47.8%** (Active Life) to **61.8%** (Health & Medical), with restaurants at **50.0%** and retail at **47.9%**. Location-specific factors drive the actual variance around these baselines.

**Daytime vs. resident population (Leather District):** US Census LEHD workplace data shows Leather District carries a **34.0× daytime/resident ratio** (a strong commercial-corridor / CBD signal), with median 1-mile workplace jobs of **325,575** (and **6,630** retail-sector jobs within that radius). A useful read on demand timing for any new storefront concept here.

Landmark anchor: Museum of Science sits in Leather District as a museum anchor — adding a cultural-destination layer to neighborhood foot-traffic.

**Local economic context (Leather District, Boston):** Leather District's ACS unemployment rate is **6.2%** (above the 24-metro neighborhood median). County-level data adds two more anchors: BLS QCEW reports Boston-area average weekly wage of **$1,631** (above our 24-metro median), and the Census Bureau Building Permits Survey logged **2,338** new residential units in Suffolk County in 2025 — a rough proxy for the local growth environment a new business is opening into.

Related Resources

Related:

Neighborhood-Specific Questions

More questions answered with neighborhood-specific data from our 2026 corpus.

What is the median age in Leather District, and what does that mean for businesses?

The median age in Leather District is 39, younger by the Boston metro median (41) by 1 year. The demographic profile is close to the metro average, so business-type fit is driven by other factors like income and competition.

How does economic hardship in Leather District compare to the metro?

The poverty rate in Leather District is approximately 16%, compared to the Boston metro median of 8%. Elevated poverty constrains discretionary retail; survivability is highest for essential services and value-oriented operators.

How big is the Leather District market in terms of resident population?

Leather District has approximately 9.6K residents, putting it in the lower-middle range among Boston neighborhoods we track. The resident base is smaller than typical; survivability is highest for businesses that draw beyond the immediate neighborhood.

How does Boston's survivability compare to national sector averages?

Per BLS Business Employment Dynamics (March 2025), 5-year survival rates by sector range from 47.8% (Active Life — gyms, studios) to 61.8% (Health & Medical), with Restaurants at 50% and Retail at 47.9%. Boston-specific factors layer on top of these national baselines.