Best of Business: Places to conduct business
Clearly Coworking has shared spaces for members to use for a variety of functions.
Best Coworking Space
Clearly Coworking Inc.
Worcester, www.clearlycoworking.com
Top executive: Founder & CEO Rob DelMastro
Founded: 2013
Employees: 3
When Rob DelMastro in 2012 started a consulting firm out of his house, he found a home-based business didn't work for him.
During his career in software, DelMastro always enjoyed being around people, so he found working from home to be isolating. Arranging face-to-face meetings was harder, as was access to technology for presentations.
“I absolutely hated working out of my house,” DelMastro said.
Within a year, he met someone at a seminar in Boston who told him he worked out of a coworking space. It was the first he heard of what was an industry in its infancy, where anyone can have a membership to use small or large spaces short- or long-term, sharing common costs and benefiting from having other workers around.
DelMastro spent the next two years getting his business up and running, including visiting other coworking spaces in the area to see what worked best. By 2015, Clearly Coworking opened its doors at a former funeral home on Grove Street in Worcester. It took DelMastro that long to find the right space, with accessibility and rooms outfitted for smaller offices.
“I saw this place and fell in love with it,” he said.
Clearly Coworking has 150 active members, and their uses are broad, DelMastro said. One uses her space for yoga, while other spaces are used by therapists, attorneys, accountants, a jewelry appraiser, or for businesses conducting off-site interviews.
Members can rent space for an hour or a year, or anywhere in between. Furniture and utilities are included. Some offices are shared by multiple companies splitting the cost.
“A lot of these folks don’t need five or seven days a week,” DelMastro said.
DelMastro said job-market reports have predicted independent workers will make up as much as half of the country’s workforce, and that leaves plenty of opportunity for both coworking giants like WeWork and people like DelMastro, who operate in areas with fewer coworking options.
DelMastro has 6,000 square feet on Grove Street and is looking at options in downtown Worcester to set up shop in a neighborhood adding more residential units in the next few years.
Best Restaurant for Business Dinner
One Eleven Chop House*
Worcester, www.111chophouse.com
Top executives: Co-owners Robb and Madeleine Ahlquist and General Manager Aaron Francisco
Founded: 1999
Employees: 77
The steaks at One Eleven are hand selected and certified prime-grade, its wine list has received Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence annually since 2001, and the staff receives ongoing training. In 2018, it introduced Gatherings To-Go Catering for home and office delivery or pick-up.
Notable runners-up: The Sole Proprietor, VIA Italian Table, Sonoma Restaurant, Willy's Steakhouse Grill & Sushi Bar, deadhorse hill
Best New Real Estate Development
Apex Center of New England
Marlborough, www.apexcenterne.com
Opened: 2017
Developer: RA Ventures, Westford
Top executive: Principal Robert Walker
The $160-million, 475,000-square-foot Apex Center opened with a Hyatt Place hotel, a Fairfield Inn & Suites, an office building and retailers like Qdoba, T-Mobile and Sport Clips. Highlighting the new development is a two-story building with restaurants and bars, a Planet Fitness gym and the Apex Entertainment complex.
Notable runner-up: Mercantile Center
Best Venue for a Business Meeting
Beechwood Hotel*
Worcester, www.beechwoodhotel.com
Top executive: Sayed Saleh, asset manager and managing director
Founded: 1989
Employees: 51-200
With a staff of professional meeting planners and more than 8,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, the Beechwood can accommodate meetings of all sizes, from small employee-only gatherings to larger forums for clients
Best Venue for a Corporate Event
Beechwood Hotel
Worcester, www.beechwoodhotel.com
Top executive: Sayed Saleh, asset manager and managing director
Founded: 1989
Employees: 51-200
For corporate events, the Beechwood pairs its flexible meeting space with its award-winning cuisine to deliver a memorable experience for attendees.The facility offers the Sonoma Restaurant as a place to unwind afterward.
Notable runners-up: Worcester Art Museum, Mechanics Hall
Best Restaurant for Business Lunch
The Sole Proprietor*
Worcester, www.thesole.com
Top executives: Co-owners Robb and Madeleine Ahlquist and General Manager Eric Andreoli
Founded: 1979
Employees: 98
Freshness and hospitality have made The Sole Proprietor a Worcester institution, making loyal customers of the children and grandchildren of its original customers. The eatery is undergoing an extensive renovation of its interior, including a new kitchen, dining space, bar area and private dining rooms.
Notable runners-up: VIA Italian Table, Volturno Pizza Napoletana, simjang, 110 Grill, Baba Sushi, Cafe Reyes
Best Caterer for a Corporate Event
Peppers Artful Events*
Northborough, www.PeppersArtfulEvents.com
Top executives: Susan and John Lawrence
Founded: 1987
Employees: 50-150 full and part time
Peppers focuses on everything from artful presentations of the food to the event decor, using an attentive staff to create a personalized approach. In 2018, Peppers brought in two new chefs to lead its culinary department, bringing fresh ideas to menus.
Notable runner-up: Struck Catering
Best Golf Club for Corporate Outing
Cyprian Keyes Golf Club*
Boylston, www.cypriankeyes.com
Top executive: General Manager David Frem
Founded: 1997
Employees: Changes seasonally
Cyprian offers a variety of amenities – an 18-hole championship golf course, a 9-hole par-3 course and five function rooms – to accommodate groups of all sizes and budget. In 2018, the club focused on little details like complimentary rounds of golf for outing participants.
*Repeat winner
Read about the rest of the 2019 Best of Business Award winners:
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