Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | September 26, 2016 | Worcester Business Journal 5 B R I E F S Worcester schools receive high praise In its latest rankings of colleges and universities, U.S. News & World Report scored several Worcester schools high in various categories. Clark University, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Assumption College and the College of the Holy Cross landed on multiple lists for their business programs, liberal arts programs, value and overall quality in the region and nation. When polled, the majority WBJ readers – predict- ably – couldn't pick their favorite Worcester school. F L A S H P O L L Which four-year school in Worcester do you think is the best? Worcester Polytechnic Institute 44% Becker College 3% Wormtown to expand, double brewing capacity A newly minted agreement will have Wormtown Brewery's capacity more than double to 50,000 barrels of beer a year through a 14,000-square-foot expansion at its 72 Shrewsbury St. loca- tion in Worcester. The move marks a continuation of rapid expansion for the brewery that has grown from producing 3,000 barrels a year in 2014 to 20,000 barrels a year at its current location, where it moved to a little over a year ago. Expanding at the current location allows the company to remain in Worcester while significantly growing its capacity to 50,000 barrels a year, said Founding Partner and Master Brewer Ben Roesch. The 14,000-square-foot expansion will bring the brewery up to 24,000 square feet and take place in two phases over the next 12 months. The first phase will include the build out of a dedicated 8,000 square foot packaging hall that will feature an automated bottling line, a kegging line, and enough space to incorporate a canning line in the near future. The second phase will have 4,000 square feet dedicated for future fermentation and capacity increases. In addition to the space on Shrewsbury Street, the brewery has signed a lease at an Oxford warehouse location for 5,000 square feet . Niche leaves Shrewsbury St.; sells location for $500K For the first time since 2007, the Niche Hospitality restaurant group will not have a presence on Shrewsbury Street, having sold the location to a new restauranteur. The property had been successful for the company, incubating Mezcal Tequila Cantina and The Fix Burger Bar restau- rants before moving to downtown. The building sold for $500,000 in September, according to property records, and Niche President and CEO Mike Covino said the new restaurant will positioning its price point similar to that which the Niche restaurants inhabited. The new owners are listed as 166 Shrewsbury LLC, and Covino was tight- lipped about who and what was going into the location, even though Niche is serving as its consultant. Continued on next page "Becker College video game design program is ranked 5th in the country and 1st in the Northeast. How do you beat that?" COMMENTS: "It really depends on the designated major." Clark University 10% Assumption College 11% College of Holy Cross 18% Worcester State 14% "Holy Cross and WPI are both the best schools in Worcester. Impossible to say one is better than the other since they are focused on two very different curricula. We are fortunate to have two of the nation's best institutions of higher education right here in Worcester." See what Delta Dental of Massachusetts can do for you and your employees. Talk to your broker, or visit deltadentalma.com Not all plans are created equal. Dental Service of Massachusetts, Inc. is an Independent Licensee of the Delta Dental Plans Association. ®Registered Marks of the Delta Dental Plans Association. STR AIGHT TO THE POINT. Now flying direct from Rhode Island's Green Airport to Chicago O'Hare. American Airlines and the Flight Symbol logo are marks of American Airlines, Inc. oneworld is a mark of the oneworld alliance, LLC. © 2016 American Airlines, Inc. All rights reserved. STR TR T AIGHT TO THE POINT. T. T Now flying direct from Rhode Island's Green Airport to Chicago O'Hare.

• Cover