Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1067738
12 Worcester Business Journal | January 7, 2019 | wbjournal.com F O C U S B E S T O F B U S I N E S S * Repeat winner n PEOPLE TO KNOW BEST MINORITY-OWNED BUSINESS Resource Management, Inc. BEST YOUNG PROFESSIONALS NETWORK YPWA (Young Professional Women's Association) of Worcester* BEST WOMAN-OWNED BUSINESS PENTA Communications, Inc. BEST CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce BEST LAW FIRM Mirick O'Connell* BEST NONPROFIT FUNDRAISER EVENT March of Dimes Signature Chefs Auction* BEST STAFFING AGENCY The DAVIS Cos.* n HANDLING YOUR MONEY BEST BUSINESS INSURANCE AGENCY Sullivan Insurance Group* BEST EMPLOYEE BENEFITS CONSULTANT Sullivan Benefits* BEST BANK UniBank* BEST ACCOUNTING FIRM Bollus Lynch, LLP Certified Public Accountants & Consultants* BEST HEALTH INSURANCE PROVIDER Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts* BEST CREDIT UNION DCU – Digital Federal Credit Union* BEST FORENSIC ACCOUNTANT McLaren & Associates CPAs, PC BEST FINANCIAL PLANNING/ INVESTMENT SERVICES Provo Wealth Management Group* n TO ADD A TOUCH OF LUXURY BEST VENUE FOR AN EMPLOYEE OUTING Apex Entertainment BEST PRIVATE GOLF COURSE Worcester Country Club* BEST PUBLIC GOLF COURSE Green Hill Municipal Golf Course* BEST HOTEL FOR BUSINESS CLIENTS Beechwood Hotel* BEST LIMOUSINE SERVICE Knight's Airport Limousine Service Inc.* BEST LUXURY AUTOMOBILE DEALERSHIP Wagner Motors* BEST EXERCISE FACILITY/FITNESS CENTER Worcester Fitness* BEST COLLEGE FOR BUSINESS EDUCATION Nichols College* n SERVICING YOUR BUSINESS BEST COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE BROKERAGE NAI Glickman Kovago & Jacobs* BEST COMMERCIAL LANDSCAPER Cheaper Than The Kid Next Door Landscaping* BEST WASTE REMOVAL E.L. Harvey & Sons, Inc.* BEST OFFICE CLEANING Eagle Cleaning Corp.* BEST LOGISTICS COMPANY Euro-American Worldwide Logistics BEST COFFEE SERVICE Good As Gold Coffee* BEST PLUMBER/HVAC CONTRACTOR J.J. Bafaro, Inc.* BEST ADVERTISING AGENCY PENTA Communications, Inc. n MULTIMEDIA EXPERTS BEST WEB DESIGN FIRM Applied Interactive* BEST IT SERVICES Cinch IT, Inc.* BEST INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER Spectrum Enterprise* BEST COMMERCIAL PRINTER Curry Printing* BEST VIDEO PRODUCTION Pagano Media* BEST SIGN COMPANY Sunshine Sign Co., Inc.* BEST AWARDS & PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS Guertin Graphics and Awards n PLACES TO CONDUCT BUSINESS BEST RESTAURANT FOR BUSINESS DINNER One Eleven Chop House* BEST RESTAURANT FOR BUSINESS LUNCH The Sole Proprietor* BEST VENUE FOR A CORPORATE EVENT Beechwood Hotel BEST VENUE FOR A BUSINESS MEETING Beechwood Hotel* BEST GOLF CLUB FOR CORPORATE OUTING Cyprian Keyes Golf Club* BEST NEW REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT Apex Center of New England BEST CATERER FOR A CORPORATE EVENT Peppers Artful Events* BEST COWORKING SPACE Clearly Coworking n WHERE TO UNWIND BEST WORCESTER AFTER-WORK BAR (TIE) Armsby Abbey*, Worcester O'Connor's Restaurant & Bar, Worcester BEST BLACKSTONE VALLEY AFTER-WORK BAR Reunion Tap & Table, North Grafton BEST NORTH COUNTY AFTER-WORK BAR Rye & Thyme American Tavern*, Leominster BEST LOCAL BREWERY Wormtown Brewery*, Worcester BEST METROWEST AFTER-WORK BAR Tavern In The Square Northborough* BEST CENTRAL MASS. SOUTH AFTER-WORK BAR The Cedar Street Grille*, Sturbridge BEST LOCALLY OWNED PLACE TO MEET FOR COFFEE BirchTree Bread Co.*, Worcester BOB A W A R D S B E S T O F B U S I N E S S WBJ readers recommend ... O ver the course of the past six years, WBJ readers have collec- tively offered up their recommen- dations for the best organizations to do business with in Central Massachusetts: banks, plumbers, credit unions, law firms, colleges, accountants. All these recommendations add up to WBJ Best of Business awards, where this year we are offering insights into a record 53 categories. e Best of Business awards are essentially a pop- ularity contest, where the organizations receiving the most votes in any given category – including write-in categories – are declared the winners. is year, WBJ had 1,569 responses to our Best of Business contest, where each respondent must have voted in at least 10 categories. With all these votes, some categories have clear winners while others are a much tighter battle, in- cluding this year where we had one tie. For these tightly contested categories, we offer notable runners-up, showing at least one alternative for when you seek an event venue, public golf course, landscaper or minori- ty-owned business to help your company prosper. e WBJ staff does keep a close eye out for any ballot stuffing – typically votes all from the same IP address in a close amount of time – and disqualify any organi- zations coming across their popularity in this contest unfairly. is rarely happens, though, and you can feel confident the organizations you see recommended on the following pages reflect the collective thoughts of WBJ's readership. Each of the Best of Business winners have their own approach to what makes them successful, but they all share some traits: an attention to detail, a client-first approach, hiring and retaining the best people. If you would like to find out more about the individual winners and perhaps work with them to enhance your own company, peruse the following pages and come out to WBJ's Best of Business Awards event from 5-7 p.m. Jan. 23 at the Beechwood Hotel in Worcester. - Brad Kane, editor