wbjournal.com | November 8, 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)
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.
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Worcester Business Journal accepts no responsibility for unsolicited
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Worcester Business Journal
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• 508-755-8860 fax
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Worcester Business Journal
WBJ
I
n 2019, when the Dive Bar closed
forever in the Canal District, the
news was met with shock and
anger. e 25-year-old cra beer
destination was still popular, and
the only reason for its closure that ever
really emerged was the property's landlord
wanted a different type of business in the
space, as the Worcester neighborhood
was changing with the construction of the
$160-million Polar Park baseball stadium.
In October, a bar called the Sundown an-
nounced plans to move into the space, led
by Sean Woods, one of the co-owners of
the Main Street restaurant deadhorse hill.
Economic development is tricky, as
new companies and projects oen will
replace older versions still much beloved.
Both good and bad market forces drive
this change, which constantly rehapes a
community's character as its population,
businesses, and leaders turn over. When
I first started as WBJ's editor in 2015, this
character was best described as Worcester
Weird and was personified by businesses
like Ralph's Rock Diner, Crompton Col-
lective, Worcester Wares, George's Coney
Island, Seed to Stem, Worcester Magazine,
and the Dive Bar. e city's charm came
from a colorful set of individuals creating
fun destinations and not trying to imitate
anyone else. ey were uniquely Worces-
ter, and they wore it on their sleeves. I fell
in love with this attitude.
As the city's profile rose and drew
outside investment, Worcester's charac-
ter began to change. Some new efforts
enhanced the Worcester Weird attitude,
such as deadhorse hill and the Worcester
Public Market, which is a haven for entre-
preneurs. Other efforts have felt like they
were gentrifying out the charm. Outside
investment has created problems, such
as much-needed market-rate housing
development making the city increasingly
unaffordable, as Staff Writer Katherine
Hamilton explores in her "Perfect Storm"
story on page 17. However, outside
interest brought in savvy entrepreneurs,
too, such as cra brewers looking to stay
on top of the latest trends, as Senior Staff
Writer Monica Benevides points out in
her "Sober brews" story on page 8.
Retaining a city's charm while en-
couraging outside investment is a near
impossible task. e best example of a
community that significantly grew its econ-
omy while staying cool is Brooklyn, which
still struggles with affordability. Countless
other communities failed to retain their
character, as the outside investment created
a culture of sameness. While Worcester
has held onto most of its unique character,
business and city leaders must remember to
hold onto what made Worcester cool in the
first place as new projects come in.
– Brad Kane, editor
Stay weird, Worcester
N E W S & A N A LY S I S
4 Central Mass. In Brief
17
Focus on Banking & finance
24 The List: Notable 2021 mergers &
acquisitions
26 Know How
27 Column: The Hustle is Real
28 Movers & Shakers
28 Photo Finish
29 Opinion
30 Shop Talk: Battery Resourcers
21 Regulation defeated
After an outcry locally and nationally, the
banking industry got the federal government
to scrap a plan to monitor more financial
transactions.
26 Building rappaport
Advice columnist Susan Shalhoub offers
three ways business professionals can
connect with clients and colleagues on a
deeper level and strengthen their
relationships.
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RocklandTrust.com/Worcester
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