Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | February 20, 2023 | Worcester Business Journal 9 other small Canal District businesses, all restaurants, announcing in the late summer and early fall they were closing or being taken over by new ownership: Maddi's Cookery and Taphouse, Smoke- stack Urban BBQ, e Hangover Pub and Broth, PreGamers Sports Bar and Grill, and Buck's Whiskey & Burger Bar. Although the announcements being so close together ignited speculations the closings were caused by changes in the neighborhood since the $160-mil- lion Polar Park public baseball stadium opened in 2021, the reasons for each businesses' closures varied. For example, the Smokestack Urban BBQ property was bought out for a housing develop- ment, and Buck's was taken over by a couple seeking to open a lesbian bar. Laudon and Walsh, though, had dif- fering experiences in how the stadium impacted their business. When Laudon opened his leather goods store, having Polar Park nearby was a selling point for that location, and he was hopeful it would draw more customers to his store. Instead, he experienced the opposite. "Polar Park really put a doorstop on business," he said. "It was extremely detrimental." Laudon described game days during when he would watch potential patrons park their cars in front of the shop and walk by without a second glance or cent spent in the public market. ey took their money into the stadium and le the neighborhood aerward, he said. Polar Park was one factor among many, Laudon said. Locating a leather shop in Worcester was just not compatible. "Doing what I do in a place like Newbury Street in Boston would be a different story," said Laudon. Walsh emphasized economic factors as the primary concern for her business and the reason for pulling back, not the Kelley Square location of her closing store. Placing the blame on Polar Park or issues of parking has become popular, said Walsh, but she believes that mini- mizes the broader concerns that small business owners are facing. "We're making less money on each item, and Polar Park has nothing to do with that," she said. Changing consumer habits For Cheney and Maker to Main, the issues for downtown business owners go beyond Polar Park. ere is an overall failure to revitalize downtown the way she hoped and expected, she said. "Who could have predicted what the past years would bring," she said, "but Maker to Main was one of only – if not the only business – that followed through in the revitalization plans." e lack of other businesses draw- ing customers and making downtown appealing has her questioning staying in the location. Next door to Maker to Main, said Cheney, is a building that keeps changing hands without a tenant taking up shop, and the abandoned fa- cade does not inspire any of the limited foot traffic in the city to walk by. Consumer habits need to change if Cheney and other similar small retailers have a hope to continue profitably, she said. In her estimation, customers who were attuned to the struggles of small businesses during the pandemic have stopped prioritizing shopping small and returned to patronizing the big box stores. "If small businesses are important to the landscape of your community visit- ing them is critical," Cheney said. Consumers need to invest in helping small businesses, not just financially, but through online reviews and support, Walsh said. It's hard to see from the out- side when a business or owner is strug- gling, which results in customers losing their favorite stores in an unwelcome surprise rarely shocking other owners. 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