Update: Good news for people in need along the waterfront. As of Monday, the closed public restrooms referenced in this column were back in service, complete with shiny new floors. Now if only I could get the same kind of action when it comes to the Water Street sewer relocation project. This column could use […]
Category: Business Beat
Posted inBusiness Beat
A rite of spring that leaves many people feeling wronged: Paid parking
It’s almost time for the annual spring unveiling: that special day when the covers come off parking meters and pay stations downtown and along the waterfront. The seasonal reprieve from paid parking – which began Dec. 1 – expires on April 1. That means you’ll have to fork over $2 an hour to park in […]
Posted inBusiness Beat
A (dollar) sign of Plymouth’s growth: More banks
When notorious crook Willie Sutton was asked why he robbed banks, he supposedly replied, “Because that’s where the money is.” Sutton, who died in 1980, denied saying it, but who knows whether he was telling the truth? The guy was a thief. Similarly, when readers ask me why banks continue to open brick-and-mortar branches in […]
Posted inBusiness Beat
We know you want a Trader Joe’s in Plymouth. Here’s why it hasn’t happened.
When is Plymouth going to get a Trader Joe’s? That question has probably been asked more times than there are O’s in a box of Joe’s O’s. It popped into my mind the other day as I glanced at a sad display of Stop & Shop strawberries – $9.99 for one measly package of off-season […]
Posted inBusiness Beat
How many self-storage businesses does Plymouth need?
For months, I wondered what the building going up at the intersection of Commerce Way and Resnick Road might be. An office complex? A manufacturing plant that would create good-paying jobs? A – gasp! – tech startup incubator? Then came the big reveal: Another self-storage facility. What a letdown. The national company’s warehouse – with […]
Posted inBusiness Beat
Taking on the trouble with tipping
Has tipping reached the tipping point? I’m hardly the first to ask this question. Ever since iPads on swivel mounts began showing up on store counters everywhere, consumers have been under pressure to tip on almost any type of transaction. Here’s your cookie: Please pay me an additional 20 percent to hand it to you. […]
Posted inBusiness Beat
Lack of restroom access in the business district is a ‘going’ concern
My morning walk/run route often takes me along the waterfront and through downtown. This time of year, it requires a certain degree of weather tolerance, good shoes – and a strong bladder. Trying to find a restroom in the business district off-season is like searching for something positive to say about the Patriots this season. […]
Posted inBusiness Beat
A general store with a specific vision, and an owner with strong opinions
Tatum Stewart is doing more than one thing at a time. Again. (Can we please not call it multitasking?) She’s contemplating a reporter’s question while keeping an eye on the activity at Plimoth General Store, her Main Street business that opened in June. It features just enough of a lot of things, filling a void […]
Posted inBusiness Beat
For women-owned downtown businesses, a mix of optimism and frustration
Let’s get down to business. This column is a place for just about anything related to business in Plymouth, from comings and goings to announcements and events to an examination of the gears that drive the town’s economic engines. We’ll start downtown, which technically is in the northeast part of this sprawling community, not anywhere […]