Small Business

The manager for an elite competitive dance team and an instructor with a background in professional dance is taking over the MEM Dance Theatre in Sterling from retiring founder Paula Meola.

Form First Physical Therapy, a new physical therapy clinic, opened its first location at 48 Main St. in Sturbridge on Nov. 1.

Worcester’s Smokestack Urban BBQ is the latest Canal District restaurant to announce closure or sale since late summer, following The Hangover Pub and Broth, PreGamers Sports Bar and Grill, and Buck’s Whiskey & Burger Bar, which was sold.

The owner of Precision Heating and Cooling in South Grafton has purchased a 2.3-acre industrial property at 5 Goddard Road Northborough for $2.3 million.

The North Central Massachusetts Development Corp. provided a $125,000 loan to help the owners of Crust Bakeshop fund the purchase of BirchTree Bread Co., as part of a larger financing package from TD Bank of New Jersey.

The workforce became decentralized, and fewer people went out for a quick lunch.

Delicious Dips, a bakery offering custom orders of cakes as well as a walk-in retail service featuring items like smoothies, has received a $30,000 small business loan from the North Central Massachusetts Development Corp. in Fitchburg.

The Massachusetts Growth Capital Corp., a Boston-based quasi-public corporation, awarded $759,687 to Central Massachusetts chambers of commerce, development corporations, and micro-lenders.

The Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce on Monday formalized its opposition to Community Preservation Act ballot question No. 5 in November’s election.

Magic Treasures, a Fitchburg-based business focused on alternative health care, received a $10,000 loan from the North Central Massachusetts Development Corp. of Fitchburg.