🔒Feasting on nostalgia: Take a spin around the Central Mass. culinary scene alongside an admired food writer who has seen it all

Thirty-five years – but who’s counting?!

I’ll admit that writing about the Worcester County restaurant scene spanning 35 years has made my head spin. During my career as a food journalist there have been countless stories about restaurant openings and closings, new restaurateurs, chefs on the move, and reviews.

The good and the bad.

Restaurants are notoriously difficult businesses to run, so congrats to the independents whose Worcester owners managed to stay afloat despite years of challenge: Dino’s Ristorante; the Parkway Diner; Boulevard Diner; Kenmore Diner; the Boynton; Wonder Bar; and Leo’s Ristorante have operated 50 or more years. A few of them even passed the 100-year mark.

The Webster House restaurant closed in 2014, after almost 80 years in business. Robert “Gus” Giordano was in business for 42 years as owner of Maxwell Silverman’s Toolhouse restaurant and Club Maxine, leaving Lincoln Square in 2018 to open Maxwell Silverman’s Luciano’s Restaurant at Union Station. The Sole Proprietor on Highland Street celebrates more than 40 years, one of three restaurants in the Worcester Restaurant Group (One Eleven Chop House and VIA Italian Table) founded by husband and wife team, Robb and Madeleine Ahlquist.

Three El Basha city restaurants account for 30 years of food service. Val’s restaurant in Holden? Thirty-three years in 2024. The Horseshoe Pub & Restaurant in Hudson has been a fixture for 44 years.

Some Central Mass. closings hit hard. The Nicas family in 2021 made the decision to retire and closed doors at The Castle restaurant in Leicester after 71 years. Culinary icon Julia Child was among distinguished guests at the landmark.

The list goes on and on.

All business

“Things really have evolved in this business,” said John Piccolo of Piccolo’s on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester. “We struggled through the lockdowns and labor and delivery shortages.

“Restaurants notoriously operate on razor-thin profits and can’t afford to lose money for days, let alone weeks,” Piccolo said. “It’s difficult to find help, and when you do employees often call out. I know an owner who pays dishwashers $22 an hour just to keep them on board.

“I’m optimistic, but I also think it may be a good time for some owners to get out of the business if they can,” said Piccolo, the long-time president of the Shrewsbury Street Merchants Association.

Consumers, more than ever, look for specials and value, he said, but there’s only so much restaurants can do to cut costs. “We’re still in the business to make money,” Piccolo said. “In this climate, it’s better to own the land and building where the restaurant is located because rental space is pretty expensive and that’s not going to change.”

In early September, the mixed-use home of Meze Estiatoro on Shrewsbury Street was listed for sale for $1.6 million.

There are pros and cons for restaurants buying and leasing, but owning the building provides future revenue as an investment property.

In 2016, Oriola Koci and her husband, executive chef Enton Mehillaj, opened Altea’s Eatery on Park Avenue in Worcester, purchasing the building that housed the former Shiraz Armenian Cuisine restaurant. The couple owned its first restaurant, Livia’s Dish on Main Street, for 10 years before leasing the restaurant in 2022 to two of their employees.

These days, maintaining a work/life/family balance is key for many restaurateurs, including Koci and Mehillaj. Their restaurant (American cuisine with a French twist) opens daily, closes mid-afternoons, and has no evening hours, except for private parties.

Koci said restaurateurs have to be dedicated and disciplined to succeed, especially after the pandemic. With changing consumer demands, an owner needs to be ahead of the game and also on-premise, she said. “You have to treat your restaurant as a business and sometimes owners may be guilty of not following through.” Hard work helps make the end result profitable, she added.

Altea’s owners focus on teamwork and teaching. “We know customers who receive great and exemplary service are likely to return,” Koci said.

Niche Hospitality Group President Mike Covino, with partners Mike

DesRosiers, Steve Champagne and Dave Green, operates five restaurants, with three Worcester locations. Bocado Tapas Wine Bar on Winter Street expanded this year into the property next to the restaurant, adding a patio. Mezcal Tequila Cantina moved from Major Taylor Boulevard to the East Central Street building that housed the 99 Restaurant until 2020. The Fix Burger Bar remains in the former Northworks Bar on Grove Street. Niche also operates restaurants in Wellesley and Marlborough.

Hold onto your forks!

What’s cooking?

Niche plans to open “Viviene” in 2025 in the glass tower at 446 Main St., Worcester. The restaurant will feature a shared plate concept with a concentration on coastal Mediterranean fare. Niche also holds a 12-year lease on the property that housed District Wood-Fired Kitchen on Harding Street. According to Covino, an entirely new concept will go into the space sometime next year. “New name, new brand,” said Covino, who was tightlipped on further details. “I think diners will be surprised.”

Niche opened its first restaurant, Block Five Bistro on Green Street in the city’s Canal District in 2005. It permanently closed two restaurants in Leominster, the Fix Burger Bar (2024) and Bocado Tapas Bar (2023).

Covino said with more people moving into the area dining expectations are on the rise, and Niche wants to be on the forefront. “We have the people to make it happen and we’re excited,” he said. “I live in Worcester and I love this community.”

Covino said profit margins are a major challenge in the restaurant industry because of the higher costs of running a restaurant. “You can’t get away from it,” he said. Some restaurants may adjust, making smaller, shorter and simpler menus.

Who’s cooking?

When it comes to local award-winning chefs, the Worcester area is replete with blue ribbons and shiny plaques. Chief among the best in the business is Bill Brady of Brady’s in Leominster, who was named “2024 Restaurateur of the Year” by the Massachusetts Restaurant Association.

Ever-changing landscape

The evolution of the Worcester restaurant scene is remarkable, said Stephen Clark, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association.

He said local restaurateurs have worked hard to meet economic challenges in 2024. “We expect the restaurant and food service industry to grow,” Clark said. “The thing is the pandemic got people use to eating at home, ordering take-out and delivery. Diners are more cost-conscious in 2024. It’s all about price sensitivity.”

Clark said as transactions soften, profitability becomes more of a challenge for restaurants. “It’s like navigating a new world,” he said. The restaurant industry expects the higher cost of doing business will continue into 2025, according to Clark, who said, “There’s always a light at the end of the tunnel.”

The good, old days

A quick trip down memory lane because many city restaurants draw us back in time. Do a Google search for favorites and you might be surprised at how many restaurants there were in and outside of the city.

The legendary Eden Garden on Franklin Street (closed in 1992) across from City Hall was a popular hangout for city employees, politicians, and business people. A local columnist once wrote, “The Eden is Worcester.”

The El Morocco restaurant in Worcester was not only a legendary Middle Eastern eatery but also an active night spot that drew in celebrities like Al Pacino, Harry Belafonte, Wayne Newton, and Rodney Dangerfield, to name a few. Eating at the “the El” when it was located on the first floor of a three-decker on Wall Street was more like being seated at the family’s table. You could see in the kitchen and overhear family squabbles.

The Aboody family moved the business into a new building across the street on a hill with a view of the city. The El’ Salad and Thursdays’ “Meat Pie Day” bring back memories not just of eating the food itself but also of the place and setting. The El Morroco restaurant permanently closed in 1994 and was torn down in 2003.

Putnam & Thurston’s on Mechanic Street in Worcester was considered a fine dining spot, offering the iconic Caesar salad tableside.

I interviewed Frank Purdue of Purdue Farms at “Put’s” in the early days of my career. What I remember most about that day was Purdue’s admission that he disliked people who interrupted him at restaurants and on planes to ask for his autograph. At Put’s he agreed, unsmiling.

In the late 1980s, John Piccolo operated one of three delicatessens on Main Street in downtown Worcester. “Tommy Oliveri’s Bushel ‘N Peck deli was a strong competitor,” recalled Piccolo. FYI: Thomas J. Oliveri Sr. established the flagship location of Elsa’s Bushel ‘N Peck in Tatnuck Square and also Peppercorn’s on Park Avenue, Oli’s in West Boylston, and Prezo Grille & Bar in Milford.

Rovezzi’s on Main Street was long recognized as one of the city’s best food spots and a meeting destination for politicians, judges, and downtown workers. “At lunch, you couldn’t get into the place,” Piccolo said.

“By the mid-90s, Main Street food spots started closing shop and things went downhill,” he said. “Chains like Friendly’s and McDonald’s even left the city.” The five-story building that housed Irish Times on Main Street closed in 2008 after foreclosure.

Back to the future

Not all doom and gloom, however. The popular restaurant and craft beer destination Armsby Abbey (2008 opening) and deadhorse Hill, which has propped up North Main Street since 2016 in the building that housed Ritual restaurant, have built a loyal customer base. There are a couple of other go-to places, such as Spoodles Deli in the former Elsa’s location.

There was a time when diners complained that restaurants no longer served a free side salad with a meal and the pre-appetizer bread basket was no longer a staple at their favorite restaurant.

These days, it’s more about how drinks at a restaurant can cost more than food. It’s also interesting to note that as the price of condiments increases, some restaurants look into incorporating those costs into their menus. A local restaurant recently charged 50 cents extra for soy sauce.

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