Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | December 11, 2017 | Worcester Business Journal 3 Editor, Brad Kane, bkane@wbjournal.com News Editor, Grant Welker, gwelker@wbjournal.com (Real estate, higher education) Staff Writers Zachary Comeau, zcomeau@wbjournal.com (Manufacturing) Emily Micucci, emicucci@wbjournal.com (Health care) Contributors Susan Shalhoub Livia Gershon Research Director, Stephanie Meagher, smeagher@nebusinessmedia.com Research Assistant, Heide Martin, hmartin@nebusinessmedia.com Production Director, Kira Beaudoin, kbeaudoin@wbjournal.com Associate Art Director, Mitchell Hayes, mhayes@wbjournal.com Senior Accounts Manager Matt Majikas, mmajikas@wbjournal.com Custom Publishing Project Manager Christine Juetten, cjuetten@wbjournal.com Senior Special Accounts Manager Mary Lynn Bosiak, mlbosiak@wbjournal.com Marketing & Events Manager Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com Events & Marketing Intern Megan Irish, events@wbjournal.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 E nthusiasm is important to eco- nomic development, especially when it comes to attracting businesses to a city like Worcester, which is emerging from a decades-long slump. Yes, market opportunities, revenues and profits all have to be apparent for a business to make a startup, expansion or relocation leap, but enthusiasm from other business leaders already in the area will assuage any trepidation about a market's nega- tives, such as high tax rates. The enthusiasm from Timothy Murray, CEO of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, led directly to Beverly businessman Cliff Rucker to start a minor league hockey team in Worcester and since make more than $25 million in investments in the city. Now it appears Rucker's enthusiasm for Worcester as a sports city is attracting the attention of the Pawtucket Red Sox officials, as Rucker hosted officials from the Triple A minor league baseball team at a Worcester Railers hockey game as city officials nego- tiate possibly building a stadium for the Paw Sox in the Canal District. We don't want to throw cold water on anyone's enthusiasm, but over-enthusi- asm can lead people to make poor deci- sions, torpedoing positive momentum. Publicly funded sports stadiums are exhibit A in economic development over-enthusiasm. Their economic impact is typically over-inflated, and the finan- cial obligations from such a large under- taking can linger on a government's bud- get for decades, leading to the need to cut services or raise revenue (like increasing the tax rate on the businesses already in the city). This is why – as the city is in the midst of negotiations with the PawSox – we felt it prudent to exam- ine what would be a smart investment on the city's part, as opposed to an over- enthusiastic one. See the cover story by News Editor Grant Welker on Page 8. Don't get me wrong, I would love to see a Worcester Red Sox stadium in the Canal District. Such a team would instill the same sense of civic pride you see sprouting up around the Worcester Railers in their inaugural season this year. But, just as Rucker started his minor league hockey club without the Go, sports teams! Worcester Business Journal (ISSN#1063-6595) is published bi-weeky, 24x per year, including 5 special issues in April, July, September, November and December, by New Engand Business Media. 172 Shrewsbury St., Worcester, MA 01604. Periodicals postage paid at Worcester, MA. Copyright 2017. 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 $54.95. 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 A division of: NEWS & ANALYSIS DEPARTMENTS 4 Central Mass. In Brief 5 Flash Poll 10 Focus on Food & Drink 17 The List: Top breweries in Central Mass. 18 Know How 19 On the Move 20 Photo Finish 21 Opinion 22 Shop Talk: Len Rosen, Security Engineered Machinery 14 No more cafeteria food Colleges' battle for students' hearts and minds extends to their taste buds and stomachs. 21 Education yourself on what you are eating Viewpoint columnist Lynn Stromberg says Worcester is entering a local food renaissance, but consumers need to be wary of restaurants just putting on a show. I N T H I S I S S U E Worcester Business Journal WBJ CAN'T STAND SITTING ALL DAY? STAND UP! RETAIL LOCATIONS: Framingham, Hanover, Newton, Attleboro, MA; Nashua, North Hampton, NH www.pfe-inc.com World Class Service Since 1988 Today's workforce is disengaged, dispirited and fatigued. Why? The human body is built to be in motion but the way we work keeps us sedentary for nine hours a day. Prolonged sitting decreases productivity and morale, all while increasing healthcare costs. T H E T R U T H A B O U T S I T T I N G A L L D AY For more information on workspace fitness solutions, please call the pros at Precision Fitness Equipment at 1-800-334-4733 or email Dave Ramsey at DRamsey@pfe-inc.com Desktop Solutions from $399! city or state government pitching in, Worcester needs to realize the value it brings to such a venture – a growing market with plenty of enthusiastic, posi- tive people – and bargain from a position of strength and prudence. - Brad Kane, editor W CORRECTIONS: The article "Keeping Becker moving forward" from the Nov. 27 issue misspelled Becker College President Nancy Crimmin's name in an introductory paragraph for the chart entitled "Continuing success." A chart in the article "From Shack's to Emengini" incorrectly said the Denholm building at 484 Main Street was largely vacant. While the property does have two vacancies on its first floor, the 150,000-square-foot building has only 11,000 square feet of available space.

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