Sturbridge Coffee House bio box
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2025 Best of Business Awards
Best of Business 2025: Best Food & Drink
Photo I Courtesy of Sturbridge Coffee House
Sturbridge Coffee House offers locals coffee, teas, sandwiches, and baked goods.
Best Locally Owned Place to Meet for Coffee
Winner: Sturbridge Coffee House
Though Pia Dowd has owned her Sturbridge Coffee House for 18 years, she only started liking the drink about seven years ago.
“I loved everything about coffee. I love the smell. I loved coffee ice cream. I loved the culture. I loved visiting coffee places with a relaxed atmosphere. I loved everything about it, just besides drinking it,” Dowd said.
Now, she’s addicted.
Dowd’s mother worked for a local coffee roaster for a decade, allowing Dowd to see just how crazy people were for coffee as she’d watch them wait outside in the rain for a cup, prompting her to decide to go into the business herself.
After opening her shop in 2007, Dowd originally only offered coffee and pastries, actively wanting to avoid serving hot food. But a premonition of an early customer proved to be writing on the wall when he told her: “You don't choose the business. The business will choose you.”
Today, Sturbridge Coffee House offers hot dishes from breakfast sandwiches and tacos to toasts and burgers. In fact, the shop’s best-selling food item is its Sanchez breakfast sandwich, which features bacon, egg, pepper jack cheese, and chipotle mayo served on a cheddar jalapeño bagel.
Sturbridge Coffee House sold 18,854 Sanchez breakfast sandwiches in 2024.
The coffee house’s drink offerings have grown to include bubble teas and smoothies, along with 40 different flavor shots for coffee drinks ranging from candy cane to pistachio creme. Dowd works to have a curated menu and takes her time adding to it.
“Sometimes it takes me forever to add something, but once we do, I feel like we nail it,” she said.
Dowd admits she's more relaxed about the interior design of her shop, which features mismatched furniture and a play area for children, than she is about the menu. Still, she aims to create a personable and cozy atmosphere for her guests.
Over the summer, she added a new patio, welcoming dogs and offering a small-town feel that attracts her customers. The coffee house hosts events including movie nights and bark-and-brew days to help foster community, an aspect of her business Dowd doesn’t take for granted.
“This is going to be really sappy, but I feel like if you don't have community, you don't have anything. Because I rely on the community, and they rely on me,” she said.
Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion industries.
Best Restaurant for Business Dinner
Winner: One Eleven Chop House*, in Worcester
One Eleven Chop House
Notable runners-up: VIA Italian Table, in Worcester; The Sole Proprietor, in Worcester; Ruth’s Chris Steak House, in Worcester
One Eleven Chop House offers an affordable big city steakhouse experience. Steaks are hand selected and certified prime-grade, while the wine list has received Wine Spectator’s award of excellence annually since 2001. The steakhouse works to provide care to customers through a positive dining experience of food, service, and atmosphere.
Website: www.111chophouse.com
Top executives: Robb and Madeleine Ahlquist, founders; Caitlyn Carolan, president and owner; Keith Carolan, chief operating officer and owner; Aaron Francisco, general manager
Founded: 1999
Employees: 92
Best Restaurant for Business Lunch
Winner: The Sole Proprietor*, in Worcester
The Sole Proprietor
Notable runners-up: VIA Italian Table, in Worcester; Porterhouse Sturbridge, in Sturbridge; 110 Grill, in Leominster, Marlborough, Millbury, and Worcester; Cedar Street Grille, in Sturbridge
The Sole Proprietor offers food and service in an elegant setting, with trained staff to deliver hospitality with each meal. The seafood and sushi restaurant keeps all fish fresh by storing at 32 degrees Fahrenheit and cutting them to order. By valuing good food quality, service, and atmosphere, the restaurant works to provide a positive dining experience to entice customers to return.
Website: www.thesole.com
Top executive: Robb and Madeleine Ahlquist, founders; Caitlyn Carolan, president and owner; Keith Carolan, chief operating officer and owner; Eric Andreoli, general manager
Founded: 1979
Employees: 156
Best Caterer
Winner: Peppers Artful Events, in Northborough
Notable runners-up: Struck Catering, in Worcester; Simply Delicious Catering, in Auburn; Creedon and Co., in Worcester
Peppers Artful Events creates catered celebrations with food, presentation, and personalized service. Peppers has taken steps to maintain sustainability and provide fresh ingredients grown in its own farm. In 2025, the business is working to advance partnerships, create more tailored unique experiences, and elevate event standards across the community.
Website: www.peppersartfulevents.com
Top executive: Owen Wiggins, owner
Founded: 1987
Employees: 50
Editor’s Note: Struck Catering in Worcester received the most votes in this category, but since Struck closed for good on Dec. 15, the award was given to the caterer with the second-most votes: Peppers Artful Events.
Best After-Work Bar
Winner: The Mercantile Rooftop Restaurant & Bar*, in Worcester
The Mercantile Rooftop Restaurant & Bar
Notable runners-up: Sonoma Restaurant, in Worcester; Quinn’s Irish Pub, in Worcester; Breen’s Cafe, in Worcester
The Mercantile offers two floors of dining, including an outdoor rooftop seating area and two bars. Multiple TVs and a projector allow guests to watch sports or host business events. The Mercantile stays responsive to guest feedback and adapts its menu to reflect current trends and meet evolving tastes and preferences.
Website: www.themercantileworcester.com
Top executives: President Joey Arcari, CEO Stephen DeSousa, VP Business Development Renato Valentim
Founded: 2004
Employees: 100
Best Brewery
Winner: Greater Good Imperial Brewing, in Worcester
Notable runners-up: Tree House Brewing, in Charlton; Wormtown Brewery, in Worcester; Cold Harbor Brewing, in Westborough; Seven Saws Brewing, in Holden
With its small and dedicated team of long-standing employees, Greater Good Imperial Brewing is committed to being a leader in high-alcohol, imperial-style beer. The brewery focuses on maintaining premium quality and highly-rated products, along with strong relationships with distribution partners, including Auburn-based Atlas Distributing, which Greater Good’s leaders attribute to their success.
Website: www.greatergoodimperials.com
Top executives: J.T. Ethier, business director; Pat Fahey, operations director
Founded: 2016
Employees: 25
Best Marijuana Company
Winner: Bud’s Goods & Provisions, in Worcester
Bud’s Goods & Provisions
Notable runners-up: Major Bloom, in Worcester; The Botanist, in Shrewsbury and Worcester
Bud’s Goods and Provisions works to deliver good quality accessible cannabis at an honest price. As the company expands into new markets, it aims to stay grounded in its mission of serving hard-working people in New England and keeping cannabis simple and true to its roots.
Website: budsgoods.com
Top executive: Alex Mazin, president and CEO
Founded: 2020
Employees: 132 total; 22 based in Worcester
Click here to read all of the 2025 Best of Business winner profiles.
*denotes repeat winner
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