Retail

The Gov. Charlie Baker Administration announced on Wednesday measures to provide small tax relief focused on the hospitality sector, as dining rooms and gatherings of 25+ people have been banned in an effort to stem the impact of the coronavirus.

Renee Diaz, the business's owner and founder, said she reduced her 25-employee staff down to herself and four employees.

Auburn Mall and Solomon Pond Mall in Marlborough closed starting at 7 p.m. Wednesday and remain closed through March 29 in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the malls' owner announced.

CommCan has seen a spike in the number of transactions at its dispensaries, along with an increase in the amount each customer is buying.

To inquire about a loan, contact Sandie Cataldo at scataldo@northcentralmass.com or Brendan Hannen at bhannen@northcentralmass.com.

Businesses with less than 50 full-time and part-time employees can apply for loans up to $75,000 through the quasi-public organization Massachusetts Growth Capital Corp. 

In an episode recorded on Wednesday, March 11, the co-hosts of the WBJ podcast Weekly Business Report, spend about five minutes to talk about all the Central Massachusetts business and event closures, due to the effort to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

To keep businesses and all WBJ's readers informed on this important issue, WBJ has moved all of its stories in front of its paywall. Readers can read all coronavirus stories without restriction.

The two seemingly unrelated and exciting developments this year in the Worcester food scene can both be traced to four people at a Boston comedy show 18 months ago.

After paying all their back taxes and bills and calculating the cost and time spent running a restaurant and events space in the 144-year-old Bull Mansion for nearly three years, the partners simply broke even.