Maker To Main Takes Key Reopening Step In Worcester With License Request

WORCESTER, MA — The temporarily closed specialty Worcester grocery store Maker To Main will take a key step toward reopening this week: seeking approval from the License Commission for its new location.

Maker To Main will seek permission for a victualler license to operate at 162 Harding St. and keep the store open about 61 hours per week, according to the meeting agenda. The grocery store is moving into the former Harding Glass shop.

Maker To Main founder Lynn Cheney notified customers in late February that the grocery store would close its Main Street location for a move to a new site in the Canal District. Cheney promised the new store would offer amenities unavailable along Main Street, including a deli counter and prepared foods. The new store will also offer better parking options, she said.

According to the License Commission agenda, Maker To Main will be open for more than 60 hours per week, including 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays.

Maker To Main specializes in food, produce, drinks and home goods sourced from within a few hundred miles of Worcester. The Main Street store opened in February 2020, and Cheney said the store struggled due to factors like limited parking, officer workers going remote during the pandemic and stalled downtown residential developments.

The new Harding Street store will be within walking distance of hundreds of new units planned across the Canal District, including near Polar Park.