Recent comments in /f/WorcesterMA

heyitslola t1_iwfxh7b wrote

Reply to comment by FumyLikes in Has anyone been coughing for a very long time? by FumyLikes

Person in my office had fairly mild covid in February and still has a nasty cough. The doctors actually called it ‘normal’ for post-Covid. I don’t think normal is the right label… maybe ‘expected’ is more accurate. Find a pulmonologist that has covid experience.

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DudeFromBahston t1_iwf90dr wrote

Reply to Has anyone been coughing for a very long time? by FumyLikes

Could it be Long COVID (aka Post-COVID)?

From the CDC Website:

“People who experience post-COVID conditions most commonly report:

. . .

<Respiratory and heart symptoms>

  1. Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
  2. Cough <—
  3. Chest pain
  4. Fast-beating or pounding heart (also known as heart palpitations)”
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Karen1968a t1_iwexkfw wrote

Reply to comment by ganduvo in Maddie's closing by Mentalcasemama

100%. You probably don’t have time to go out to eat before a weekday game. You couldn’t go to these restaurants after a game, they were closing or closed. Is that Covid? Staffing? I don’t know. Ballpark probably didn’t help, but it’s like 70 days a year, it’s not the primary reason

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bartnd t1_iweqwuf wrote

Reply to comment by AreYouNobody_Too in Maddie's closing by Mentalcasemama

That is a really good point that I didn't consider. It is kind of an asshole move to push the development of that park as something that would help usher more business into the area just to turn around and make a huge initiative to highlight the food that's available inside the park like Wonder Bar pizza, Coney Island, BT's.

Outside of the stationary offerings, they also have the 'Taste of Worcester' rotating restaurant offering different local restaurants the opportunity to provide their food. Which, on the surface seems like a decent opportunity for local restaurants but screws over the Canal District places that shouldn't need to pay more for the opportunity to be seen after being sold on more foot traffic.

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thisisntmynametoday t1_iwe2uhs wrote

Reply to Maddie's closing by Mentalcasemama

Couple of things- focusing one your one theory as to what Worcester or the businesses or the government did wrong missed the big picture.

Every restaurant closing has to do with cost of doing business, current and projected. There are a lot of factors that go into it. Most important is the cost to open your doors- Rent, utilities, food cost. All three of these categories have gone up in the past few years for factors outside of most businesses to control.

You need to be good at what you do to stay open for a long time, and enough of an attraction for return customers. That means you need to have something your competitors don’t have as a hook. A lot of the places that are closing now all had similar menus and atmospheres, and all operated in close proximity to each other. Add in The Mercantile and Ruth Chris Steakhouse opening nearby (both with giant footprints and owned by restaurant groups), and smaller places can’t compete unless customers turn out for them.

If their landlord raised their rent, or they had the opportunity to sell, or they didn’t like the uncertainty of operating near the ballpark, then they saw the chance to get out when they could and get a return on their investment before they ran out of money.

But let’s face it- Worcester has had a lot of restaurants with similar themes open up in the last decade. There will be closings when customers shift to new places, or add another few places to their regular choices. Also, as long time Worcester residents get priced out of housing, their local favorites will suffer when the transplants from the Boston suburbs move here and find their own favorites.

If you want to survive, be unique and good at what you do. Also, own your place if you can, or lock in a long term lease at favorable rates that won’t change when the landlord decides to cash in on the Worcester “Renaissance.”

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