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January 29, 2015

Northworks Bar & Grille loses lease, closes

Northworks Bar & Grille has lost its lease and closed its doors on Worcester's Grove Street as the result of a reported parking crunch.

Northworks owner Joe Marrone told GoLocalWorcester.com that the parking lot across the street from the eatery, at 106 Grove St., used to be owned by Northworks’ landlord, Northworks Properties. WPI owns the lot now, Marrone said, and for several months the school allowed restaurant patrons to park there, but could no longer do so because it needed the spaces after a new building opened in Gateway Park.

Marrone, in the Thursday GoLocalWorcester.com story, said he tried to renegotiate his lease in view of the parking change that was impacting his restaurant. He was unsuccessful, and received an eviction notice from the landlord.

The restaurant’s website Thursday had this notice: “It is with great sadness that we must announce the closing of the Northworks Bar & Grille. ... We will be making an attempt in the near future to work on a plan to validate unused gift certificates. We wish to thank all of our loyal customers for a magical 35 years of serving you.”

Jeffrey Solomon, WPI's executive vice president and CFO, said in a statement to the Worcester Business Journal that parking in the area has "been a challenge." When the school first built at Gateway Park in 2007, he said, a garage was constructed to provide additional parking with the school also leasing the National Grid parking lot adjacent to the Northworks building. For years, the school had allowed business customers to park in the lot, but when the school decided on the next phase of Gateway Park construction -  Faraday Hall, an undergraduate residence hall - the lot was converted to student parking.

 "The Northworks Bar and Grill has long been a fixture for the WPI community, and we are all saddened to hear of its closure," Solomon said. "All of WPI wishes Joe Marrone and his staff the best in their future endeavors."

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