The latest Natick, Mass., business news:

Boxing gym rumbling into Natick Mall

The roughly 2,800 sq. ft. space was once occupied by Paul Bakery.

Rumble has a handful of gyms in New Jersey and New York, and more planned in New England, including in Somerville and Watertown.

The Natick Planning Board took up the pitch from Dr. Chandra Manish, including signage, at its Oct. 12 meeting, about 2 hours, 13 minutes into the meeting. The Board approved of the use at the mall and temporary signage, with final signage up for approval later in the month.

Fitness enthusiasts Manish and wife Shriti Shah, a business attorney, are the owners. Manish is a practicing general dentist—and an entrepreneur who’s also involved in the hotel industry.

“We have secured development rights with Xponential Fitness to open [Rumble] locations in Metrowest Boston and Norfolk county,” Manish says. “The Natick community has the right mix of fitness enthusiasts and is missing the HIIT [high intensity interval training] fitness concept with boxing modality.”

Rumble classes feature ten  3-minute rounds. “Half the class is spent boxing with our custom aqua-filled bags & the other half is spent powering through strength & resistance training exercises. You can take it as easy or hard as you like. Our classes are beginner friendly and for all levels,” Manish says.

A pre-sale is slated for January.

Liquor license fees revert to 2020 levels

The Natick Select Board voted last week to return liquor license fees for on-premises consumption at restaurants, etc. in 2023, to their pre-pandemic levels, having given businesses a break the past couple of years in light of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact (see discussion on Natick Pegasus recording, about 14 minutes in). Fees had been cut by half.

The town had actually conducted a comprehensive review of license fees shortly before the pandemic, and the 2020 fees reflected that. That’s the set of fees the town voted to return to for 2023.

The Board decided not to go all the way back to the previous fees for hotels/inns, which are still recovering from the pandemic. Down the road, the town could reexamine fees for sellers of liquor for off-premises consumption, with an eye toward possibly making the fee difference between small package stories and larger retailers such as Total Wine and Wegmans more pronounced.

There was also talk of incremental fee increases in the future, say every couple of years, rather than more drastic increases that would happen every so often.

Thank you Call & Haul

Thank you to Call & Haul for its Natick Report support.

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The latest Natick, Mass., business news:

Top Fitness grand re-opening

Top Fitness, which sells all sorts of exercise equipment from treadmills to rowers to weight gear, will celebrate its opening at 1400 Worcester St., at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday, Sept. 24 at 3-4pm.

Grand opening deals will be offered over the weekend.

This space is in the Rte. 9 strip that was formerly home to Papa Wheelies, which moved to Wellesley last year.

Don’t zone out over Article 24

Article 24 on the warrant for Natick Fall Town Meeting has to do with rezoning the strip along Rte. 135 east (East Central Street/Union Street intersection) to make for a more gradual transition from downtown Natick to more residential areas. The area spans from Grant Street to 99 East Central St. (small building in front of the

So we’re talking about some lots that in limbo such as where various banks have stood at the corner next to Morse Tavern, and then the Neighborhood Wrench spot across the intersection.

The Article is making its rounds these days through various Natick boards, including the Select Board (about 21 minutes into the Sept. 21 meeting and set for more discussion on Sept. 28). The Planning Board discussed it at the 1-hour, 46-minute mark of its Sept. 22 meeting and plans to continue hashing it out Oct. 6. The Finance Committee has Article 24 on its Sept. 27 agenda.

Director of Community & Economic Development Amanda Loomis told the Select Board that “What we’re looking to do is really create a transition zone from a commercial corridor into the neighborhood areas, but also increase walkability and the experience that a pedestrian would be using from either the St. Pat’s project, the senior center, the armory, etc….” Loomis said. This would provide for less density than is allowed downtown, but provide more opportunity for development than in regular residential zones.

Impatient drivers are going to miss cutting through that Neighborhood Wrench parking lot if this happens, but oh well…

 

Craftacular beer tasting at Skybokx 109 Sports Bar & Grill

Skybokx 109 has its big craft beer tasting event slated for Oct. 13 from 5:30-8pm. Advance tickets are $35 ($40 day of) and group tickets are available.

 

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