Business Newsletter - March 2020

Below is the monthly Business Newsletter for March 2020. The stories below detail important business news that the town wants to share with business leaders this month. If there is a topic you'd like to learn more about, or if there is a story that you'd like us to cover in a future edition, please contact us by clicking here.

Branding and Marketing Update

The Sturbridge Tourist Association (STA) is continuing its work to develop a Town brand and three year marketing strategy. Its consultant, Open the Door, has thus far spoken with community stakeholders, conducted consumer research, held focus groups, and is currently conducting a consumer survey (click here if you would like to participate/share with your customers). It is expected that within a few weeks the Town will have a draft version of the proposed brand. The STA will use this brand to help promote all businesses in Town to new visitors and tourists, helping to spread the word about our great community.

If you have questions or comments about the brand please contact the Economic Development and Tourism Coordinator at (508) 347-2500 ext. 1411.

Economic Development Forum

The Town is currently conducting an economic development self-assessment which it will use to update is strategies for business recruitment and retention, as well as to plan for its future economic growth. To that end it has hired, through a grant from the Commonwealth, McCabe Enterprises to conduct the research and to produce the report. On 13 February, the Town and McCabe Enterprises hosted an Economic Development Forum to present its initial findings and to solicit feedback on those findings. There was a great dialogue with local residents and town officials who came out to the forum. If you were unable to attend, you can view a recording of the forum by clicking here.

Now that the forum has been held, our consultant will take that information and combine it with the multiple surveys and stakeholder interviews that they have been conducting to develop our self-assessment and future strategy. That report is expected later this spring.

Restaurant Week – March 16th – March 29th

The Sturbridge Tourist Association is working to drive business to restaurants this March with the creation of a restaurant week. This is a unique way to host a restaurant week in that it is open to all restaurants with no requirements to participate. Unless a business chooses to, they do not need to develop any new menu items, or fixed prices. Rather the goal is to market all restaurants locally and regionally to encourage new visitors to come to Sturbridge’s many diverse restaurants and try something new. To that end the STA has invested $3,000 in marketing and promotion for this event (click here to view its story posted on Discover Central MA’s website).

The Town encourages all businesses to help promote this event and to encourage people to come out and support Sturbridge restaurants.

If you have questions or comments about restaurant week please contact the Economic Development and Tourism Coordinator at (508) 347-2500 ext. 1411.

Municipal Vulnerability Program (MVP) Grant Awarded - $15,000

The Baker-Polito Administration began the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) program as a way to help communities mitigate and prepare for the risks of climate change. As all emergencies begin and end at the local level, the Administration wanted to empower local communities to take actionable steps to become more climate resilient. Sturbridge recently applied for and was awarded a $15,000 planning grant to become an MVP community. This planning grant will see the Town work with the Central MA Regional Planning Commission, local stakeholders and residents to identify hazards in our community. By June the Town will be eligible to apply for between $25,000 and $2 million in state funding to make improvements to our community that will help make Sturbridge more climate resilient.

The Town will have much more to say about this program in the coming months. For now if you want to learn more, please click here to learn more about the MVP program.

Town Meetings

Please click here to view the local board and committee meetings that will take place this March. Please note that the meetings are subject to change as per open meeting law.