More than you really want to know about Natick, Mass.
The Sons and Daughters of Italy lodge in Natick is hosting in-person bartender TIPS training (Training for Intervention Procedures) on Saturday, March 25 from 10am – 3pm.
In-person TIPS training is required to tend bar in town, and can be difficult to find, says the lodge’s Cathy Washburn.
The class, open to the public, costs $60 and is due on the day of the class.
Speaking of tips, if you’d like to contribute to support our independent journalism venture, please do….
The latest Natick, Mass., business news:
While “coming soon” can mean almost any period of time when it comes to local businesses, a new Natick business on Rte. 9 east called Mr. Nice Dog has installed signage promoting its pending arrival. The business, located next to a consignment shop, will offer grooming, dog training, and pet day care.
The Planning Board gave the business a thumbs up in October for a change of use at the location, 42 Worcester St. Previously, a related sort of business called All About My Dog operated in the space, but it left last summer when the owner moved to Colorado.
Mr. Nice Dog owner Antonio Torres told the Planning Board last year that he has been raising and training dogs for 30 years.
We’ve reached out for an update on when the business might open.
Dairy Queen on Rte. 27 in Natick is back in action for the season.
The Hive, a new collection of pop-ups in Natick at 22 North Main St., plans to open in April.
This space formerly was occupied by Natick Nutrition.
The Hive states that its mission is to:
Jill Hourihan of Metro Pets Boutique in Natick is behind the venture.
Kids clothing shop Hedgehog Belly Designs has said it will be 1 of the Hive’s tenants. The shop has previously been located in Natick, as well as in pop-up space in Newton and Wellesley.
Update (3/21/23): The Select Board has added an item to its 3/22 agenda for “Reconsideration of 5 Auburn Street RFP Deliberation and Vote.”
In the latest emotional decision for the Natick Select Board, members voted 3-2 in favor of a plan by a non-profit developer to build 32 units of “deeply affordable rental housing for families” on a dead-end road in South Natick that abuts the Charles River. The former school property at 5 Auburn St., is owned by the town, which had no immediate use for it and was tired of paying for its upkeep (See Natick Pegasus recording of the nearly 4-hour March 15 meeting below.)
Affordable housing advocates in town urged the board to go with this plan for 5 Auburn St., from the Metro West Collaborative Development, which offered $100 for the property and will get a $600K infusion from the Natick Affordable Housing Trust to help bring the development to fruition. Select Board members Bruce Evans, Rich Sidney, and Kathryn Coughlin voted in favor of this plan after the board went proposal-by-proposal, criteria-by-criteria during the meeting to arrive at a decision.
Sidney said at 1 point during deliberations that “Based on everything I’ve seen about Metro West Collaborative, it can be done in a way that is not harmful, or exceedingly harmful, to the neighborhood. And that it will fit in the area.”
Those opposed to the plan, including abutters, fear this project will create traffic and parking problems (not that the former school there didn’t generate some of that). They favored a plan by Trask, which offered $2M for the property and proposed divvying the land into 3 lots—1 where the existing structure stands that includes 3 units in the main building and 2 in the gym, then 2 of which would house duplexes. Board members Paul Joseph and Michael Hickey voted for this plan.
Hickey in a rare presentation of prepared remarks, said he felt strongly that the board should make a decision at this point, and that the Trask pitch best met the criteria laid out by the town. The Metro West proposal would work better at another location, he said. “This is not about affordable housing, it’s about making a sound decision in the best interest of the town as a whole,” he said.
The board weighed 4 proposals on criteria set out in the request for proposals, which was issued last year. This criteria included quality and quantity of reference projects, proposed re-use of the property, and the ability to deliver on the plan.
Evans spoke in favor of the proposal by Metro West, which he said has shown a strong track record with past projects and relationships with key partners. Given the town’s lack of land on which to build, and the challenges involved in rezoning, he sees 5 Auburn St., as a unique opportunity for Natick. “We make a lot of noise as Select Board people and politicians about affordable housing and diversity, equity and inclusion. Well, if we’re really sincere about this and want to make it more than words on a sign running for Town Meeting or Select Board, we really need to walk the walk…,” he said.
In response to a question from Coughlin regarding the true number of affordable units in town, Town Administrator Jamie Errickson explained that while the town’s subsidized housing inventory (SHI) is measured at being around 1,500 units, the number of truly affordable units is closer to 800 due to the way SHI is calculated (units within some developments with affordable housing can all be counted as affordable for these purposes). Overall, about 5%-6% of the town’s housing units could be considered truly affordable.
Coughlin dug into town salary data to get a sense of how many town employees might qualify to live in the sort of affordable units a Metro West development would include, and found at least 1,000 in a handful of big departments who might fit. Both the town and local employers have cited the challenges of hiring people when they can’t afford to live in or near Natick.
Not that he had a vote, but when asked, Errickson said he would favor the Trask proposal, not that he didn’t see all 4 proposals having merits. The lack of nearby amenities and public transportation in South Natick would be a challenge he would want to see addressed as part of the Metro West plan (there is pizza, coffee, and sometimes ice cream in the small neighborhood center, but no grocery store, for example).
Board Chair Paul Joseph said the decision had been “weighing on me greatly,” balancing the concerns of neighbors vs. those of affordable housing advocates across town. He emphasized that adding affordable housing at 5 Auburn St., isn’t going to solve larger process and zoning issues in town that have brought us to this point. “My hope is coming through this process we’re all going to be redoubled in terms of our commitment to looking at the systemic challenges we have in Natick to doing the right thing.”
Next up for the board: Entering into a development agreement with the Metro West Collaborative.
The town of Natick this week unveiled its Susan G. Salamoff Internship Program in honor of the longtime Select Board member and town volunteer. The paid internship, available this summer, fall, and next spring, is aimed at those with an interest in public service, and the initial application deadline is April 15.
When Salamoff announced in the fall of 2021 that she wouldn’t be seeking reelection to the Select Board, she commented that it was “time to give others an opportunity to serve.” Indeed, the internship program will now do just that for college students and recent grads.
Interns will be based at Town Hall and report to the town administrator or a designee. Select Board members will serve as mentors.
Learn more about the program, including eligibility requirements.
SPEAKING OF INTERNS…Natick Report plans to have at least 1 intern this summer. We’d love to find sponsors to fund stipends for any interns we bring on. If interested in supporting this effort, please let us know: natickreport@gmail.com
Fannon’s liquor store, which reopened Thursday at its new 319 North Main St. location, couldn’t have timed things better than by doing so on the cusp of St. Patrick’s Day.
Shortly after I arrived, so did one of Fannon’s owners, Scott Arndt, bearing a fistful of shamrock-colored foil balloons. Fannon’s expected to have its soft opening on Friday, but what the heck, they got their license Thursday so opened right away, he said.
The business, under the name Austin’s Liquors, had been located at 212 North Main St. near Stop & Shop, but its lease ran out in January (the scuttlebutt is that housing could be built on that lot). Fannon’s owners initially attempted to relocate into the Bernie & Phyl’s space at 45 Worcester St. (Rte. 9 west), but the Select Board didn’t approve that.
So Fannon’s instead slotted in next to a couple of restaurants, Joy Luck and Mingaliens Trattoria, which could prove to be a beneficial adjacency. Nearby Dairy Queen will be back in season soon, too. Fannon’s space previously was occupied by a convenience store.
As I staked out the joint from my car in the parking lot, a handful of people ventured in. One gent got right down to business and departed with a pack of frosty Budweisers. A woman who chatted me up in the parking lot expressed happiness that Fannon’s moved here instead of onto Rte. 9 West, which she said wouldn’t have worked for her routine.
There’s nothing particularly new about Fannon’s at the new 1,200 sq. ft. location, Arndt said, other than that it is in less space. That means shelves are stocked higher than at the old store (being a tall guy, I could reach the top shelf, which is over 6-feet high). “We have as many SKUs,” Arndt said.
Fannon’s sells a wide variety of beer, wine and spirits, with brown spirits like bourbon particularly popular these days, Arndt said. The current cocktail culture has encouraged people to try lots of different products, he said.
Expect Fannon’s to stick around this location for a while. It has a 5-year lease.
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