Natick Business Buzz: Baylee Bee clothing opens; Pop-ups ready; Italian handbags 50% off; MutualOne Bank lobby change

November 27, 2020 by Bob Brown 1 Comment

Our roundup of the latest Natick, Mass., business news:

Baylee Bee clothing store opens

Mother-and-daughter team Debbie and Baylee Donovan have joined forces to open Baylee Bee at 19 North Main Street in downtown Natick, located in the former Spirit Bear Power Yoga space. Debbie says, “Our main vibe is cozy, comfortable clothing. We’re all home now. Traditional business attire is not what people are adding to their closets at this time.”

Baylee Bee, Natick — Store owners Baylee Donovan (left), and Debbie Donovan show off their enviable sense of style in front of the bee mural by artist Linden Walker.

Baylee, a graduate of Dean College in Franklin, sporting a casual 3/4 length teddy jacket with incredible cozy cred, was busy scouring the internet to source belts for the store’s inventory. A customer had asked that the store carry some, and it was a task too fun to ignore. Baylee Bee also carries what they call “Zoom dresses,” in a selection of prints. affordable. Everything is at an affordable price point. Nothing in the store is over $100.

I personally find it encouraging that people want to start wearing belts again. Mine are somewhere in the closet, probably near the heels and the hosiery.

Until such a time that such relics come out of the closet, I’m prepared to adopt Baylee Bee’s philosophy that style is equal parts fashion and function but without the fuss, and belts should be included. I’m feeling ready to re-belt as my slipped standards start to regain their traction. Baylee has had a positive style effect on me that way.

Pro tip: don’t miss the super-fun bee wall mural by artist Linden Walker.

Pop-ups ready

A bevy of retailers will soon be selling their wares at a pop-up shop on Washington Street in Natick Center formally occupied by an insurance firm.

Among those that will be offering goods:

Italian handbags 50% off

Natick’s Carla Peretto is moving back to her native Italy and is liquidating her Italian leather handbag business. She’ll be offering half off the bags at a pop-up boutique for her Il Sogno bags business at 9 Wilson St., on Saturday, Nov. 28 and Saturday, Dec. 5.

MutualOne Bank lobby change

Mutual Bank has announced it is temporarily closing its office lobbies on Saturdays as of Nov. 28 due to COVID-19 concerns. Drive-ups at the Natick and Framingham branches will remain open on Saturdays.

Natick • 49 Main Street
Lobby
Monday – Friday 8:30am – 4:30pm
Saturday CLOSED

Drive-up
Monday – Friday 8:30am – 4:30pm
Saturday 9:00am – Noon

Client Services – Telephone Support
(508) 820-4000
Monday – Friday: 8:30am – 4:30pm
Saturday: 9:00 am – Noon

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Natick cuts restaurants & clubs a 50% break on liquor license fees

November 20, 2020 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

While a two to three thousand dollar license fee cut might not make or break Natick restaurants and clubs, the town’s Select Board voted unanimously to cut liquor license fees in half in an effort to support establishments beleaguered during the COVID-19 pandemic as we head into indoor dining season.

Board member Michael Hickey stated that despite the creativity exhibited by local restaurants in terms of outdoor dining expansions and investments in tents and heat lamps, that he’s very concerned about their outlook: “We’ve got a tough patch ahead.” If nothing else, he said, the fee cuts show “moral support,” and who knows, maybe could help save a part-time job or two.

The town has taken a number of steps this year to help Natick businesses during the pandemic, from helping restaurants offer expanded outdoor dining to offering a microenterprise grant program to very small businesses.

In slashing liquor license fees, which must be renewed annually, Natick follows in the path of other communities, including Needham, that have also cut fees in half for what are known as S12 establishments, which also includes hotels and venues such as TCAN. The cuts will not extend to businesses such as package stores.

The cuts are estimated to cost the town $65K in revenue, and Natick decided not to raise any other fees in light of the current economy.

Outdoor dining for Eli's and The Dolphin — Eli’s and Dolphin’s outdoor dining set-up

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Natick’s Fresh City location is permanently, not temporarily, closed

November 18, 2020 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

The writing wasn’t exactly on the walls, or doors, at Fresh City’s Natick location on Rte. 9 East, but the restaurant sure looked closed.

I wasn’t buying “temporarily,” when I noticed the same sign there over the weekend that I’d seen over the summer.

I feel like some sort of meaningful message used to be in the big white space under Fresh City on this sign, too.

While I’ve been a career brown bagger, when I did venture out for lunch while working for IDG in Framingham, Fresh City was my go-to place. Nice roomy booths, and a varied menu that seemed to satisfy whoever I was meeting. Plus, I played basketball a few times with one of their founders, so felt a sort of “in” there.

But the official word from Fresh City is that this location is permanently, not temporarily, closed now.

We received this message this week from Fresh City via Facebook:

“Unfortunately the Natick restaurant has become a victim of Covid. We couldn’t come to an agreement with the landlord on a rent structure that would allow us to stay open. At the same time we have pivoted our business to refrigerated, heat & eat meals delivered directly to our customers homes. Please check us out at freshcitykitchen.com.”

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Natick Business Buzz: Select Board rejects split tax rate; Natick represents on Influential Business People of Color list; The Bagel Table, Achieve TMS East arrive

November 14, 2020 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Our roundup of the latest Natick, Mass., business news:

Select Board rejects split tax rate

The Natick Select Board mulled, as it does annually, whether to vote for different tax rates for businesses vs. residents during its meeting this week, and unanimously decided to stick with a single tax rate. “The idea of frankly punching our commercial and retail partners in the gut at this point is something that I can’t really get comfortable with,” board member Michael Hickey said. The tax rate ($13.61 per $1,000 of assessed property value) remains the same for FY2021 as for FY2020, said Eric Henderson, director of assessing, in a presentation to the board. With assessed property values steadily rising, this will mean higher taxes for most residents (about a $288 increase), though still a smaller average tax bill ($8,700) than in many surrounding communities such as Needham and Sherborn. Your top FY21 Natick taxpayer? General Growth Properties/Brookfield, the owner of Natick Mall, with $4.6 million.

Natick represents on Influential Business People of Color list

Check out the Newton-Needham MetroWest 50 Most Influential Business People of Color list to find familiar faces and meet new ones. Among those representing Natick either as people operating businesses here, working here, or living here are:

Prepped and Polished‘s Alexis Avila (South Natick, close enough…longtime Swellesley supporter)
Guimel DeCarvalho of Wayside Youth & Family Support Network and a member of Natick’s new Equity Task Force
Beverly Edgehill, a senior VP at TJX in Natick
Melissa Patrick, founder of Equity & Expectations in Natick
Kristen L. Pope of Pope Productions in Natick

The Bagel Table arrives

Congrats to The Bagel Table for opening. We paid an early visit to snap a few pics and eat a couple of muffins, but will be back for a more thorough review.

Achieve TMS East opens in Natick Center

A new depression treatment center called Achieve TMS East held its virtual grand opening this week at 209 West Central St. The facility offers Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, which sort of translates into the acronym TMS, and provides an alternative treatment to those finding medication ineffective. TMS sends magnetic signals to mood centers of the brain. It is a drug-free treatment. On staff is Dr. Kiran Lulla, who is board-certified in adult, child, and adolescent psychiatry.

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Natick mulls alcohol license fee cuts in light of pandemic

November 12, 2020 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

The Natick Select Board is readying for its annual review of business license fees, which currently include everything from $2 for fortune tellers to several thousand dollars for restaurants and other establishments selling booze. Discussion, originally slated for this week, is now slated for the Select Board’s Nov. 18 meeting.

While this generally might not be the stuff of great public interest, what makes the 2021 license fee review noteworthy is that the town is considering whether to slash fees 25% or 50% in light of the COVID-19 pandemic that has hit restaurants and bars hard.

morse tavern tent — Will Morse Tavern & other Natick businesses get a fee break?

Natick has taken a broad look at how much other communities charge for fees vs. what Natick charges. It has taken a look at what more than two dozen other communities have done in the way of cutting fees in light of economic realities. Some communities, like Framingham, have not decreased licensing fees. Others such as Needham have cut fees in half for businesses that sell alcohol for consumption on premises.

Natick has laid out in a spreadsheet (embedded below) what license cuts might look like revenue-wise for the town. If it cut license fees in half for what are known as Section 12 businesses, its revenue would be estimated to fall from about $130K to $65K for the year from this source.

Some might argue that’s a small price to pay to help support local restaurants, especially as we head into the indoor-dining-only season.

The fee review isn’t all about restaurants and bars. Fees for package stores, dealerships, and other businesses are also under review.

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