Hospitality

Derek Canton has made a shift during the coronavirus pandemic from developing a restaurant app for dining rooms to one offering a safer and more secure method for takeout and delivery, he said during an interview on the WBJ Podcast.

As the second round of Paycheck Protection Program funding is starting to be dispersed, bankHometown has 250 loans totaling about $15 million from customers who missed out on the first round.

A San Diego real estate investment trust serving the cannabis industry has bought a sprawling Athol pot-growing facility at the former site of the Union Twist Drill Co. for nearly $27 million.

Melissa Cote had planned to expand her beauty salon, but as the construction was wrapping up on her new Shrewsbury location, Gov. Charlie Baker put out his order on March 24 for non-essential businesses in Massachusetts to shut down in an effort to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

Companies like Nashoba Valley Medical Center, Worcester Fitness, Worcester Art Museum and Tegra Medical had recent hires and promotions.

The necessity of staying far apart from others has become clear to restaurateurs that habits will likely change long after dine-in eating returns.

Four multigenerational Central Mass. businesses owners underscore the importance of mixing up both their goods and their services, as well as an overwhelming willingness to adapt to customer requests and market demands.

Four out of five Massachusetts restaurants have temporarily closed during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a survey by the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, and 93% of restaurants in the state said they've laid off or furloughed staff.

During an interview on the WBJ podcast, the business partners working on a Worcester location of Sturbridge BBQ restaurant B.T.'s Smokehouse said they are hoping to open by mid-May and can do so even if Massachusetts' non-essential business shutdown over the coronavirus remains in effect until then.

Brian Treitman, the founder of B.T.'s Smokehouse in Sturbridge, and his business partner, Billy Nemeroff, join The Weekly Business Report to discuss the new B.T.'s location in Worcester and why barbecue restaurants have fared better during the coronavirus shutdown than most other eateries.