You would think that a restaurant located beyond the bounds of Worcester’s highly touted main dining area is at a disadvantage, competitively speaking. Not so, says Joey Rovezzi of Joey’s Bar & Grill on Mill St.
“I’m the busiest I’ve been in 25 years,” Rovezzi said, of the establishment he and wife Erika opened several years ago. “I’ve been involved with ten restaurants and this is the one I’m proudest of, for that reason: we’re off the beaten path. Personally, I chose to stay away from Shrewsbury St. We have created our own niche and our own destination. And I don’t need the head butting that goes with (being on `Restaurant Row,’ where restaurateurs and club owners are occasionally pitted against neighborhood activists).”
Restaurant owners Inside Worcester spoke to do not begrudge Shrewsbury St. its success: success that has manifested itself in such signature accomplishments as The Taste of Shrewsbury St., the 2010 version of which will take place on Tuesday, June 22 from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. (“Taste” admission buttons are available from various merchants).
“Kudos to Shrewsbury St. and the Canal District for what they’ve accomplished,” Brendan O’Connor of O’Connor’s Bar & Grill on upper West Boylston St. said. “Sometimes I wish we were in a `Row.’ We’re more `fractured’ up here (in North Worcester).”
O’Connor’s, however, boasts plenty of parking, easy access from I-190, a stellar reputation, a devoted clientele and, like Joey’s, a commitment to being, as Brendan O’Connor puts it, “guest-oriented.”
The challenges restaurants like O’Connor’s face have more to do with the economy than with Shrewsbury St.’s impact. “We’re creating a little market here for small groups” as one way of coping, Brendan O’Connor said.
Similarly, Paul and Jo-Ann Gaboury, who took ownership of the fabled Webster House Restaurant on Webster St. from Chris and Helena Liazos recently, are confronted with issues that are unique to their business: replacing outdated kitchen equipment, painting and upgrading, revamping the menu, working with a new chef (Mike Murphy) and “keeping the standards as high as they’ve always been,” Jo-Ann Gaboury says.
“The scariest thing for us, though,” she said, “is initiating change, but not so much of it that customers of forty years aren’t going to keep coming.”
Webster House Restaurant marks 75 years in business this month!
In her six years as owner of Le Mirage Café at the corner of June and Chandler streets, Diane Louis has kept her focus on providing excellent fare, great service and a cozy atmosphere. Specials help too. On Mondays, for instance, “we offer a buy one meal and get a second of equal or lesser value at half that price,” she says.
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