May 13, 2008

City on The Move

any suggestions:

1) Parker Companies
2) Pressmet
3) Woodmeister
4) Tatnuck Boookseller
5) Morgan Construction (sold)
6) O'Coins
7) TiNova (I have a gift certificate)
8) Allegiant Air
9) Salter School
10) Barbers Crossing
11) EB Luce
12) DeScenza Jeweler
13) Bancroft Tire and Car Sales
14) Applebee's downtown
15) Mayfield Plastics to Millbury
16) Palsons Office
17) Union Station Restaurant
18) Blues Club at Union Station
19) Vincent Jewelers
20) Bob's at Webster Square
21) Sh'Booms
22) Parker & Harper on Dewey Street
23) Manoog Plumbing
24) Fidelity on Belmont
25) Sheraton Lincoln on Lincoln
26) L Hardy
27) Shaws on Grafton Street
28) Java Hut
29) Marshall's Greendale Mall
30) FDR Library
31) Plumber's Museum
32) Emilia's
33) Luciano's
34) Struck Cafe
35) KB Toys
36) Friendlys on Lincoln Street
37) Blackstone Harvest
38) Bancroft Liquors
39) 80's Club
40) Stowe & Degon
41) Woodfire barbeque
42) Zoots on Grafton
43) Hollywood Video on Grafton
44) African Museum on Canterbury Street
45) Robert's Fish & Chips (Lincoln)
46) Duffy's
47) Bank of America (Front Street)
48) Prime Mortgage
49) Kangaroo Crossing

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Some of those things on your list are gone due to poor business model, or changing economic climate. (ie competition/cost) And are out of the city's control.

Anonymous said...

...you can add Quizno's Subs on Lincoln Street to the list...

Harry Tembenis
Worcester, MA

Anonymous said...

was it mentioned on here that Amity flight school left the airport???..........i thought i may have seen it on a previous list??....also i read recently that Stowe & Degon (law or acct'ing firm??)(on the list) didnt just close their doors.........they're re-located to Westboro........ or there abouts?....which is even more of slap in the face.......isnt therer an empty mortg co. storefront in Tatnuck Sq, too..............mortg co's are easy pickings in this ecomomy and probably ripe for "consolidation" anyway ........every Tom Dick & HARRY got into that bizz in the last deacde or so.........any cheque cashing or pawn stores close up.........probably not !

Where's the Rte 146 new Wally World Mart?......i need some new baggy carpenter jeans and I can still fit into their size 36......!!!......the buildings down there have had demo markings on them since last summer...and dont feel like driving to Northboro to have to buy them....and my cruise control doesnt like the W Boylston Rte 12 cops....so I aviod that Wallys

Bill Randell said...

Anonymous, you are right. Take the example of Prime Mortgage, they are a victim of the real estate slow down nothing specific to Worcester.

That said, I think there clearly is a trend here. Why don't you work on a list of new businesses. Other then restaurants and bars, good luck.

Bill

Gabe said...

What is your timeline here Bill? There are some things on this list (Tatnuck Bookseller, Barber's Crossing, Union Blues) that have been closed for some time.

I don't know what it is about this list that annoys the hell out of me, but it sure does.

I only count 22 businesses on your list that the blame could probably be put on the shoulders of the business environment in Worcester. Alot of those are businesses whose back story is unknown to me so who knows. 24 of the businesses sound as though they were their own undoing ,one of them (Robert's Fish and Chips) is still open on Grafton St, and another (Luciano's) I have never even heard of.

Now since you say that we shouldn't count bars and restaurants in the recent influx of new business into the city then you shouldn't count bars and restaurants in the mass exodus either. This is the list I am left with. And honestly this list is still fairly disturbing.

1) PressMet
2) Morgan Construction
3) O'Coins
4) Allegiant Air
5) DeScenza Jeweler
6) Palson's
7) Vincent Jewelers
8) Parker & Harper
9) L Hardy
10) Marshall's Greendale
11) FDR Library
12) Emilia's Bakery
13) KB Toys
14) Zoots Grafton St
15) Hollywood Video Grafton St
16) Worcester African Cultural Center
17) Bank of America Front St

Anonymous said...

Hmmmm ... if we were counting bars, we would be in an ATT commercial !!!

Today's bad joke was sponsored in part by Massport...

Harry Tembenis
Worcester, MA

Anonymous said...

New Business:

1.Norwood Flight Center

Anonymous said...

hay I got a relatively new business across the street.."Urban Cloze"..haven't seen a person in there yet..

Curious to know how "Tush" is doing down on Green Street...think it is owned by Mike Covino of Block 5 (his wife actually)

But what is the surprise here gentlemen and a few ladies?? Where are most of these business located??? Who is living around them???

We have summit after summit on solving homelessness..when have we evah had a summit on the middle class..you know the guys and gals who get up and go to work every day (oh yah we had one when June Street was challenged last year-anyone heard from that neighborhood group anymore--we got two crapola houses at the cornah of Dewey & Winfield that are killing Winfield and it will take a earthquake to solve them)???

When has anyone called on the carpet publically anyone in this city over why so many losers are moving here??? Tough subject I know..Holden always gets reamed for saying who and what it wants in it..well can you blame them??

This city is going no where until it addresses the loser problem NOT the homelessness problem...again CC Joff Smith is concerned about subsidizing other cities and towns..what a joke...we got 50% of the city subsidized by others..a city totaly reliant on grants, a residential rental market totally reliant on subsidized housing..where does he think this money comes from..the "west side well"???

I got a business that at most cost ya $25-55.00.....depending on the type of event I put on..I won't do business here cause it is to damn expensive and the market is razor thin..can't get anyone to come into the urban core in large numbers...regardless of what our leaders say..folks feel unsafe, dirty and fearful coming here (urban core of the city)...we can rah rah all we want but once anyone leaves the boundries of this city...few hear anyone speak positively about Worcester...and I am not speaking about Piccidilly Palace aka "West Side"..I had lunch ovah there yesterday and it was wondersul..but it is not a vibrant urban community that I know I want in Worcester and like what is happening in many places..

You get involved with an issue like the yellah boxes..a deal gets worked out that is somewhat reasonable for all to swallow and the city sticks it up yer arse..and doesn't do what is agreed on...wow we wonder why middle class America is moving in droves back to many urban environments but not Worcester..la-di-da..la-di-da

Anonymous said...

I'll keep saying it until I am blue in the face..until we start getting more folks of power living back in the urban core of this city we are doomed...City Councilors, City Manager administration, Firemen, Police..City Workahs...State Reps,State Senators....owners of the local business..yah cats like you and your family Wild Will:>) (not calling you out-just making a point that we need more "real families"..not these phony baloney families with 6 kid's, 3 fathers...mother not working)..and they are everywhere in the city...

I've lived in the urban core now for almost 6 years..owned here 17 and I say this with as much experience as anyone..until we start recruiting folks with jobs, educations, desires to give as vigorously as we seem to be recruiting so many losers to the urban core NOTHING is going to change..every other Golden Pizza is opened until 3AM no beefs..we got one on Chandler and there is hell every night..time to stand up and move this eliment out of the city..not continue to negotiate with it as to how we can accommodate it anymore!!!

Anonymous said...

a perfect example of people of power living in the urban core and changing it is the American Antiquarian Society (AAS) issue in the Montavale neighborhood..

Have a "powerful" neighborhood association living on Chandler East or Main South..downtown ..folks who eat and drink out often..buy locally and watch the hoods change...when do you think anyone from that hood ate at "One Love" on Main South?? or at Sazon Latino at the cornah of Piedmont & Chandler???

Don't mind me folks....male menopause seems to be setting in this week

Anonymous said...

Wowee..........and you folks tell me that on ocassion I need some Jahn-a -meister.........what is up with a yellow box to be installed at teh senior center???............

let me guess its the same CC that also complians about addicts living on SSI on elderly housing ( and causing all kinds of problems) that approves the placement of a yellow box at the Sr. Center?

I'd be curious to know if we're going to keep count of how many needles are recovered from these yellow boxes? I'll go out on a limb & say very, very few.why cant teh city trash hualers who are all done at noontime every day.......empty these boxes daily......why do we need a Sr or Principal Sanitarian for the Health Dept to perfrom thsi rateher mundane task? Since when does one need a degree and $65,000 job to pick up used needles....and they complain they are understaffed......mor baloney....

doesnt it make more sense to palce a yellow box teh headquarters of Main South CDC (867 Main St??)......or at he Pip Shelter....than it does up on Vernon hill at the Sr. center?

Paulie, why didn tyou have the chief of police at your pow wow last weeek.......so you could discuss police details directly with him...and get some of the other power brokers there to lean on him a bit..........if it was a gun range you wanted, i can assure you he'd show up uninvited

Anonymous said...

WOW! Male Menopausal Paulie really hit that keyboard hard, eh? I was just in Paulie's hood the other day, had my uncle Taki check out my car, walked over to Dunkin Donuts and got some coffees, strolled down to Near East Market and ordered some Shishkabobs, walked down to Living Earth and did some grocery shopping and on the way back considered knocking on Chez Paulie's door to collect on that big John sub (extra meat) at John & Sons 2. The only thing that kept me from knocking on Paulie's door was the fear that his beagle might want to hump my leg. In any event, I managed to hang around and walk around the 'urban core' with no problem; then again, being a 6 foot tall (ok ...5'11'') 300 pound (ok, 285 lbs) bald guy with a goatee didn't really invite trouble either.

If they ever make a movie about George the Animal Steele, they could cast me as a younger version of him...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSf7Ake1-f4&feature=related

Harry Tembenis
Worcester, MA

Anonymous said...

I always favored Tor Johnson of Ed Wood films ovah Mr. Steele

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZOXGct1Mw8

Brendan Melican said...

Hey Jahn,
The Sr Center gets a box because state law has changed regarding disposal of needles and lancets. We're talking diabetes not junk.

Anonymous said...

Thank you, I didn't know that.

Do the drug stores that sold needles have an obligation to take them back?

So now the junkies know where to go to get "good" used needles....... i.e. needles that have been only used by elderly diabetics and not by I.V. druggies.......great idea to attract druggies to elderly facilities.

Using that logic, Why dont we just put a yellow box at every elderly housing complex then.......given that not all elderly use the Sr Center.

Or is elderly diabetic needle disposal just a rouse to get the public to be more willing to accpet yellow boxes in their 'hood?

Bill Randell said...

I heard a guy on the radio say something like 5 needles were in the box day 1. I find it very hard to believe the a druggie 1) knew that the first box was installed, 2) knew where it was since most have no idea where the senior center is and 3) deposited 5 needles?

Anonymous said...

Then there maybe the drug addict who likes to go "canning & scraping" for used metal........and decides to steal the used needles for junk metal.......separates out the metal needle from the plastic handle...........and then tosses the used plastic portion in the gutter......25 needles prob. = 1 ounce of used metal...............dont laugh i have seen them stand next to a dumpster and scrape the plastic off of copper wiring........sometimes the ambition of the unemployed addict never ceases to amaze me

those needles still are made from metal????? right??

Bill Randell said...

Jahn:

Please try to come up with some new businesses on my next post.

Bill

Anonymous said...

If we're going to count the Applebees that was in Worc Cnter Outlat Mall...then do we also have to count the Bijou Theatre........we also need to assign dates to these closing & openings........to show how fast or slowly we're shrinking or growing our Commercial base