Wegmans to close its Natick Mall store later this summer

June 1, 2023 by Deborah Brown 1 Comment

It’s been a fun five years, but Wegmans announced on Thur., June 1, that it will close its Natick Mall location later this summer, with an exact date TBD. The 146,500 sq. ft. multi-level food market opened with great fanfare in 2018, only to find that, according to Brien MacKendrick, human resources director, Wegmans New England division, “Unfortunately, with this non-traditional location we are unable to attract enough customers for our business model to work.”

A memo on the Wegmans corporate website said that the store’s 365 employees (142 full-time and 223 part-time) were notified of the decision throughout the day and were assured that their positions with the company are secure, albeit at other area Wegmans’ locations.

Wegmans has five additional stores in the Greater-Boston area, and approximately 2,700 employees. Corporate says Wegmans does not have plans to close any other stores.

Natick Report readers have been reacting to the surprising news on social media:

“Wegman’s has been my go-to’ grocery store since they opened. It always seemed busy so this news is truly shocking!”
“Prices are high but love shopping there. Garage parking in winter, easy access, great customer service, fresh foods, good bakery. Fixed costs are high there, I guess they need more customer traffic. Bet Stop and Shop and Roche Brothers are happy. Maybe the Stop and Shop will improve their customer service but won’t hold my breath.”
“What the F?!”

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Natick business buzz: Swarms are visiting The Hive; Holistic Healing Open House event; Thank you to new advertiser Write Ahead

April 6, 2023 by Deborah Brown 2 Comments

The latest Natick, Mass., business news:

The Hive is buzzing in Natick Center

We stopped by Natick Center’s newest retail venture, The Hive located at 22 N. Main St., to see what the multi-tenanted space is all about. On our way in we admired the flower boxes filled with blooming daffodils and hyacinths—curb appeal counts. Inside, the large space is loosely divided into about nine individual boutiques, each curated by a different small business owner. One area showcases vintage goods, artisanal soaps, and tea towels with bold graphics; children’s clothing, books, and toys are tucked into a front-window space; hand-made dolls wait to be taken home; a gallery wall displays art; and more.

That’s right now. A few months later a couple of businesses may have moved on to make way for, say, a maker who sells hand-knitted sweaters, or perhaps someone who handcrafts products from honey. It’s all part of the grand plan of the place.

The Hive, Natick — Children’s clothing, books, and toys are tucked into a front-window space.

An important goal of the collaborative is to help small, local businesses to move on from a residency at The Hive to permanent tenancy elsewhere. What The Hive offers the members of its collective is a first step in running a business. Face it, between supervising (and paying for) renovations, buying fixtures and inventory, and hiring staff, going it alone in a traditional bricks-and-mortar location can be a big, scary step. The Hive offers a shared space with shared responsibilities, which keeps expenses low.

Jill Hourihan of Metro Pets Boutique in Natick is behind the venture and explained, “What you’ll find with pop-up shops is that they’re usually the tenant between tenants. If you’re only there for a few months, how much can you invest in the community and how much can the community invest in you? This will be here for at least five years. We’ll have residencies between three and 12 months.”

Meet several of the collaborative’s members:

If joining The Hive sounds sweet, apply for residency.

Meet your next health practitioner at Holistic Healing

Holistic Healing , based in South Natick, is a group of health practitioners focusing on healing all parts of the body and mind. Their providers offer therapy, acupuncture, physical therapy, nutrition counseling, energy healing, reiki, yoga and meditation, grief and addiction counseling, and qigong healing bodywork.

On Wednesday May 3, from 6:30-8:30, Holistic Healing practitioners will be holding an open house in their serene and welcoming office space at 8 Pleasant St, Natick where attendees can learn about the holistic mind and body health services available to them. Light refreshments will be provided.

Attendees can sign up for a complimentary physical therapy postural or injury screen, get an intro nutrition counseling session, enjoy mini reiki and acupuncture sessions, learn about energy healing and attend a mini meditation workshop and qigong and self massage workshop.

Stop by to see how Holistic Healing practitioners can help you.

Thank you to new advertiser Write Ahead

We’re excited to have Write Ahead, which offers after-school and summer writing classes, as a new Natick Report sponsor. Please check out Write Ahead’s website to learn more about its analytic writing, college application essay, and other class offerings.

Reach our growing Natick Report audience by sponsoring our site.

Top 10 things to do in Natick, Mass. in 2023

January 4, 2023 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

We’ve updated our popular “Top 10 things to do in Natick” page to remind everyone of how much the town has to offer. From hiking and bird watching at Mass Audubon’s Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary, to catching some culture at The Center for Arts in Natick, or visiting the Natick History Museum (currently by appointment only) inside the Bacon Free Library, there’s plenty to do and see in Natick.

Have you experienced everything on our list?

TCAN, located at 14 Summer St. in Natick Center, provides a venue where audiences can see national and emerging artists, attend literary events and art exhibitions, and more.

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Natick Holiday Stroll brings out a festive crowd

December 19, 2022 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

The annual Natick Holiday Stroll drew last-minute holiday gift shoppers, kids and their families on a quest to see Santa, and those who took the event at its word and were just in town to walk around and enjoy the lights before popping into a restaurant for Saturday night dinner.

Natick Center merchants took advantage of the mild-enough weather to throw open their doors in a welcome to shoppers. The strains of live music were audible from inside Baylee Bee, and a hustle-and-bustle scene was evident at Calliope Paperie, where author Lindsay Cadigan was signing copies of her book, Betty the Confetti Yeti. Paper Fiesta hosted Jonah’s Twisters, who gave out free balloon animals to excited children, who then could get further wound up by getting their faces painted at Sweetwaters (we saw 1 little kid fall on the sidewalk, and her face was perhaps saved from hitting the cement when her ballon animal—which did not pop—cushioned the fall). We missed out on the free soup at Agostino’s but are sure it was delicious.

In addition to the classic bricks-and-mortar shopping experience, local small business owners and non-profit organizations set up tables on the sidewalk to capture the street traffic.

The Natick Center Cultural District put together the event, designed to encourage people to shop and eat in Natick’s downtown district.

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Natick Mall revisits 20th century with time capsule unveiling

October 14, 2022 by Deborah Brown 2 Comments

The Natick Mall last week unveiled a time capsule from 1994 with contents that turned out to be part blast from the past and part predictions of the future. Among the capsule memorabilia displayed on long tables in the Infinity Pool Court area of the Mall were stacks of handwritten essays contributed at the time by local students. This group of school kids included Nostradamus-like seers, able to hazard pretty accurate guesses about what life would be like in 28 years. Technology loomed large on the minds of late-20th century young people.

“Cars will run on batteries all the time,” prophesied one student, while another wrote, “Computers will run everything. They will be able to run a whole company with no problems.”

The no problems part turned out to be a stretch, but we admire the optimism.