Central Mass. South

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.

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

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.

Arnold Arsenault Jr., the president of  A Arsenault & Sons, Inc. landscaping company in Spencer has purchased the building adjacent to his company's headquarters for $665,000, according to Massachusetts land and corporate records.

VERC Enterprises, a convenience store and gas station chain, has opened a new location at 137 E. Main St. in Webster, the company announced in a press release on Tuesday.

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.

Essential manufacturing includes a wide spectrum of workers, ranging from those who produce medical supplies to those who support the agricultural market, and everything in between.

The Gov. Charlie Baker Administration has leaned on the state’s manufacturers, creating the Manufacturing Emergency Response Team under the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative to coordinate manufacturers’ move toward pandemic-related materials.

UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester and Harrington HealthCare's location in Webster are receiving part of a $2.3-million donation toward Massachusetts coronavirus relief efforts made by the MAPFRE Foundation.