Niche Hospitality leaves Shrewsbury Street; sells location for $500K

Sam Bonacci The organization's location at 166 Shrewsbury Street was most recently home to The Fix Burger Bar.

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By Sam Bonacci

For the first time since 2007, the Niche Hospitality restaurant group will not have a presence on Shrewsbury Street, having sold the location to a new restauranteur.

“It was becoming an incubator for us, which is fun but it does take a lot of energy,” said Niche President and CEO Mike Covino, who explained the organization is putting that energy into other opportunities. “We are still looking to grow in Worcester, and we have some feelers out on other properties to do some other concepts.”

Covino said the decision to make the sale was a difficult one as the property has been successful for the company, having incubated Mezcal and The Fix Burger Bar restaurants. Both of those spaces moved out of the Shrewsbury Street location to bigger spaces, but Covino said the decision was made to build the organization’s next concept out at in a space that would be able to be a permanent home. When an offer came in, it made financial sense in relation to the organization’s future plan. The building sold last Friday for $500,000, according to Massachusetts land records.

This will be the first location for the new owners, said Covino, who will be positioning their price point similar to that which the Niche restaurants inhabited. Niche will be assisting the new owners in a consulting role as they get their restaurant off the ground.

The new owners are listed as 166 Shrewsbury LLC, according to the property records, and Covino was tight-lipped about who and what was going into the location.

“The city is growing. There is a lot going on. It doesn’t do us or the city any good if it’s not a successful launch,” he said.

In fact, that growth marks a shift in the restaurant scene in the city. With more restaurants opening downtown and more housing coming online that area is primed to be the new restaurant hub of the city, Covino said.

“Shrewsbury Street is not the epicenter anymore. I think it is an important component to the city’s dining, and it has a lot of allure,” he said, adding the company’s Citizen Wine Bar has been open in the area for some time so he has seen the growth downtown first-hand. “We’ve seen a drastic change in the fabric of downtown and not just destination eating but with wine and cocktails.”