February 15, 2016
2016 Business Leaders of the Year
Entrepreneurial Business Leader: Michael Covino
Mike Covino stands in the middle of his newest venture, Peak Fitness Performance Training. While he has opened numerous restaurants, he has now returned to his roots as a physical therapist.
A map detailing some of Covino's properties in Worcester.
By Sam Bonacci
Mike Covino has been the lead on numerous entrepreneurial efforts throughout Worcester. Since 2005, he has helped build up a collection of soon to be nine restaurants and just recently opened a training center that takes him back to his roots as a physical therapist.
Although Covino is often in the spotlight as president and CEO of Niche Hospitality and co-owner of Peak Fitness, this businessman eschews the trope of the go-it-alone entrepreneur and acknowledges the power and necessity of surrounding oneself with capable employees and collaborators.
One of the things that Covino learned early on was to know his own limitations. It is something he says all entrepreneurs and leaders should do: know your weaknesses and find mentors, collaborators and employees that compensate for them.
“I have my hands in everything. I'm not work adverse, I'm pretty hands-on, but I'm not a micromanager. I like other people to have the opportunity to lead and put their stamp on the company in terms of what we do every day,” Covino said. “We wouldn't be who we are if we didn't have all the players.”
Building a strong team is just one of Covino's strengths, said Tim McGourthy, who was there from the very beginning of the rise of Niche when he was working as the Worcester director of economic development and chief development officer.
Covino has been able to focus on strategic areas of the city primed for redevelopment and bring people there who might never have visited the area otherwise. Bocado and Block 5 (now closed) were among the first of the new crop of restaurants and businesses to open in the Canal District, drawing in a walking crowd that some felt Worcester couldn't support but has allowed the area to shine, McGourthy said.
“Mike and the Niche group illustrated a vision for a Worcester market that hadn't quite existed yet. Bocado and Block 5 helped make the Canal district a destination point,” McGourthy said. “A critical piece of this growing Worcester experience has been the commitment from some core groups of people to grow on their brand.”
Covino possesses patience, which McGourthy credits as allowing projects like moving his restaurant Mezcal to underneath the municipal parking garage to flourish. It is not enough to have the vision, but the best entrepreneurs are able to follow through and not let road blocks deter them, McGourthy said.
“He was steadfast, and he worked through the challenges and stayed at the table and made it happen,” McGourthy said. “It was not always fun. But he stuck to it and got it done.”
That patience paid off for Covino when he opened up Peak Fitness Performance Training in December. While Covino continues to be passionate about restaurants and the Niche brand, opening his own physical therapy location is a project years in the making. The 10,000-square-foot training facility at 712 Plantation St. in Worcester offers workout equipment and personalized training programs from certified professionals.
“There's something about the enjoyment of watching other people grow that makes it feel not like a job. When you can do something that you are passionate about, it's really lucky to have that,” Covino said.
He hopes this new facility cannot only help train adults but get the most out of the high school sports careers of students, as they develop the skills that will see them through in the future.
“There's leadership, there's teamwork, there's accountability. So we have a facility here that makes those principals very important,” Covino said. “We want a place … that holds them accountable to be a good person as well as a good and safe athlete.”
Read about the other 2016 Business Leaders of the Year:
Corporate Citizen: Fallon Health
Nonprofit Business Leader: Edward H. Moore
Large Business Leader: Elaine Osgood
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2016 Business Leaders of the Year: Michael Covino, Niche Hospitality Group & Peak Fitness
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