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www.wbjournal.com • Worcester Business Journal • 2 019 Economic Forecast 17 Top hospitality stories of 2018 H O S P I TA L I T Y W orcester and the business community has seized on its eco- nomic momentum with several new and exciting homegrown restaurants and entertainment options debuting seem- ingly every month. Boston-area businesspeople, being driven further west by rising real estate prices, are looking to Worcester to open new establishments. Likewise, the Greater Boston residents are seeking cheaper alternatives in Worcester. There are now an array of options to spend your entertainment dollar, but that influx may be temporary. The WooSox will energize the Canal District, but send a team packing The $101-million ballpark project for the soon-to-be Worcester Red Sox is expected to begin in the summer. Already, Canal District businesses have expressed some cautious optimism about what the project means for their business. There are already five other sports teams in Worcester, including one other baseball team, the Worcester Bravehearts, a collegiate summer league team. That team is optimistic about its future in Worcester, but it could be tough competing with the Red Sox brand for baseball fans. The Worcester Railers, however, seem the most likely to thrive alongside the Railers, with their practice facility already in the Canal District. Regardless, the consensus is that most of the Canal District, including the Wyman-Gordon site, is vastly unde- rutilized. Let's just hope the really fun bars and restaurants in the area survive that project. Worcester will retain its reputation as a food and drink destination There are so many good dining options in Worcester and surrounding communities it's becoming hard to keep track of all of them. Worcester restaurateurs are even tak- ing strides to occupy two vacant restau- rants hit hard by Kevin Perry's drug money laundering scandal, as Meze Greek Tapas is moving next door to the former Chameleon building on foodie hotspot Shrewsbury Street, and former Blackstone Tap owner Jefferson Mararian is planning a new concept in the Water Street space. Deadhorse hill, VIA Italian Table, Volturno and a host of others have been Worcester staples. Maddi's Cookery & Taphouse and simjang joined this year. Expect more culinary options to open in 2019. More beer? Speaking of Shrewsbury Street, another brewery, Redemption Rock Brewing Co., is planning to open down the street from Wormtown Brewery next year. The city's other three breweries, Flying Dreams Brewing Co., Greater Good Imperial Brewing Co., 3Cross Fermentation Cooperative, appear to be doing well, as the first just installed a canning line and opened a new tap- room in Marlborough. Worcester is big and thirsty enough to sustain more than five breweries. Other should come poking around, but some data suggests that craft beer growth is leveling off. The couple behind Redemption Rock Brewing Co., Greg Carlson (left) and Danielle Babineau. Meze Greek Tapas is expanding next year after it moves to 166 Shrewsbury St. in Worcester. W >> Craft beer market slows down Craft beer is still booming, but the number of barrels of craft beer produced in Massachusetts last year rose by just 12 percent – according to the national trade group Brewers Association – the lowest mark since 2011 despite nearly 100 new breweries coming online since the start of 2015. According to Mass. Brew Bros, a beer blog tracking new breweries and craft beer news, 88 new breweries have opened in the state since the start of 2015: 21 each in 2015 and 2016, and 41 last year. Data suggests between 50 to 60 Massachusetts breweries are planning to open in the next year or two, said Framingham man Rob Vandenabeele, co-founder of Mass. Brew Bros. The state has had six straight years of double-digit brewery openings, and Vandenabeele initially predicted 2018 could approach or even break the record of 41 new breweries set last year. Yet, only seven have opened so far, well behind the pace to top 2017. "I would have predicted 15 to 20 already," he said. "It's been really really slow this year, and I can't put my finger on why." Tom Anderson, co-founder of Seven Saws Brewing in Holden, pours a beer at the new brewery. The brewery is now one of 160 in the state. The Worcester Bravehearts General Manager David Peterson will face an uphill battle when the Pawtucket Red Sox move to the Canal District. Continued on Page 18 BY ZACHARY COMEAU Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer Sports, food & drink The hospitality industry will keep the Central Mass. buzz going into 2019