Worcester grocery store Maker to Main will permanently close
WORCESTER – Farm-to-table grocery store Maker to Main will permanently close this weekend, with owner Lynn Cheney citing issues with foot traffic and debt.
Originally on Main Street, the store reopened in a bigger space on Harding Street in September, with hopes for a fresh start.
While business was better on Harding Street, Cheney added that “it was not enough.”
“Maker to Main was forgotten because it took so much to happen,” said a visibly emotional Cheney on Friday. “This was a store that was desperately needed for this area.”
Cheney started out in 2012 as a delivery service for farm products, connecting hundreds of local farmers to grocery stores, transporting vegetables, meat products and other items out of the back of a truck.
In February 2020, she opened the doors to Maker to Main, a brick-and-mortar store at 328 Main St., to directly bring the products of local farms to the city.
The store had challenges that Cheney partly attributed to limited downtown parking. She shuttered the Main Street location in February 2023.
The new home was a one-story building at 166 Harding St., which Cheney opened last September with greater space and more products and services.
The Harding Street location had previously been home to Harding Glass Co. Inc., which closed in September 2022 after 74 years in business.
Cheney used the word "heartbreaking" on Friday to describe her feelings, and shrugged about the future.
Everything will be 25% off at the store as Cheney is liquidating the store. She plans to shut it down at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Andrea Monterotti, a customer who lives across the street from the store, said the grocer was her go-to location because of its proximity to her home.
On Friday, she purchased some grapes and a container of yogurt.
“Very sad,” said Monterotti about the news of the closing. “It’ll be hard now without another grocery store nearby.”
Cheney said city officials were also made aware of the closing, and she said they told her that they were “equally heartbroken.”
District 2 City Councilor Candy Mero-Carlson said she was “shocked” by the news, adding in an interview that she had often patronized the store.
“They've been such great people for Worcester,” said Mero-Carlson. “It's a great grocery store. They did a great job on that store.
“I’m surprised.”
As for a need for a local grocery store, Mero-Carlson said, “there's definitely a need there.”
A statement from the office of City Manager Eric D. Batista bemoaned the shuttering saying, "we never want to see a small business close."
"The City of Worcester commends all entrepreneurs – past, present, and future – for their fortitude and tenacity to take on the challenges of today’s changing global economy," said the statement. "My administration will always champion those willing to put their ideas into action and pursue their dreams while offering a service to the community."
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester grocery store Maker to Main will permanently close
