Worcester Business Journal

24 Worcester Business Journal | January 7, 2019 | wbjournal.com F O C U S P l a c e s t o C o n d u c t B u s i n e s s Clearly Coworking provides flexible space BEST COWORKING SPACE Clearly Coworking Inc. Worcester, www.clearlycoworking.com Top executive: Founder & CEO Rob DelMastro Founded: 2013 Employees: 3 BY GRANT WELKER Worcester Business Journal News Editor W hen Rob DelMastro in 2012 started a consulting firm out of his house, he found a home- based business didn't work for him. During his career in software, DelMastro always enjoyed being around people, so he found working from home to be isolating. Arranging face- to-face meetings was harder, as was access to technology for presentations. "I absolutely hated working out of my house," DelMastro said. Within a year, he met someone at a seminar in Boston who told him he worked out of a coworking space. It was the first he heard of what was an industry in its infancy, where anyone can have a membership to use small or large spaces short- or long-term, sharing common costs and benefiting from having other workers around. DelMastro spent the next two years getting his business up and running, including visiting other coworking spaces in the area to see what worked best. By 2015, Clearly Coworking opened its doors at a former funeral home on Grove Street in Worcester. It took DelMastro that long to find the right space, with accessibility and rooms outfitted for smaller offices. "I saw this place and fell in love with it," he said. Clearly Coworking has 150 active members, and their uses are broad, DelMastro said. One uses her space for yoga, while other spaces are used by therapists, attorneys, accountants, a jewelry appraiser, or for businesses con- ducting off-site interviews. Members can rent space for an hour or a year, or anywhere in between. Furniture and utilities are included. Some offices are shared by multiple companies splitting the cost. "A lot of these folks don't need five or seven days a week," DelMastro said. DelMastro said job-market reports have predicted independent workers will make up as much as half of the country's workforce, and that leaves plenty of opportunity for both cowork- ing giants like WeWork and people like DelMastro, who operate in areas with fewer coworking options. DelMastro has 6,000 square feet on Grove Street and is looking at options in downtown Worcester to set up shop in a neighborhood adding more resi- dential units in the next few years. Clearly Coworking has shared spaces for members to use for a variety of funcions. BEST RESTAURANT FOR BUSINESS DINNER One Eleven Chop House* Worcester, www.111chophouse.com Top executives: Co-owners Robb and Madeleine Ahlquist and General Manager Aaron Francisco Founded: 1999 Employees: 77 The steaks at One Eleven are hand selected and certified prime-grade, its wine list has received Wine Spectator's Award of Excellence annually since 2001, and the staff receives ongoing training. In 2018, it introduced Gatherings To-Go Catering for home and office delivery or pick-up. Notable runners-up: The Sole Proprietor, VIA Italian Table, Sonoma Restaurant, Co-owners Robb and Madeleine Ahlquist Willy's Steakhouse Grill & Sushi Bar, deadhorse hill BEST NEW REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT Apex Center of New England Marlborough, www.apexcenterne.com Opened: 2017 Developer: RA Ventures, Westford Top executive: Principal Robert Walker The $160-million, 475,000-square-foot Apex Center opened with a Hyatt Place hotel, a Fairfield Inn & Suites, an office building and retailers like Qdoba, T-Mobile and Sport Clips. Highlighting the new development is a two-story building with restaurants and bars, a Planet Fitness gym and the Apex Entertainment complex. Notable runner-up: Mercantile Center Apex Center of New England, while it was still under construction BEST VENUE FOR A BUSINESS MEETING Beechwood Hotel* Worcester, www.beechwoodhotel.com Top executive: Sayed Saleh, asset manager and managing director Founded: 1989 Employees: 51-200 With a staff of professional meeting planners and more than 8,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, the Beechwood can accommodate meetings of all sizes, from small employee-only gatherings to larger forums for clients. Beechwood Hotel business meeting space W

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