Hospitality

After opening its first location in Worcester in 2017, Chick-fil-A is eyeing a second location in the city.

With less than a week until Election Day, about 16 restaurant workers gathered on the State House steps to urge Bay Staters to vote against Question 5, warning the measure would lead to job losses and reduced services, and fall short of proponents' goal to boost the livelihoods of tipped employees.

As regulators were discussing removing the two-driver rule in Worcester, cannabis delivery operators were explaining the impact of the CCC’s three-year-long delay in removing the rule to lawmakers on Beacon Hill. 

Tourism in Worcester County accounted for some of the highest economic impact among Massachusetts' 14 counties in 2023, which combined accumulated $23.6 billion in spending statewide.

A months-long WBJ investigation shows how a dysfunctional agency hollowed out by turnover, bogged down by infighting, and plagued by a fuzzy leadership structure is impeding businesses in a struggling industry.

State cannabis regulators have picked their next executive director, voting Monday to begin the process of bringing back a former head of its government affairs operation to lead the entire agency into a new chapter.

WBJ sources over the past 35 years have contributed memorable sentiments.

It’s been 35 years since Worcester Regional Airport saw its passenger traffic peak when 354,000 travelers passed through the airport’s terminal in 1989.

In 2016, 53.6% of Massachusetts voters cast a ballot in favor of legalizing marijuana like alcohol, kicking off the creation of an industry that has so far led to more than $6 billion in sales.

Central Massachusetts is a region that likes to wax nostalgic about bustling main streets and tight-knit mill communities. A lot has changed over the decades, with shifts in the way people do their shopping, the decline of traditional manufacturing, and the rise in tech industries. And our communities have shifted with the times.