Wellesley Business Buzz: meals delivered to your door; local auto shop to donate car to family in need; get fit in Linden Square

Update on new self check-out machines at Wellesley Roche Bros.

Wellesley Roche Bros. to add self-checkout lanes

Not even fire can put out the annual Hunnewell Fun Fair in Wellesley

New Wellesley Square restaurant visit: Rice Burg

Meal delivery service to launch in Wellesley

Wellesley automotive shop to donate wheels to a family in need

It’s been too divine, darling

Fitness boutiques to move right into Wellesley’s core

NRO moving….somewhere

Support the Hunnewell community

July 25, 2019 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

If you’re ready to put healthy, seasonally inspired meals on the table with no cooking required, you’re ready for Feast & Fettle a gourmet meal delivery service that has expanded their delivery area to Wellesley. Feast & Fettle’s online menu opens on Thursday, July 25th at noon, when you can order chef-prepared entrees and side dishes that will be delivered right to your door. Some menu items: entrees like Balsamic Grilled Flank Steak with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes; Toasted Hazelnut Crusted Salmon; sides like Mediterranean Quinoa Salad with Roasted Summer Vegetables or Corn on the Cob with Garlic Scallion Butter; and more.

Use discount code SWELLESLEY50 for 50% off your first week of meals. Sponsored content.

Haskin’s Automotive, a family-owned and operated collision and automotive center at 467 Washington St. in Wellesley, will hold its first-ever “Recycled Ride” event on Thursday, July 25, 1pm. The local business is donating a car to a MetroWest family in need as part of the National Auto Body Council’s “Recycled Rides” program. Haskins worked with Geico Insurance and the non-profit organization Family Promise MetroWest to find, repair, title and service a used car that will go to a family in Marlborough with transportation challenges.

Divine Design & Build, Wellesley Divine Design & Build is in the process of closing down its Linden Square location. Going forward, the one-stop design and remodeling services company will operate exclusively out of one office and and showroom at 2 Battery Wharf in Boston. Divine has been in Wellesley since 2010, putting together kitchens, baths, additions and whole house remodeling with an integrated team of in-house architects, designers and professional builders.

One of their designers, Amany Hanna, has decided not to follow the company into the city and instead will set up her own design studio nearby under the name of Amany Design Studio.

The XPonential Fitness brand is bringing Club Pilates and StretchLab into Linden Square in mid-September 2019. Construction is going full tilt in the units between Bach to Rock and Luxotic Nail Bar, where Studios Fitness & Dance used to reside before moving across Linden Street.

To celebrate, Club Pilates is giving the first 50 new members 20% off membership FOREVER. Not ready for that kind of commitment? No problem, you can try out a free class and see if working toward a stronger core is really for you. StretchLab also has deals for early adopters.

And if you’re looking to work there, Club Pilates is hiring a General Manager and instructors. You can contact them at [email protected]

North River Outfitter told us at July Jubilation that NRO is moving from its 35 Central St., location to another spot in town to be disclosed later on.

nro wellesley square bummer — Bummer: NRO leaving this spot

Got other Wellesley business tips on openings, closings or whatever, feel free to email us here: [email protected]

You can also email us if you’re interested in sponsoring our weekly Wellesley Business Buzz roundup.

July 9, 2019 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Roche Bros. in Wellesley’s Linden Square has rolled out four brand-new self-checkout machines amid some concerns that when the check-out part of shopping is outsourced to the customer, jobs could eventually be taken away away from cashiers.

Shoppers at the Wellesley Roche Bros. work the new self check-out machines.

Roche Bros. said the change was made for a couple of reasons: first, a tight labor market made hiring increasingly difficult, and second, many customers appreciate having the option to check themselves out.

When I stopped in recently, the self-checkout lanes were up and running, looking like they’d always been there. Sure, I tried one out. It was easy as pie and, admittedly, not the first time I’d ever scanned a barcode. The Wellesley Free Library trained me in that skill ages ago, and Target might have gotten to me first.

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Roche Bros. Director of Marketing Media & Public Relations Dena Kowaloff maintains that nobody will lose their job due to the change. “We will not be laying off or eliminating any positions as a result of the new Fast Lane registers,” Kowaloff said. “Our Wellesley store will continue to offer cashier-staffed traditional and express checkout lanes, bagging services, and grocery carry-out to your car as we have been. The new Fast Lane registers will simply be another option customers can choose if they wish.”

It seems likely that, barring shopper insurrection, the self check-out lanes are here to stay. So are the staffed lanes. Roche Bros. would like you to know they are hiring cashiers for the Wellesley store. More on that here.

June 21, 2019 by Deborah Brown 1 Comment

Some shoppers love self-checkout machines in the grocery store. Count Mr. Swellesley as one of them. He likes to zip the bar code over the scanner, then in one fluid motion drop his item into the waiting bag and carry his score to the car himself. When allowed to process these small daily transactions independently, a happier shopper you’ll never know. This is because Mr. Swellesley is uneasy as the object of service. When given the choice, he’ll always pump the gas, mow the lawn, iron the shirts, and wash the car on his own. His latest: trying to figure out if he can maybe cut his own hair. He hasn’t yet dared, but has spent much time interviewing the fearless men who do.

Other shoppers hate self-checkout machines. For them, it’s a matter of principle, a simple cause-and-effect equation. When the check-out part of shopping is outsourced to the customer, then jobs are taken away away from cashiers, they reason.

Roche Bros. in Wellesley has found itself on the defensive as the business, in town since 1981, moves toward installing four self-checkout machines in Wellesley. Construction has begun, and the new system is expected to roll out later in June.

Roche Bros. says the change will give shoppers choice as the store faces a tight labor market that has made hiring increasingly difficult. Even though the store currently has six cashier positions open, they say they’ve struggled to fill them. As Roche Bros. sees it, technology is the solution to this tight labor market problem.

Maribeth Grant, Manager, Customer Service for Roche Bros. says, “We have a diverse customer base, with different preferences on how they like to shop. For example, most of our Wellesley customers shop in-store, but we also have hundreds who prefer to shop online with Roche Bros. and have their groceries delivered. Similarly, adding Fast Lane registers will appeal to a subset of customers who prefer to check themselves out, while we are happy to continue to offer multiple cashier-attended checkout lanes for customers who prefer a face-to-face interaction.”

Still, the decision has sent Roche Bros. Director of Marketing Media & Public Relations Dena Kowaloff into customer reassurance mode. She has lately spent a lot of time dispelling customer fears that self -checkout lanes will lead to job losses for cashiers and baggers. She’s even been granted access to a popular closed Facebook page on which members have been voicing their concerns that baggers and cashiers will be let go as a result of the new lanes.

“We will not be laying off or eliminating any positions as a result of the new Fast Lane registers,” Kowaloff says. “Our Wellesley store will continue to offer cashier-staffed traditional and express checkout lanes, bagging services, and grocery carry-out to your car as we have been. We will continue to offer express lanes and regular lanes staffed by our fantastic cashiers. The new Fast Lane registers will simply be another option customers can choose if they wish.”

Some customers take a big-picture view and suggest it’s inevitable that a combination of new technologies and worker shortages in areas such as Wellesley will result in big changes. Wellesley resident Julia Hicks de Peyster says, “As someone who has focused on workforce development and employee benefits for much of my career I can say that huge changes are afoot. We will likely see wave upon wave of firings, robots, redeployment of human capital – this will cause great sadness and stress to workers and managers alike. As customers of businesses, I think we are going to need to develop a new thinking that we are partners in this intertwined economy so we get through this with the most human decency possible.”

Roche Bros.’ Wellesley location currently has openings for six cashiers. Interested candidates can apply online at www.rochebros.com/careers. Full-time employees (associates who work 40 hours per week or more) are eligible for benefits that include medical, dental, paid time off, 401k, and more. More on that here.

May 29, 2019 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

We have fond memories of Hunnewell Fun Fair days when our kids would play that Take-a-Cake game as many times as it took until, by gum, they finally won. The thicker the frosting on the cake and the more decorated with candy, the better. Back in those more innocent times, the hardworking event Chairs’ biggest headache was the potential for derailment by rain. The electrical fire that broke out in the school earlier this month forcing the Fun Fair to be postponed until Friday, May 31 was a new one.

But you can’t keep Hunnewell down. After closing for three days during which the State Fire Marshall, the Wellesley Facilities Management Department, and the Wellesley Building Inspector determined that the building was safe, Hunnewell students returned to class. All smoke detectors in the affected area were replaced.

Now, it’s time for fun.

Let the Hunnewell community know that the town is with them and join in the good times at the Hunnewell Fun Fair. The revelry takes place on Friday, May 31, 3pm – 6pm with all the things — rides, games, face painting, games, food, and more. I wouldn’t miss it this year for anything.

« August 2019 »

May 23, 2019 by Deborah Brown 2 Comments

Rice Burg in Wellesley Square is getting used to dishing up its Asian-focused rice burgers and bowls out of its first bricks-and-mortar location. Since 2015, the healthy fast-food option has operated on wheels with a couple popular food trucks that move around Boston and Cambridge. Learning how to translate that popularity to a stand-still location will likely happen as the lunch and dinner spot works out the opening kinks. Owner Jessica Chen has found a spot where a health-conscious clientele and area college students seek out good food, and those customers have been coming in a steady stream to the former Yogurtology spot, located at 552 Washington Street.

Riceburg, Wellesley Square — Interior of Rice Burg, located at 552 Washington St, Wellesley Square. It’s not your imagination, it does look a lot like the former Yogurtology. To stay green, owner Jessica Chen reused what was already there and perfectly serviceable.

Rice Burg’s forte is burgers with specialized buns made from Japanese small-grain rice. They’re a gluten-free alternative to traditional bread buns, and the idea is to welcome back those who have run away from burgers due to dietary restrictions. I ordered the Bulgogi steak rice burger with great curiosity. It would be my first rice burger ever. Would the rice buns just fall apart in my hands? Would my fingers get all sticky? Most importantly, would it taste weird?

The generous portion of shaved steak arrived sandwiched between two thick rice patties, all wrapped in thin paper so that I could eat while keeping my hands food-free. As for the taste, the steak with its gochujang sauce was flavorful and tender, and the rice bun was a wonderful mild counterpoint to the protein. The rice buns do indeed hold together just fine. Make no mistake, this is a substantial meal. The buns are hearty, and protein portion was generous. Other rice burgers on the menu include chicken katsu, vegan “chicken” patty, or shiitake mushroom. The flavorful side of shoe-string house fries, made with curry seaweed and sesame power, is a must. For purists, there are also unadulterated fries sprinkled with just a bit of sea salt available. But seriously, live a little and order the house fries.

You can also get any of the above proteins in a rice bowl, and they come with several different sauces, depending on what you order. When I tried out the chicken katsu bowl, I liked the crispiness of the chicken breast filet. The sweet-savory taste of the katsu sauce was very nice, but I would have appreciated a little more of it. As I worked my way through the meal I found that not enough of the sauce had trickled down to flavor the plain brown rice in the bottom third of the bowl. Those last several bites of brown rice were plain, indeed. The bowls come with your choice of up to four toppings from a list of nine, some options fresh, others pickled. I asked for cucumber, tomato, baby arugula, and carrots. Their fresh veggies reflected one of the restaurant’s major strengths, especially the greens. I didn’t experience a single wilted arugula leaf, nor a speck of brown or a particle of grit.

For all you vegans out there, don’t trust meat-eater me to tell you about those offerings. Hear it from a customer sitting next to me, who became fretful because the vegan chicken tasted a little too chicken-y. She took a bite and became immediately suspicious. “I’m not sure about this,” she said to her companion. “This tastes like they got the order wrong. I think they put real chicken in it.”

She approached the counter, meal in hand to inquire about the true vegan provenance of her meal. “Definitely vegan chicken, the order is not real chicken,” the staff member emphatically confirmed. “It’s just really good, and we make it vegan but it tastes just like chicken.”

“I just wanted to check,” said the woman. “I’ve been burned before.”

“Vegan. Definitely vegan in this order. No mistakes in the kitchen. It’s vegan.”

“Ok, thank you,” said the woman.

So although I haven’t personally tried the vegan chicken at Rice Burg, this exchange speaks volumes. The kitchen staff is on their game, and they take the health of their customers seriously.

Rice Burg is working out its new-place jitters in other ways. If you order for here, you may end up unpacking your meal at your table from a to-go bag. If you order to-go, you may wonder why you’re being handed a tray. The frozen yogurt part of the place isn’t yet up and running. Just one more inspection to go, I’m told. And they could use a little music. The time I was there and the place was bustling, the hum kept the mood lively. But when I stopped in during a quiet time, the space needed some tunes.

All in all, Rice Burg is a welcome addition to the Wellesley restaurants landscape, a place to enjoy a healthy lunch or dinner in a central location.

Rice Burg, 552 Washington St., Wellesley Square
(781) 772-1473
Monday – Saturday, 11am – 9pm
Sunday, noon – 8pm

MORE: Where to eat in Wellesley

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