CENTRAL MASS. BY THE NUMBERS
256
Lucy’s Cake Shop, 256 Park Ave., Worcester, has papered-up windows and a sign on the door indicates the bakery is “temporarily closed for construction and renovation. We will be back soon. Thank you!” The recent closure seemed sudden, with no announcement on social media. The business phone still rings but no voicemail set up. Julio Abreu and Lucibel Ruiz opened the scratch bakery in 2021, taking over space occupied by the coffee and waffle shop Blue Shades, which closed after the pandemic.
67
Ronnie’s Seafood and Ice Cream in Auburn, a place to grab a clam dinner or summer-night treat for nearly seven decades, has closed. The Lemansky family, which has been running the Route 20 business for generations, will not open for the season, a spring tradition. “It is bittersweet that we announce that the time has come for Ronnie’s to close its doors,” the Lemanskys wrote on social media. “For 67 seasons, we have loved serving you the freshest seafood and delicious ice cream you have come to expect from us every spring.” Edmund J. and Florence H. Lemansky started the business in 1956. The restaurant was named after one of their sons, Ronald.
143
Helfand’s Deli on Highland Street, which opened in September 2022, has closed. The New York-style Jewish deli posted on social media that March 16 would be its last day. “As many restaurants are experiencing the high cost of food and the significant labor shortage, we find ourselves unable to properly serve you,” the owners wrote. Four card-playing partners were behind the restaurant at 143 Highland St., in the former Sahara Restaurant. Carl Goldstein, David Cohen, Andy Davis and Ward McLaughlin bought the building that housed the restaurant.
44
Weeks after one Canal District project requested an extension from the city due to financial issues, developers behind the planned nine-story housing and commercial project at the former Fairway Beef building report similar issues. In 2022, the Telegram & Gazette reported AKROS Development planned to build a 90,000-square-foot building where the vacant 44 Grafton St. building stands. Plans call for about 105 units of housing and about 1,000 square feet of commercial space, a parking garage with 72 spaces and related improvements. The cover letter lists causes of the delay as labor and supply chain issues, banking system instability and a slowdown in the commercial real estate market.
700
The state Department of Public Health is challenging a St. Vincent Hospital press release that states the department found no deficiencies in staffing and quality of patient care at the hospital. The investigation that started Jan. 31 is ongoing, and no conclusions can be drawn at this time, according to the DPH. It declined additional comment on an open investigation. Investigators from the DPH spent five days at the hospital, according to the hospital’s press release. The investigation followed more than 700 complaints filed by nurses with state and federal regulators that claimed severe understaffing that puts patient safety at risk.