wbjournal.com | September 30, 2019 | Worcester Business Journal 3
Worcester Business Journal (ISSN#1063-6595) is
published bi-weekly, 24x per year, including 4 special
issues in May, September, October, and December by New
England Business Media. 172 Shrewsbury St., Worcester,
MA 01604. Periodicals postage paid at Worcester, MA.
Copyright 2019. All rights reserved. Postmaster: Please
send address changes to: Worcester Business Journal,
PO Box 330, Congers, NY 10920-9894.
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Worcester Business Journal
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A division of:
Worcester Business Journal
WBJ
W
orcester has an abun-
dance of good restau-
rants and plenty on
Shrewsbury Street near
WBJ's offices, but I am
a creature of habit. Once or twice a week
when I go out for lunch, I look for an af-
fordable place providing good food quick-
ly. en, I tend to go there, repeatedly.
is is a problem for those restaurants,
since I am cursed.
e first restaurant I really liked was
British Beer Co. on Shrewsbury Street,
which had a friendly staff, a half-price
lunch bar food menu and understood the
importance of getting the business crowd
out the door expediently. Aer two years
of me going there, the restaurant closed in
2018 and later became the Mexicali Grill.
Aer BBC, I gravitated toward Stix
Noodle Bar in the Grid District down-
town, which evolved into my obsession
with ramen. I sampled a lot of ramen
around Worcester, but I always came back
to Stix for its lower prices, fresh vegetables
and Cherry Coke. I went there for less
than a year when its owner announced in
August the Stix concept would close in fa-
vor of an El Torero Street Food restaurant.
While I was going to BBC and Stix, I
frequented Red Lantern on Shrewsbury
Street. Its to-go Chinese food was never
all that great, but if I ever needed a quick
hot lunch for $10, Red Lantern was within
walking distance. Well, the restaurant
closed in December, and the owner was
later sentenced to prison for selling knock-
off goods at a Shrewsbury flea market. (I
also ate at e Usual and e Chameleon
on Shrewsbury Street. While I didn't
care for their food or frequent them, one
former owner is going on trial for drug
charges and the other is in prison).
For his cover story in this Food & Drink
issue, News Editor Grant Welker explores
what it will take for Worcester's restau-
rant scene to reach the level where it will
attract visitors from beyond Central Mass.
Restaurant patrons like me are good to
pay the bills, but we will never fork over
enough money consistently for high-qual-
ity restaurants like cover subject Jared
Forman's deadhorse hill to open en masse
around the city. Don't get me wrong, I love
Forman's simjang on Shrewsbury Street,
but if I start dropping $35 a week for a
I N T H I S I S S U E
meal of beer, ramen and dessert (I can't
resist his crazy so-serve combinations!),
paying my mortgage will be a problem.
Plus, I would hate to see simjang close
and Forman end up in jail.
- Brad Kane, editor
W
NEWS & ANALYSIS
DEPARTMENTS
4 Central Mass. In Brief
5 Flash Poll
8 Focus on Food & Drink
16 The List: Top breweries
17 The Struggle is Real, with Renee Diaz
18 Know How
19 Movers & Shakers
20 Photo Finish
21 Opinion
22 Shop Talk: Kevin Holmes, Advantage
Truck Group
4 Worcester Red Sox ballpark
plans revealed
The City of Worcester and developer
Madison Properties have filed their plans
for the new $101-million stadium.
21 Prostitution survivors need jobs
Viewpoint opinion columnist Nicole Bell
urges local businesses to help those
exiting the sex trade to find stability in
their lives.
All of my favorite restaurants have closed
Editor, Brad Kane,
bkane@wbjournal.com
News Editor, Grant Welker,
gwelker@wbjournal.com (Real estate,
higher education, health care)
Staff Writer
Zachary Comeau,
zcomeau@wbjournal.com
(Manufacturing)
Contributors
Susan Shalhoub, Livia Gershon,
Sarah Connell
Research Director,
Stephanie Meagher,
smeagher@nebusinessmedia.com
Research Assistant, Heide Martin,
hmartin@nebusinessmedia.com
Production Director, Kira Beaudoin,
kbeaudoin@wbjournal.com
Art Director, Mitchell Hayes,
mhayes@wbjournal.com
Senior Accounts Manager
Matt Majikas,
mmajikas@wbjournal.com
Senior Accounts Manager
Christine Juetten,
cjuetten@wbjournal.com
Senior Special Accounts Manager
Mary Lynn Bosiak,
mlbosiak@wbjournal.com
Marketing & Events Manager
Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com
Distribution and Database Coordinator
A Guide to STUFF, a publication
of New England Business Media
Patty Harris,
pharris@nebusinessmedia.com
COO, Mary Rogers,
mrogers@nebusinessmedia.com
Accounting Manager, Valerie Clark,
vclark@nebusinessmedia.com
Accounting Assistant, Rae Rogers,
rrogers@nebusinessmedia.com
Collections Manager, Raki Zwiebel,
rzwiebel@nebusinessmedia.com
Human Resources, Jill Coran,
jcoran@nebusinessmedia.com
Publisher, CEO, Peter Stanton
pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com
Associate Publisher, Mark Murray
mmurray@wbjournal.com
President, Joseph Zwiebel
jzwiebel@nebusinessmedia.com
