Dave & Buster’s, the sports bar and arcade that opened at Natick Mall last summer before closing for COVID-19 reasons this spring, has announced it will lay off 11o employees beginning on Nov. 8.

These employees had been furloughed in mid-March, but the continuing pandemic (“unforeseeable business circumstances”) has forced Dave & Buster’s to make this move, according to a WARN notice shared with the Mall and Town of Natick by the company’s Senior Director of HR Kathryn Rainey.

“The worksite is not being permanently closed. The Company intends to rehire for impacted positions when COVID-19 pandemic and economic conditions permit,” according to the WARN notice.

Dave & Buster’s has made similar layoff announcements of late at other locations, including in New Orleans and Cary, N.C.

The Mall has seen an exodus or planned departure of numerous big tenants, including Lord & Taylor and Neiman Marcus, due to the pandemic.

On the bright side, Night Shift Brewing and the new Level99 immersive gaming company are joining forces on a new operation slated to open at the Mall next year.

So if it manages to open and Dave & Buster’s can come back, the Mall will be THE local place for indoor play. Perhaps encouraging news on that front is that Dave & Buster’s did just open a location at the Mall of New Hampshire in Manchester.

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A much higher percentage of Natick businesses and nonprofits took advantage of the federal Paycheck Protection Program than did businesses across the state as a whole, according to numbers released this month by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC).

Some 52% of 1,546 establishments in town were approved for a total of 823 loans, which are administered by the Small Business Administration and are designed mainly to help small businesses retain employees. Across the state, about 46% of businesses were approved through July.

Nearby, more than 63% of Needham businesses got PPP loans, and 57% in Wellesley did, according to the Newton Needham Regional Chamber. Most businesses and nonprofits have already used up their funds and would love a shot at more in light of the pandemic’s persistence, according to the Chamber. PPP loan applications were curtailed as of Aug. 8.

According to the data for Natick, which we broke out in the spreadsheet below, the loans helped to fund some 9,300 jobs in town, with an average of 13 employees but as high as 500. Businesses secured loans, which may or may not need to be repaid, ranging from thousands to millions of dollars. Numerous lenders, from Needham Bank to Bank of America, handled the loans.

Natick has taken steps to help local businesses, including restaurants, but accommodating extended liquor and outdoor dining licenses.

Other opportunities could emerge. Needham’s Select Board recently voted to cut restaurant liquor license fees in half for 2021, so perhaps that’s something Natick establishments could push for.

Note: Businesses were not required to self-identify the race, gender or veteran status of ownership for the data shared by MAPC, and that accounts for so much missing info in those columns.

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