Natick Business Buzz: A visit to the Muffin House; Royal Smoke Shop wafts onto Rte. 9; New program for nurse practitioner faculty

September 16, 2022 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

The latest Natick, Mass., business news:

A visit to the Muffin House

Somehow we’d never made it over the Muffin House Café(325 N. Main St.) until this week, when in our quest to go everywhere in Natick we braved the never-ending construction mess on Rte. 27.

We got there during the 8am rush, along with high school students and others who, like us, lined up inside the small cafe, or waited patiently just outside. You can order online to avoid peak hour crushes. Although there are a couple of stools at a counter area, the tight quarters make the Muffin House mainly a take-out shop. The counter area when we were there was in use as a pick-up area for pre-ordered cakes and other baked goods. A couple of tables and chairs are set up for outdoor dining.

The Muffin House is a small place with a big menu. The astonishing variety of drinks includes over 15 coffee flavors available, and all flavors are roasted in the bean so that each drink comes to the customer with a rich flavor profile. They’ve got four varieties of frozen coffee (mint chip, extreme toffee coffee, coconut cream, and chocolate decadence); nitro coffee; lattes; cappuccinos; espresso shots; teas; cider; hot chocolate; strawberry banana, wildberry, or tropical smoothies; and more.

But they’re not called the Muffin House for nothing. On any given day about a dozen varieties of freshly baked muffins are in rotation from their roster of almost 20 recipes. We went with a pina colada muffin, as moist and tropical as a beach day on an island paradise. The vanilla raspberry offered a subtler taste, also good. Both muffins had a nice crumb to them, and a muffin top that gave a slight crunch at the edges. We washed the muffins down with a flavorful mango smoothie and were good for the morning.

Our sole disappointment was the news that they were out of rustic grain bread, so we chose to have our avocado toast on white. Not as satisfying, but the everyday bagel seasoning on top gave the toast plenty of flavor, and the avocado portion was generous.

There are five Muffin House Café locations, including Hopkinton and Medway.

Royal Smoke Shop wafts onto Rte. 9

Royal Smoke Shop has left Natick Mall and replaced a mattress and futon shop at 136 Worcester St. (Rte. 9 east).

The adult-only shop, where you can buy hookahs and such, is seeking a variance from the Natick Board of Health on Sept. 20 to add lottery tickets to its mix.

New program for nurse practitioner faculty

Natick nonprofit Nurse Practitioner Associates for Continuing Education (NPACE) has teamed with the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties to create a development program for new or early career nurse practitioner faculty.

This 28-credit on-demand continuing education program aims to help new faculty understand the nuances of adult education and the specific education needs of nurse practitioner students. The program is broken into five self-paced modules:
 Foundations and Theoretical Frameworks of Education
 Curriculum Design and Development
 Student Assessment and Test Construction
 Clinical Education and Evaluation
 Technology and Learning Best Practices

Discounts are available on the program.

Where to eat in Natick

August 4, 2022 by Bob Brown 1 Comment

Looking to branch out for breakfast, lunch, or dinner in Natick? We’ve rounded up all of the town’s eating establishments (though please let us know if anything’s missing or outdated, or if you’re interested in sponsoring our Natick restaurants page: natickreport@gmail.com).

7 South Restaurant, Natick — 7 South Bottle+ Kitchen is Natick’s newest restaurant, having opened this summer

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Natick Business Buzz: Mall food court going Brazilian; Night Shift Taproom survives bad brewery news; MetroWest Chamber events in August

July 29, 2022 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

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

Natick Mall food court going Brazilian

The Natick Mall food court is buzzing again, and soon will have more choices for hungry patrons.

On tap is Terra Nossa Brazilian Grill, which has locations at other malls in Braintree and Providence. They’re slated to open at Natick Mall in the fall.

Also listed on the food court directory is a “coming soon” for Hot Doogy, the Brazilian-style hot dog restaurant that opened at Sherwood Plaza in spring of 2021. Hot Doogy management says the mall shop will be in addition to its existing Natick location.

The business already has another location at Kingston Collection in Kingston, Mass. (wait, there’s another mall that has called itself “Collection,” like Natick Mall once did?)

Hot Doogy is the brainchild of husband and wife Thiago and Fernanda Andrade, who started the business about a year ago after Fernanda’s specialties proved popular at their church. They’ve also looped in Thiago’s mother, Izabel, and have been doing a brisk delivery business on the south shore based out of a commercial “cloud” kitchen.

Perfect for a bite before or after shopping at the mall’s Brazilia’s Boutique women’s fashion store or at the new Stay Fashion Boutique in Natick on Rte. 135.

Natick’s Night Shift Taproom survives bad brewery news

Night Shift Brewing announced this week that it needs to move most of its production out of its Everett base due to its CO2 supply being cut and that will result in layoffs as it shifts most production to Jack’s Abby in Framingham and The Guild in Rhode Island. The business had hoped to build a large facility in Philadelphia, but COVID-19 scuttled that plan a while back.

What this means for Natick? The Night Shift Taproom attached to the Level99 gaming venue at Natick Mall is staying open.

“Just to dispel a few false rumors we’ve already heard circulating: We are not closing any of our Taprooms or beer gardens…” Night Shift wrote on its Facebook page.

MetroWest Chamber of Commerce upcoming events

Looking to connect or reconnect? The MetroWest Chamber of Commerce isn’t vacationing in August. Among its activities:

In-person Business Referral Group meeting on Aug. 8 from 7:30-8:30am at the Chamber’s Framingham location on Rte. 9
Regional Business BBQ & Networking on Aug. 9 at 5:45pm at the YMCA in Hopkinton
In-person Women’s Networking event on Aug. 10 at 5:30-7pm at a location to be announced

Our opening night visit to Natick’s newest restaurant: 7 South Bottle + Kitchen

June 22, 2022 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

After keeping eager diners updated for months on the construction progress of 7 South Bottle + Kitchen via social media, the grand opening announcement of the Natick Center restaurant arrived in the same way. “And the time has finally arrived…Opening tomorrow at 5pm,” read the Instagram post.

What? That soon? As in June 21? Judging by the high-profile crowd in the dining room, Natick’s movers and shakers cleared their calendars the moment they heard it was game on for the brand-new American comfort food spot, located in the former Dolphin seafood location. For now, seating is dine-in only, dinner only, on a first-come, first-served basis. Current hours below, but make sure you double-check before you go.

The dining room and bar area, decorated with sparkly art, filled up fast on opening night. We spotted luminaries including at least one current Select Board member enjoying a friends night out; one former Select Board member and company; the high-visibility foodie and chef, Kiat Cormier, behind the popular Facebook group Chew on This; long-time Natick residents table hopping their way around the 150-seat space; and town employees stopping by after work. The specialty cocktails and craft beers flowed, and animated chatter filled the room as busy waitstaff dressed in black pants, black tops, and heavy-duty olive-drab canvas aprons brought sweet and sticky Korean chicken wings; street taco flat bread; harvest grain bowls; shrimp and grits; and more from the seven appetizer/11 entrees menu.

The Giannacopoulos family, who for 27 years ran the Dolphin in the 7 South location, put John G. at front-of-house duty to meet and greet the hungry hordes, and apologize for any opening-night glitches. Although plenty of seating was available, we waited about 30 minutes for a table. “Thank you for your patience,” John said. “We had to give the kitchen a chance to catch up. They’re working very hard back there.”

Once seated in our comfortable booth, we got down to the business of ordering drinks—lemonade for me, and for my co-editor a Robot Crush Pilsner, a light lager with honey and hay notes, one of about a dozen beers on tap.

Since our drinks cried out to be put to work washing something down, we asked for an appetizer of bacon and cheddar potato kegs, the adult version of that kid’s-table standby, tater tots. In the 7 South way of reimagining the comfort food, the tots have put on some weight, evolving into crispy, deep-fried grated potato barrels, with bacon bits and scallions, served on top of garlic aioli ($14). The six potato kegs, crunchy on the outside, steaming hot on the inside, disappeared fast. Serving the kegs on top of the smooth-tasting and garlicky aioli sauce, instead of smothering them with it, allows diners who aren’t sauce fans to join in the delicious fun.

Feeling like I needed to have something virtuous after such a decadent start to my meal, I ordered the spring salad with fresh and tender arugula, baby kale, and baby spinach, dressed with a shallot vinaigrette ($16), and topped with a nice portion of salmon for an additional $10. Served in an asymmetrical black ceramic bowl, the salad had a nice balance of all greens, with a good ratio of the goodies—crumbled goat cheese bits, walnuts, and green and red grapes, halved.

My dining companion was game to try out the fried buttermilk chicken and waffles. “I feel like I should because I’m here,” he said, suggesting that he’s not really a heavy-meal kind of guy. The generous portion of chicken was crisp on the outside, moist on the inside. Served with cold smoked bacon and hot and spicy honey it was the kind of down-home dish designed to fill up all the empty spaces in both stomach and soul. A squeeze bottle of thick, brown liquid was brought to the table to drizzle atop the fluffy waffles, but just know we’re talking “pancake syrup” here, not the local (and pricey) maple-tree based treasure that comes out of the Natick Community Organic Farm sugar shack every spring. Even I know that’s a lot to ask for.

Expect friendly and efficient service at 7 South, and bring a dose of patience as the new place gets up to speed.

NEW RESTAURANT: 7 South Bottle+Kitchen

MENU DETAILS: One appetizer is gluten-free and about half of the dozen entrees are as well.

LOCATION: 7 South Ave., Natick.
We meter parked and entered on the South Ave. side of the restaurant, but most diners parked in the the lot on the Washington Street side and entered there.

CURRENT HOURS

Check 7 South Bottle+Kitchen’s social media channels before you go.
Monday: closed
Tuesday: 5pm-9:30pm
Wednesday: 5pm-9:30pm
Thursday: 5pm-10pm
Friday: 5pm-10pm
Saturday: 5pm-10pm
Sunday: 5pm-9:30pm

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Where to eat in Wellesley, MA—more than 50 dining options

Dolphin successor 7 South Bottle + Kitchen opens this week in Natick Center

June 20, 2022 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

7 South Bottle + Kitchen, which we assume people will just call “7 South,” opens on the first day of summer, this Tuesday (June 21) at 5pm-9:30pm. First come, first served, and dine-in only for this successor to long-time Natick restaurant Dolphin Seafood. While the Dolphin used 12 Washington St., as its address, 7 South is using 7 South Ave. as its address.

The new Natick Center restaurant from the Giannacopoulos family will have the following schedule this week after that:

Wednesday : 5 – 9:30pm
Thursday : 5 – 10pm
Friday : 5 – 10pm
Saturday : 5 – 10pm
Sunday : 5 – 9:30pm

While the Dolphin is gone, seafood will be included on 7 South’s menu. This includes shrimp & grits as well as salmon. Other items include braised short rib grilled cheese and buttermilk chicken and waffles. Early reports described the restaurant as focusing on American comfort food…not sure how comfortable this will be, but it sounds interesting. Entree prices range from $16 to nearly $30 for salmon.

7 South is promoting a drink menu that features red sangria, a Dirty Shirley, and Cold Brew Espresso Martini.

Where to eat in Natick, Mass.