Blackstone Valley Xpress February 26 2021

2 Blackstone Valley Xpress, February 26, 2021
OPTIMISM
Continued from page 1
tion describes as “the most
challenging year ever for the
industry.”
One of the biggest mitigating
factors, Mr. Hunter said,
is alarm about the pandemic
spread by newspapers, radio
and television.
“The restrictions don’t
impact us as much as the
constant barrage from the
media,” Mr. Hunter said on
February 10. “People are
now trained to live in fear
and be home by 9:00 p.m.
“Our customers are starting
to return but I feel this
will be an ongoing two to fiveyear
process to get everyone
comfortable to dine out.”
Survival of restaurants
during the pandemic hinges
on a number of factors, Boston
25 News reported after an
investigation. Among these
are location, menu, clientele,
alcohol sales, state and local
restrictions and taxes. Good
relationships with vendors,
banks, financial backers and
landlords can mean the difference
between staying in
business—or shutting your
doors for good—Boston 25
News concluded.
As steward of the fortunes
of Hunter’s Grille, Mr. Hunter
tries to maintain a positive
outlook. He is also a booster
of other enterprises in town
that are trying to work their
way through the pandemic.
Recently, for instance, he
interviewed Cindy Wyman,
owner of the Madison Place
hair salon, as part of a “business-to-business”
collaboration
with Grafton Community
Television.
Mr. Hunter likes to remind
the public that there is more to
the story than what they might
be hearing or reading about.
“What most people don’t
understand is that restaurants
are cleaner than most
houses,” Mr. Hunter said.
“That’s because we’re in
constant cleaning mode. Every
time someone finishes
dining with us we clean
and sanitize their table and
chairs. Every time we finish
a task in the kitchen we
clean and sanitize. Our HVAC
system purifies the air. We
do a thorough cleaning and
sanitizing at the start and
end of each day. Most folks
only clean their house once
a week. That’s the point we
need to be aware of.”
Hunter’s Grille & Tap qualified
for both rounds of PPP
money available through the
SBA, Mr. Hunter said. He still
sees full recovery for restaurants
like his as “a two to
five-year process.”
Since the pandemic began,
Mr. Mahlert said, the many
conversations he’s had with
small business owners left
the impression that some are
doing relatively well but that
other sectors of the economy,
like hotels and restaurants,
are still suffering.
Mr. Mahlert has an explanation
for why this is the case.
“During the most recent
round of the SBA’s Payroll
Protection Program, one of
the qualifying factors for businesses
was that they must
demonstrate a 25% or greater
reduction in revenues in at
least one quarter of 2020
compared to the same quarter
of 2019. To date, we have
received roughly half of the
number of PPP loan applications
we received in the first
round, but believe that has
much to do with businesses
not being able to show
the reduction in revenues.
We believe this potentially
shows some improvement in
the economy (or at least, not
a great enough reduction)
in businesses’ performance
year-to-year, which could be
a reason for optimism.”
Mr. Latino offered a similar
perspective from the viewpoint
of Millbury National Bank.
“I would say we are cautiously
optimistic,” Mr. Latino
said. “We have seen
the last year create a lot of
challenges for many people
in our community and for
small businesses. However, I
continue to be impressed by
the fortitude and entrepreneurial
spirit of small business
owners. They really are
the backbone of our community
and our economy.
“People have not been
traveling and have been receiving
stimulus funds, and
for the most part have been
cautious about controlling
what they can, and being
prudent with saving.
“There have been some
bright spots,” Mr. Latino said.
“The trades are extremely
busy and some businesses
have actually seen their
strongest year. The residential
real estate market is very
strong, and it seems to be
driven by lack of inventory.
This seems to support that
it is not a bubble and with
low rates here to stay for the
foreseeable future, I expect
the market will continue to
remain strong. Homeowners
are building equity, rental
rates are strong, and there
is a demand for construction
and home improvement.
“Certainly the longer the
pandemic continues the
harder it will be for many.
Certain industries have been
hit very hard such as travel,
entertainment, and hospitality.
I think there is some
pent-up demand for those industries
when they reopen,
which should hopefully help
with a speedy recovery.
At MNB, Mr. Latino said,
“we are watching the commercial
real estate market
for impacts of vacancies and
reduced demand stemming
from business closures and
a migration to work from
home. Some of the consumer
behavior towards online
will be a permanent shift,
which is a challenge for the
retail industry. Working from
home will also likely have
somewhat of a permanent
shift—how long that remains
is to be determined.
“I am hopeful that the postpandemic
economy will provide
lots of opportunity for
new entrepreneurs to start
new businesses and that we
can rebuild stronger than ever.
Central Mass. is a hub for innovation,
small business, education,
biotech and many other
industries. I think we are ripe
for a strong recovery.”
------------------------------------------------------
Contact Rod Lee at
rodlee.1963@gmail.com or
774-232-2999.
GRAFTON
Continued from page 1
holidays, was by donating
20 Thanksgiving food bags
to local seniors. Theroux
Dental Associates also currently
offers a ten percent
discount to seniors.
Unibank, which has a
North Grafton branch, also
recently inspired the gratitude
of the Grafton Senior
Center. The bank’s generosity
helped make the
center’s Holiday Gift Card
Drive an overwhelming success.
About 340 gift cards
were distributed to Grafton
seniors who were in need of
holiday cheer.
The Friends of Grafton Elders,
which contributed to
the drive’s success as well,
has been helping Grafton
seniors by providing free
Grab N Go Lunches through
Elder Nutrition. To learn if
the nonprofit will continue
the program during March,
people can check the
March 2021 Grafton Senior
Center newsletter. It can be
found online at grafton-ma.
gov/council-aging/pages/
newsletters-2021.
Another contributor to
the gift card drive is the St.
James Church Community
Outreach. Additionally,
the outreach program
has been providing free
transportation through the
Grafton Senior Center, to
Classic pub-style food is what keeps customers coming
back to Hunter’s Grille & Tap.
Grafton seniors. To find out
the current status of the program,
people can check the
latest newsletter from the
Grafton Senior Center.
Grafton Community
Television has also been
enhancing the health and
wellbeing of local seniors.
Since the Grafton Senior
Center is closed to the public
due to the pandemic, GCT
has been airing the center’s
Balance and Fall Prevention
class at 10:30 a.m., the center’s
Zumba class at 11:30
a.m., the center’s Stretch
and Strength class at 12:30
p.m. and the center’s Line
Dancing class at 2 p.m. The
classes can be viewed every
day on Ch. 34 on Verizon
and Ch. 191 on Charter.
The Town of Grafton is
continuing its Property Tax
Relief Program for qualifying
seniors ages 65 and
older (as well as qualifying
disabled veterans, active
duty service members
and people who are legally
blind). The program allows
qualified individuals to
work off up to 125 hours in
property taxes per tax year.
People interested in the program
can contact the Town
of Grafton’s Assessor’s Office
to learn if they qualify.
One business that’s helping
Grafton nonprofits that
serve seniors and others is
Tufts University. Its Cummings
School of Veterinary
Medicine is located
in North Grafton. Grants for
$1,000 from Tufts Community
Grants program (formerly
known as the Tufts Neighborhood
Service Fund) will be
awarded to non-profit organizations
in Grafton, Boston,
Medford and Somerville that
have volunteers who are or
have been associated with
Tufts (i.e. alumni, students,
current employees, etc.) in
the past year. Grant applications
are being accepted
through Monday March 1.
Applications and more information
can be found at
go.tufts.edu/tcg.
With many seniors 75 and
older being vaccinated and
with the number of people
who have the virus generally
decreasing, senior citizens
should soon be able
to resume the activities
that help them to thrive. In
the meantime, a little care
and concern from the rest
of the community can go a
long way.
Please note that this information
was correct at the
time the column was written.
However, because the
pandemic is rapidly changing
things, it’s best to check
the websites and social media
pages of any business
to see if new changes have
been implemented. Contact
Christine with your business
news items at cmgaleone15@
gmail.com.
Published on Published Fridays, four on times 2nd a month. and 4th Direct Fridays mailed of to the 68,470 month. unique homes
and Direct businesses mailed each to month 63,000 and unique available homes on news and stands businesses throughout each the month region.
1st Friday and SOUTH available COUNTY: on Charlton, news stands Dudley, throughout Oxford and Webster. the region.
22,600 homes and businesses.
2nd Friday: BLACKSTONE Auburn, Charlton, VALLEY Dudley, South: Douglas, Oxford and Mendon, Webster, Northbridge 1/2 all addresses. and Uxbridge.
2nd Friday BLACKSTONE 18,910 VALLEY homes South: and businesses. Douglas, Northbridge and Uxbridge.
3rd Friday ROUTES 12 & 20: Auburn, Oxford and Webster
4th Friday: Auburn, Charlton, Dudley, Oxford and Webster, other 1/2.
19,270 homes and businesses.
4th 4th Friday Friday BLACKSTONE VALLEY VALLEY North: North: Grafton, Graon, Millbury, Millbury Sutton, and Suon. Upton
20,805 homes and businesses.
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