Maker To Main Leaving Downtown Worcester For Canal District

WORCESTER, MA — Three years after opening a storefront in downtown Worcester, grocery store Maker To Main will depart for a new home in the Canal District, the owners announced Tuesday.

The new location along Harding Street will be larger, allowing the store to offer more, founder Lynn Cheney said in a message to customers on the store's third birthday.

"We’ve been quietly working on a Harding Street location as the more robust grocery store many of you have been asking for. Complete with a full-service deli counter for meats, cheeses, and sandwiches, grab and go prepared foods, expanded food selections and of course, parking! Yes, lots of parking, right at our doorstep!" Cheney said.

Cheney said the move is a combination of factors, ranging from abandoned downtown development projects to a dearth of office workers. The Canal District has multiple development projects either under construction or planned.

"The pandemic also brought a largely remote workforce, keeping Main Street from being a bustling and business-essential foot-traffic area. Add in confusing parking, much of which is metered, and you have an environment that greatly impedes a business’ ability to thrive. All while that same business is left waiting for complimenting commerce to take shape," she said.

Maker to Main opened in February 2020 in the first floor of a downtown building that had been renovated to include new apartments. The store's move will leave downtown proper without a grocery store. Gala Foods south near Chandler Street will still be available.

Maker To Main specializes in food, produce, drinks and home goods sourced from within a few hundred miles of Worcester.