wbjournal.com | September 27, 2021 | Worcester Business Journal 3
Editor, Brad Kane,
bkane@wbjournal.com
Senior Staff Writer,
Monica Benevides,
mbenevides@wbjournal.com
(Manufacturing, higher education,
diversity & inclusion)
Staff Writers
Katherine Hamilton
khamilton@wbjournal.com
(Real estate, health care)
Sloane M. Perron
perron@wbjournal.com
(Banking & finance)
Editorial Interns
Devan Greevy,
dgreevy@wbjournal.com
Contributors
Susan Shalhoub, Livia Gershon
Photgraphers
Matt Wright, Edd Cote
Lead Researcher, Timothy Doyle,
tdoyle@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
Christine Juetten,
cjuetten@wbjournal.com
Senior Special Accounts Manager
Mary Lynn Bosiak,
mlbosiak@wbjournal.com
Marketing & Events Manager
Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com
COO, Mary Rogers,
mrogers@nebusinessmedia.com
Accounting Assistant, Rae Rogers,
rrogers@nebusinessmedia.com
Account Receivable Specialist,
Patty Harris,
pharris@nebusinessmedia.com
Human Resources, Jill Coran,
jcoran@nebusinessmedia.com
Director of Audience Development,
Valerie Clark,
vclark@nebusinessmedia.com
Operations Assistant,
Leah Allen,
lallen@nebusinessmedia.com
Publisher, CEO, Peter Stanton
pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com
Associate Publisher, Mark Murray
mmurray@wbjournal.com
President, Tom Curtin
tcurtin@hartfordbusinessjournal.com
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 2021. All rights reserved. Postmaster: Please send address
changes to: Worcester Business Journal,
PO Box 330, Congers, NY 10920-9894.
Subscriptions: Annual subscriptions are available for $60.00. For more
information, please email wbjournal@cambeywest.com or contact our
circulation department at 845-267-3008. Fax: 845.267.3478
Advertising: For advertising information, please call Mark Murray at
508-755-8004 ext. 227. Fax: 508-755-8860.
Worcester Business Journal accepts no responsibility for unsolicited
manuscripts or materials and in general does not return them to
the sender.
Worcester Business Journal
172 Shrewsbury Street, Worcester, MA 01604
508-755-8004 tel.
• 508-755-8860 fax
www.wbjournal.com
Worcester Business Journal
WBJ
S
ince I started as WBJ editor back
in 2015, one of my favorite things
has been to explore the many,
many restaurants in the region. I
made it a point to try to schedule
a lunch meeting with a member of the
Central Massachusetts business commu-
nity at least once a month, mostly visiting
new restaurants as much as possible.
e coronavirus pandemic, of course,
changed all that. Since March 2020, I've
been out to eat at a Central Mass. restau-
rant maybe a dozen times and almost
always at the same five restaurants. Aside
from a few staff lunches in late spring and
early summer when it seemed the pan-
demic was nearing its end, long gone have
been the get-to-know-you meetings with
key members of the business community.
I miss that camaraderie. I miss the mini
adventure of trying someplace new.
Rather than wallowing on what we lost
on this never-ending path to a return to
the pre-pandemic lifestyle, this edition of
WBJ, with a focus on food, drink & brew-
eries in Central Massachusetts, examines
how the hospitality industry is moving
forward, in spite of the many obstacles in
their way. For her Q&A feature "Brew-
ing on the Quabbin" on page 14, Senior
Staff Writer Monica Benevides sat down
virtually with the new head brewer of Lost
Towns Brewing in Gilbertville, who has
plans for an expansion while keeping the
company's unique flavor.
On page 12 in her "Hardly happy" fea-
ture, Staff Writer Sloane M. Perron dives
into the complex story of the attempts
to overturn the four-decade-old ban on
discount drinks during specific times of
day. Turns out, restaurateurs in Central
Massachusetts aren't loving the idea of
Happy Hour. Even though it might help
them attract patrons during slow times,
customers who overindulge create liability
issues and can be hard to handle. Plus,
discount drinks aren't moneymakers.
My own return to a pre-pandemic
lifestyle got a little further down the path
following WBJ's 40 Under Forty event on
Sept. 15, which was WBJ's first in-person
event since before COVID hit the region.
Jared Forman, a winner of 40 Under Forty
this year, held a relatively small aer-party
at his restaurant, deadhorse hill on Main
Street. e event was still far from a return
to the days where everyone could freely
mill about, unconcerned about a deadly
virus hanging in the air. Still, it was a step
forward, and it was nice to engage with
members of our community again. It made
me happy.
– Brad Kane, editor
Getting our groove back
N E W S & A N A LY S I S
4 Central Mass. In Brief
12
Focus on Food, drink & breweries
16 The List: Breweries in Central Mass.
17 The List: Largest restaurant groups
18 Know How
20 Movers & Shakers
21 Opinion
22 Shop Talk: HMEA Autism Resource
Central
8 Mini-cluster
As Boston-Cambridge grows as a worldwide
hub for the life sciences industry, Worcester
is trying to carve out its own niche in
biotech.
14 Brewing on the Quabbin
Lost Town Brewing in Gilbertville, under a
new head brewer, plans to expand.
D E P A R T M E N T S
A division of:
W
I N T H I S I S S U E
