Worcester’s development and business scene kept moving this week, with new housing, restaurants and nightlife all in the mix.
A 74-unit apartment project won Planning Board approval, a vegan restaurant moved closer to opening and two new bars are preparing to join the city’s nightlife scene. Worcester’s business community is also mourning the loss of Robert “Bob” Kennedy, who led Mechanics Hall for 12 years.
74 units of housing planned for corner of Chandler, Irving
A definitive site plan for a residential development at 27 Chandler St. was unanimously approved Aug. 5 by the Worcester Planning Board.
A project of Worcester-based GoVenture Capital Group LLC, the plans call for a five-story multifamily residential building with 74 new housing units — 56 one-bedroom, 10 two-bedroom and eight studio apartments — at the intersection of Chandler and Irving streets.
The site is currently a vacant lot that once served as the home of Hovey Laundry. A key feature of the development will be a 2,000-square-foot outdoor courtyard.
The Vegan Path moves closer to opening at former Queen’s Cup location
The Worcester License Commission unanimously approved a common victualler license for The Vegan Path, 56 Water St., at its Aug. 6 meeting.
Owned by Tao Zhou, the new restaurant will serve a variety of healthy, plant-based foods. The Vegan Path is slated to open within the next few months at the former location of Queen’s Cup, a popular establishment owned by Renee Diaz that closed its doors in June 2025.
Not your father’s dive bar
The Corner Dive, a new bar at 34 Green St., will host a grand opening Friday, Aug. 7, from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Longtime Canal District revelers are already familiar with the site at the corner of Green and Temple streets, which housed the original Dive Bar until 2019. Located just a stone’s throw from Polar Park, The Corner Dive is owned by Kyle Pursell of Framingham.
The establishment’s Instagram page describes it this way: “The Corner Dive positions itself as the antidote to generic nightlife – not a sports bar, not a pretentious cocktail lounge, but a welcoming place.”
Vice Worcester joins the gay bar scene this fall
Andrew Lapin and Mike Steward plan to open Vice Worcester, a new gay bar on Pleasant Street near downtown, sometime this fall. Patrick Joslyn will serve as the venue’s director of entertainment.
Vice Worcester will be the third gay bar in the city, joining Femme Bar on Green Street and MB Lounge on Grafton Street. An Instagram account and website for the new venture were launched in early July.
Business community mourns the loss of Robert Kennedy
Robert “Bob” Kennedy, former executive director of Mechanics Hall, died July 25 at age 78 after battling Parkinson’s disease.
A graduate of Leicester High School and the College of the Holy Cross, Kennedy led Mechanics Hall for 12 years at the end of his career. He previously served as vice president and treasurer of the family-owned Kennedy Die Castings Inc.
Kennedy received Mechanics Hall’s Master Mechanics Award as well as the Robert Kennedy Community Service Award, named in his honor by the Worcester Youth Orchestras.
About Building Worcester: Building Worcester is The Worcester Guardian’s weekly roundup of business, development and economic news from across the city, tracking major projects, new businesses, public meetings, commercial real estate and the decisions shaping Worcester’s future.
Have a tip about a new business, development project or commercial property? Email Executive Editor Charlene Arsenault at carsenault@theworcesterguardian.org or reporter Mike Vigneux at MikeVigs@gmail.com.
