Natick Business Buzz—Call and Haul can take it all; Needham Bank adds loan officer; Natick Mall additions and coming-soons

June 24, 2021 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Call and Haul can take it all

If during the past year (or even the past decade) you somehow accumulated a lot of stuff that now just has to go, Call and Haul, a locally-based service owned and operated by John O’Toole is ready to help. Besides clean-outs, Cal and Haul takes care of recycling/junk removal; deliveries and moving; and pickups. The company provides free estimates. From there, the company will remove, recycle, deliver, or pick up your items in a “contact-free” environment and as safely and efficiently as possible. As part of their internal quality control program, workers always wipe down surrounding surfaces and sweep and/or vacuum the immediate work area when the job is completed. Payment is not accepted until after a walk-though with the client.

Call and Haul’s route 9 location (near Great Wok in Wellesley) is a jumping-off point for the service. They cover dozens of Massachusetts towns, cleaning out, picking up, and delivering to your home, second homes, your kid’s apartment, your preferred charity, your off-site storage space, and more.

Needham Bank adds Residential Loan Officer

Matthew Chen has joined the Needham Bank Residential Lending team as vice president, residential loan officer. He will perform a range of residential lending functions with a particular focus on meeting the borrowing and deposit needs of the Chinese American community.

“I am looking forward to utilizing my Chinese language skills to help develop relationships with Chinese-speaking clients and
applicants. It is important to serve diverse communities, and my skills will be able to aid Needham Bank in this area,” Chen said.

Needham Bank maintains a Natick branch location at 17 West Central Street.

Keep your hobbies off the endangered list

Endangered Hobbies has opened at the Natick Mall. The lower-level storefront sells collectibles like Funko POP figures, and movie- and comics-related stuff.

We see you, Warby Parker

Warby Parker, purveyor of reasonably priced glasses, sunglasses, and contacts will see you now on the lower level of the mall.

Coming soon to Natick Mall

Among the newcomers on tap for the mall:

Cellaxs—a phone repair business

Lola Soap, artisan-made bakery-inspired soaps, body scrubs, and bath products that look and smell like some of your favorite sweets. They look so good, you’ll want to eat them—please don’t! All products made without animal testing.

Manj Trampoline Park—sounds like fun

Natick Housing Production Plan refresh looks to future, guards against unfriendly 40Bs

June 22, 2021 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

The draft of Natick’s Housing Production Plan refreshed with new data for 2021 has made its way through town boards a little later than planned due to the pandemic. But the plan has arrived in time to help the town lay out its goals and the strategies for reaching them in years to come.

The plan, now in the hands of the Commonwealth’s Department of Housing & Community Development, was sponsored by the Natick Affordable Housing Trust. It’s an update to the 2012 plan, which is no longer viable, and was completed over 18 months by the Natick Community & Economic Development Department after a consultancy started the work. Public input was accepted throughout the process, including via forums.

Proactive plans like these show the state that communities are serious about having at least 10% of their overall housing stock deemed affordable (Natick’s at 10.67%) as is statutorily required. Communities below that figure are vulnerable to unfriendly 40B projects, often squeezed into spots with disregard for neighbors, and that give developers a break on zoning rules in exchange for including affordable units within their projects.

Most communities in this area, including Wellesley, have hit the 10% mark. Though Natick’s neighbor was under siege by 40B developers in recent years, because all surrounding communities had hit the threshold, until it too reached 10% and issued a housing production plan of its own.

Hitting the threshold and having a state-approved housing production plan gives communities “safe harbor” when it comes to dealing with 40B plans. Such plans outline how communities can maintain safe harbor even if their population changes. Natick awaits population numbers from the latest census this fall.

“Having this plan in place and current is a good backstop if we were to fall below the 10% safe harbor threshold,” said Ted Fields, senior planner for Community & Economic Development, in briefing the Planning Board (which like the Select Board, approved the plan). Hear his remarks beginning at about the 2-hour, 13-minute mark of the Natick Pegasus recording.

The housing needs assessment in the report confirms the obvious. Housing’s expensive here, there’s not enough affordable housing, and it’s hard for people to find suitable downsizing properties. On the positive side, Natick median gross monthly rent of about $1,400 is somewhat lower than that of nearby communities, and if you’re looking to sell your house, you’ll probably make a mint.

Strategies embraced in the plan include more flexible zoning, public education about the need for more affordable housing, the use of town funds and land to support affordable housing, and a comprehensive permitting approach. Among ideas that could be considered are more modern town rules regarding accessory dwelling units, aka in-law apartments, that could be built into existing single-family homes.

Sometimes all these town plans and consulting projects can get blurred. One thing to note about the housing production plan is that it was crafted to sync up with the town’s 2030 master plan.

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Registration open for Service Council’s Fall for Natick virtual road race

June 22, 2021 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Natick Service Council is touting the benefits of virtual races, from choosing your own route to getting up to do it whenever you want, in promoting its Fall for Natick event.

You can choice between a 5K run, 1 mile walk, or 10K bike ride, and have a variety of fundraising options to choose from as well. Do your thing between Sept. 18-26.

Proceeds support Natick Service Council’s work in the community.

Our motto is “Neighbors Helping Neighbors”. Those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic will need our help in the long term. Please support the critical work we do by joining our race or making a donation today.

For sponsorship opportunities contact Sonia Shah.

Natick summer camp listings 2021 — find the experience of a lifetime

June 22, 2021 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Natick Report’s Summer Camps page is now updated with over 75 camps in Natick and beyond. It’s time to sign your child up for the summer camp experience of a lifetime. Whether they’re into coding, arts and crafts, sports, drama, or nature, the perfect camp is out there for them.

Natick Report’s camps page is sponsored by LINX Camps. Over 40 Premier Camps. Perfect for your family.

Contact Deborah for more info on inclusion of your camp located in Wellesley or elsewhere, or for advertising on Swellesley. Camp parents and guardians: Please let camps know that you found them here, if you did…thanks.

Natick’s Night Shift Taproom: A new mall destination

June 21, 2021 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

The reinvention of Natick Mall continues with the introduction of Night Shift Brewing’s separate Taproom and Beer Hall, recently opened ventures that are part of the new Level99 interactive gaming complex in the old Sears space on level 2 of the mall.

It took us two visits to explore it all. First up was a daytime foray to Level99, where we tried out a few of its 43 game rooms, 7 arenas, and ubiquitous art scavenger hunt that fill the massive 48,000 square feet. Later in the week we returned at night to enjoy the Taproom, which is open for lunch & dinner 7 days a week.

The mall location means plenty of parking. We lucked out with a close space and and entered the venue via the dedicated entrance across from the garage. Once inside we moved past the Level99 check-in kiosks and entered the Taproom, which is located next door to Dave & Buster’s. There is helpful staff on hand to point you in the right direction.

The ceiling in the Taproom is high, so it’s naturally a bit noisy, but I’d call it more buzzy than overwhelming. Our party of 4 was quickly seated at a table, and our service was friendly and attentive throughout our stay.

The owners have been hyping the restaurant’s “scratch kitchen” and pedigree from their involvement in restaurants Branch Line, Shy Bird and Eastern Standard—the first 2 of which I have to admit I didn’t know and the third of which I’m familiar with but never patronized before its shutdown.

We were more interested in what was on tap than on the plates. I went for the Night Life, a tasty light beer that the server promoted as being better than Bud Light. My date got caught up in Whirlpool, a pale ale which received a thumbs up for its taste and relatively low alcohol content (4.5%). Just a heads up: the alcohol content can go as high as 8% for the on-tap and canned beers, so plan accordingly.

For dinner, we ordered a Detroit-style pizza, a concept Square Mfg. introduced to Natick late last year. The bready and thick pizza ($16) arrived already cut into squares and featured generous toppings. The Forager variety included roasted wild mushroom, caramelized onion, gruyere & fontina, truffle oil, goat cheese, and thyme. Our two diners went to work on the flavorful and filling pizza, but it proved to be too much for them to finish, and they took a couple of squares home.

We had one burger taker, and he gave it a solid review based on his easy consumption of it. The NSB burger, priced at $15, comes with Vermont cheddar, a secret sauce, pickles, caramelized onions, lettuce, on a brioche.

I ordered the Creamy Baked Mac & Cheese ($16), which boasted cavatappi pasta, four cheeses, and a garlic & herb panko crust. Not a garlic fan, I appreciated the kitchen’s light hand with the earthy allium.

Other menu items that looked interesting: sweet and spicy double IPA beer nuts; Lime Lite chicken wings with hot butter, lime, jalapeño, and green goddess dressing; toasted farro salad; buttermilk brined Korean fried chicken sandwich with gochujang glaze, chive ranch, sesame, radish, herb salad, on a brioche; and sour ale miso glazed salmon with farro, spinach, mushrooms, and sesame crunch.

After dinner we strolled through Level99, which you can see through windows in the restaurant. We checked out the art displayed throughout the gaming venue, and watched a few of the public gaming matchups, which were amusing.

The early-evening crowd at Level99 looked largely to be on the young side, so the beer hall was sparsely populated at that time. That likely changes as the hour gets later and the 21+ crowd rolls in. Level99 starts at $30 for 2 hours of play, with group pricing available.

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