Worcester Businesses

Food and Drink (In no specific order):

Original Village Pizza (50 Greenwood St #5) - If you're looking for good pizza and eastern Mediterranean inspired food, look no further than the Original Village Pizza! Only a 20 min walk from campus, you'll pass by many ethnic restaurants and churches on your stroll through the Quinsigamond Village.

Redemption Rock Brewery (333 Shrewsbury St) - "Craft beer here. Craft beer to go. Coffee here. Coffee to go. Space, snacks, art, wifi, friends" is the perfect description of what Redemption Rock has to offer. Also important to note that they are a Certified Benefit Corporation which means they give back to the local community: You can learn more about it here!

BirchTree Bread Company (138 Green St. Suite 5) - A Holy Cross favorite- be sure to try their croissants made in house!

Café Reyes (421 Shrewsbury St.) - Part of the Hector Reyes House, this breakfast and lunch serving restaurant serves traditional Cuban food. Their food is quite delicious and we would recommend getting the Desayuno Cubano!

New Tradition Cafe (5 Harris Court) - Where else can you get a haircut, buy some skateboarding gear, get your bike fixed, and drink a delicious cup of coffee all in one building in New England?

Bedlam Book Cafe (138 Green St Suite 1) - This place has everything for book worms including seating, a cafe in the back and, you guessed it, books everywhere! It's nice and cozy and its so nice to head in there on a rainy day to read for a bit. It's in Kelley Square which means it is centralized and easy to get to if you park at the lot behind the building or if you live at the Edge, it's only a 10 min walk!

The Worcester Public Market (152 Green St.) - This place is AMAZING! Every food shop is absolutely delicious, the small shops around are awesome to browse through and the location is perfect to take a walk after eating and buying things! Some of our favorite places to eat here are Akra, Momo Palace, Teriyaki Japan and the Bubble Bea Cafe.

Glazy Susan (50 Foster St, DCU Center) - This place has the best doughnuts in Worcester and their ever changing menu lets you try new and unique flavors you cannot get anywhere else in the city! It was also founded by Holy Cross alum Joe Skrzek '08.

R&R Jerk Chicken (300 Southbridge St.) - Exquisite jerk chicken and Guyanese barbecue! This place also has great vegetarian options and I highly recommend their famous mac and cheese. Great for athletes because of the large servings!

Eggroll Lady and Fish Shack (609 W Boylston St.)- Everything is fried. And very tasty.

Cool Licks (325 Pleasant St.) - An awesome place to get ice cream in those warmer months in Worcester.

Herbies (1028 Southbridge St.) - A boisterous, bustling place to get beer and some good ol' American food.

Bagel Time (194 Park Avenue) - Some of the bagels you could get in Worcester!

The Fix Burger Bar (108 Grove St.) - Kind of pricey but their burgers are top notch.

Hangover Pub (102 Green St.) - Really odd combinations, really good food. A Saturday brunch here hits different.

NU Kitchen (335 Chandler St.) - Good place to get some work done and they have realllly good juices and smoothies.

Hot Table Panini (49 Park Ave.) - Lowkey a chain restaurant but their paninis are too good to not put on here.

Mexicali Cantina Grill (225 Shrewsbury St.) - Possibly the best spot for traditional Mexican food in Worcester.

Nuestra (153 Stafford St.) - Realllly good Puerto Rican food. Their pernil is pretty spectacular.

Gong Cha (24 Southbridge St.) - The go-to boba spot if you are around the Business District.

ākra Eatery & Juice Bar (150 Green St.) - (In the Worcester Public Market) This place makes remarkable West African cuisines. Highly recommend the spicy honey.

Miss Worcester Diner (300 Southbridge St.)- If you go to Holy Cross and you haven't gone to the Miss Worcester Diner on a Sunday morning, you're doing it wrong. Their spot is really cool as it is an old train cart and the ceiling is filled with various stickers from the early 2010s to 2021! Highly recommend the crunchy pancakes (you just probably should not eat anything with sugar for a week after that).

Brew City Grill & Brew House (104 Shrewsbury St.)- Traditional American food right on Shrewsbury Street. Also the staff was super kind here.

The Compass Tavern (90 Harding St.) - Specialty New England and American dishes all made from scratch. I also like the concept of this place being right at the "center of New England" (hence the name, the Compass).

Atlea's Eatery (259 Park Ave.) - Quite tasty French inspired food.

Shawarma Palace (20 Franklin St.) - Really delicious falafels and shawarma here (and if you are lucky, they will give you a taste of some of their baklava)!

Volturno Pizza Napoletana (72 Shrewsbury St.) - A really popular pizza shop on Shrewsbury St. Their venue is also very nice - the patio is quite pretty.

Mare E Monti (19 Wall St.) - Really cool, old school Italian restaurant. Kind of pricey but you're paying for the quality of the ingredients!

George's Coney Island (158 Southbridge St.) - STAPLE hot dog joint you have to try at least once here. Such a good atmosphere, there is an awesome Pow! Wow! Worcester mural on the side of the building and you get really delicious food.

Wonder Bar Restaurant (121 Shrewsbury St.) - Traditional American food but you HAVE to get one of their signature starters. Very tasty stuff!

Miranda Bread (140 Shrewsbury St.) - Dude this food is like actually so good. Don't let the name fool you, they have awesome things other than just bread!

Addie Lee's Soul Food (596 Main St.) - Authentic and delicious Southern soul food. Best thing is to order this with a bunch of buddies and enjoy it while watching a good movie in a common room!

Crust Artisan Bakeshop (1 W Boylston St.) - This is a wonderful little bakeshop right on Main Street! We love their cookies

Mezcal Tequila Cantina (30 Major Taylor Blvd.)- not gonna lie, never been here, but the owner seems nice so

LuLu's Restaurant (806 Pleasant St.) - Get breakfast here. It sooooo good. Their sandwiches are also godsend.

Pizzeria Delight (522 Cambridge St.) - Great pizza really close to Holy Cross!

George's Bakery (308 Grafton St.) - Try some awesome homemade Lebanese & Syrian food at George's Bakery! Their logo is also super dope so they get extra points for that.

Acoustic Java Roastery & Tasting Room (6 Brussels St.) - Have you ever seen the large "Rotman's" sign when driving or walking around Holy Cross? Well, behind it is a magical place for all coffee lovers known as Acoustic Java! Head over one of these days and I PROMISE you wont regret it!!

Red Pepper Worcester (1083 Main St.) - Gourmet and delicious Chinese food. They have a lot of options so we would recommend getting a house special!

Livia's Dish (1394 Main St.) - Italian and Mediterranean inspired food we highly recommend! They close after lunch so be sure to get there early enough!

Sisters Breakfast and Lunch (171 Stafford St.) - Very cozy spot to hang out at in the city. They really make you feel at home with the food and atmosphere!

Vincent's (49 Suffolk St.) - Awesome bar, they have local, live music and their patio is magical!

Russo Italian Worcester (65 Water St.) - Exceptional Italian food! Their location is also pretty so be sure to walk around when you're done stuffing your face with tasty pasta!

Lock 50 (50 Water St.) - An upscale restaurant in the Canal District perfect for that special day with that special someone.

Mrs. Moriconi's - These people sell really awesome, unique ice cream! Look out for them at events around Worcester.

The Queen's Cup (56 Water St.)- Changing their menu daily, this place sells great stuff all made from scratch the morning of!

Golemo's Market (43 Millbury St.) - Great Eastern European specialty grocery store!

Culpeppers Bakery & Cafe (500 Cambridge St # 3) - An awesome bakery really close to Holy Cross!

Via Italian Table (89 Shrewsbury St.) - Their venue is fantastic and really sets the mood for a nice Friday night dinner!

Wachusett Brew Yard (152 Green St.)- This is also in the Worcester public market and its a great place to hang out with some 21+ friends!

Nick's Worcester (124 Millbury St.) - Great live entertainment and their food is also very tasty!

Yoway Cafe & Frozen Yogurt (395 Park Ave. B) - Delicious smoothies, frozen yogurt and boba drinks! This place is usually pretty busy so be sure to get there early.

Electric Haze (26 Millbury St.) - Great place to listen to live music, chill out and dance at! Keep up to date with them as they hold events pretty often that are definitely worth while.

Art Centers, Stores and Museums:

CC Lowell (455 Pleasant St)- Looking for an art store in Worcester? Look no further than CC Lowell: the oldest art supply store in the United States! They have items from Montana spray paint cans, to Crayola markers, to rare inking supplies and even custom crafted art from local artists.

Artifakt Supply (1132 Pleasant St. ) - This art supply store is perfect for all your street art needs! It is also a space for periodical events they hold, they are an art gallery and have pieces/prints from local artists for sale so be sure to check them out and follow them on Instagram here (@ArtifaktSupply)!

ArtsWorcester (44 Portland St.) - This art gallery holds exhibits contemporary art from individuals, small groups and invited artists including an annual College Show where they showcase work from artists in the Worcester. They always have awesome shows and we highly recommend to stop by check them out if you are in the area.

The Jean McDonough Arts Center (​​20b Franklin Street)- This center promotes the arts in Worcester through giving space to traditional art in the Pop Up and to performance art in the Brick Box Theatre. Be sure to follow them on Instagram to stay in tough with the events they host!

The Village Marketplace (Also known as Stone Soup) (4 King St.) - This location is open every Saturday (check this link for hours and updates) and gives space for BIPOC vendors to sell their crafts. This is also an awesome community space for people living in Worcester to stop by and get help or support their mission.

Clothing and Miscellaneous:

Worcester Wares (150 Green St.) - Awesome shop that sells everything Worcester-themed from Harvey Ball (the inventor of the smiley face who is from Worcester) mugs to customizable "Entering Worcester" signs! The owner, Jessica Walsh, also is a co-director of Pow! Wow! Worcester so she's automatically cool.

Crompton Collective (138 Green St.)- This is a really cool antique mixed with modern gift boutique shop. It's store is sectioned off by seller and they have so many random and cool items!

SeltzerTime (Wherever you find podcasts) - The best Worcester podcast in the world, Duh. These two guys interview a bunch of Worcester and greater-Boston people and give them a platform to talk about what awesome things they are up to. They also have a good dynamic when they don't have a guest talking about life or their favorite bars/restaurants or their favorite seltzers!

GRIME (356 Shrewsbury St.) - Right on Shrewsbury Street, Grime is an awesome thrift store to browse through.

Eastern Boarder (7 Jackson St.) - Part of the New Tradition Company building, this shop is decked (literally) with every skateboarding essential. Even if you don't skateboard, pass by and grab one of their stickers!

Push Worcester - An awesome group of people that love skating and spread that love by teaching kids how to skate and setting up ramps for people to practice on at social events like community block parties.

That's Entertainment (244 Park Ave.) - Super rad spot with toys, video games, retro comics, vinyls, etc..

Funky Stuff (97C Webster St) - Their stuff is REALLY funky. Crystals galore and nice-smelling candles!

The Haberdash (138 Green St #2) - Cool clothing and accessories for the ladies. We didn't shop here but from just walking through it seems cool!

Seed To Stem (138 Green St. #3) - This is mainly for the plant and holistic medicine folks but its fun to walk around and see the cool cacti/ taxidermy around!

Central Rock Gym (299 Barber Ave.) - Indoor climbing space to go to with some friends!

Escape Games Worcester (108 Grove St.) - Team up with some buddies and put your brains together to try and escape the room!

Annie's Book Stop (65 James St.)- Get some books at Annie's! They also sometimes hold fun events so be sure to check in and see if there are any soon!

If you have a recommendation, or if there is any incorrect information or if your business would like to be included, contact Christian (@cabach23@g.holycross)!