100

When Worcester community members enter the Flourish at Thrive food pantry at 100 Grove St., they will not only find shelves and refrigerators stocked with healthy foods, but a space designed to meet the needs of people with developmental disabilities. A yearlong collaboration between Thrive Support & Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps people with developmental disabilities, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute students working on their capstone project, the food pantry will also serve as an after-school space and family resource center. At a ribbon-cutting and open house Monday, attendees got to see the space before it officially opened Tuesday.

$22.3M

On Wednesday, Saint-Gobain in Worcester a $22.3 million powerhouse that provides electricity to run the company's plant. The former powerhouse had been in service since the 1950s and officials said the investment shows the French company’s commitment to Worcester, with a new electricity source that runs more efficiently and is better for the environment. The Worcester operation has about 1,000 workers, the largest of the company's manufacturing sites in North America, based on the number of employees. The former Norton Co. went from a privately-held family business in 1962 to a publicly traded one, and Saint-Gobain bought Norton in 1990.

228

Members of the state Gaming Commission heard an earful from opponents of a proposed thoroughbred racetrack at their public hearing Tuesday in Hardwick while a small number of people spoke in favor of the plan. The commission is set to consider a proposal by Commonwealth Equine and Agricultural Center that would bring a day-to-day breeding and training facility for thoroughbred race horses and home for retired horses to Great Meadowbrook Farm at 228 Barre Road. That operation would be supplemented by festival days that would feature horse racing on a 1-mile grass track along Upper Church Street.

100

The monks of St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer have found a buyer for their brewing equipment. Rev. William Dingwall, closing director for Spencer Brewery, confirmed Monday that Trillium Brewing Co. of Boston has purchased the abbey’s brewhouse. Trillium is preparing its new site at 100 Royall St., Canton, for the brewing equipment and will contract a rigging company to haul it there.  As for the building that housed the former brewery, Dingwall said the monks have not yet decided how to repurpose it. Spencer Brewery closed in May after eight years as the sole Trappist brewer in the United States.

185-187

Mac's Diner, a Shrewsbury Street landmark since 1931, will be getting a name change under its new owners. On Thursday, the Worcester License Commission gave the go-ahead for a new bistro to open at the vacant diner.  Erion Callo and his wife, Esmeralda (Alda) Callo, will open Callo Imperial Bistro at 185-187 Shrewsbury St. The restaurant will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, Erion Callo told license commissioners Thursday. The Callos purchased the Mac's Diner property in April from Christopher McMahon. McMahon's father, Paul McMahon, operated the popular Italian eatery until his death in 2019.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Central Mass. by the Numbers