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Boston Globe
02-04-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
As one stadium comes down, another prepares to open in Pawtucket, R.I.
Related : But at the same time, crews are putting the final touches on the Advertisement A Get Rhode Map A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State. Enter Email Sign Up Pawtucket 'We are trying to reinvent ourselves and develop a new identity,' Mercer said. 'This high school will be a big shot in the arm relative to people wanting to live here and not calling it 'The Bucket.' The new soccer stadium, and the development that is scheduled to come with that — if everything aligns, we are poised to reinvent ourselves in a positive way.' Advertisement Pawtucket City Council President Terrence E. Mercer stands outside McCoy Stadium, which is being demolished after 83 years. Edward Fitzpatrick But Mercer, who grew up 300 yards from McCoy's left field foul pole, is still feeling the pain of this cycle of loss and rebirth. 'I'd like to say bittersweet,' he said, 'but it's just bitter right now.' He said McCoy's demolition day has been all but inevitable since 2018 when new PawSox owners announced plans to move the Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox Mercer said he plays in a high-low jack card league on Thursday nights, and most of the 25 guys grew up within a 10-block radius of McCoy. 'All the talk at the card game was, 'Did you see what's going on in McCoy? It's sad. It's too bad. Remember when? Remember when? Remember when?'' he said. Mercer remembered when he and other neighborhood kids used to collect the baseballs that players hit out of the park during batting practice. At that time, attendance at PawSox games was sparse. But 'So he put four or five 10-year-olds in the seats, they'd each buy one hot dog, and he's ahead of the game,' Mercer said. 'He was building a base. It was like Business 101.' Advertisement He has no doubt the PawSox would still be at McCoy if Mondor, who died in 2010, was still alive. 'Maybe he would've cajoled the state into another round of facelifts for the stadium,' Mercer said. 'But if he were to step foot here right now, he would have the same tears in his eyes that I have.' A torn Marty Barrett banner remains outside what is left of McCoy Stadium. Barrett played in the longest professional baseball game in history, a 33-inning contest between the Pawtucket Red Sox and the Rochester Red Wings on April 18-19 and June 23, 1981. He scored the winning run in a 3-2 victory. Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff Losing McCoy Stadium wasn't a huge economic loss for Pawtucket, he said, noting the city-owned stadium didn't generate a lot of tax revenue. 'It was more of a cultural hit — a hit to our psyche and our pride,' he said. But now, Mercer said, the city is looking for other points of pride. Case in point: He said he and his wife bought season tickets for 'I'm not a huge soccer fan yet,' he said. 'But she said to me, 'Remember how much we liked going to McCoy?' And I said, 'Let's give it a shot, let's try to support the new team.'' Rhode Island FC fans cheer on the team last year at Beirne Stadium on the campus of Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island. This year, the team will play at the new Stadium at Tidewater Landing in Pawtucket. Ken McGagh for The Boston Globe He said he's looking forward to the residential and commercial development, and the pedestrian bridge, that's supposed to accompany the new soccer stadium. Also, Mercer said he's looking forward to the new Pawtucket High School, which will consolidate about 2,100 students from Tolman and Shea high schools onto one campus. The city will need to invest a lot of money, even with the state covering up to 92 percent of the $314 million price tag, he said. But, Mercer said, 'This is going to be a sea change project. Those two schools are structurally in disrepair. The students in Pawtucket are going to be coming to a brand new building.' Advertisement In a statement, Pawtucket Mayor Donald R. Grebien said the new school, which is to be completed by December 2028, 'will provide transformative opportunities for generations to come.' Workers at McCoy Stadium pound away at equipment used for its demolition, which will last until July. Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff Grebien acknowledge that McCoy 'holds a special place in the hearts of so many. But he said, 'While we honor and celebrate its rich history, we also move forward and focus on what's next for our city.' One remaining question is whether the demolition crew will find the sealed box that Pawtucket Mayor Thomas P. McCoy placed in the stadium's cornerstone in November 1940. The Mercer said that if the letter does turn up, it should be included in a similar time capsule for the new high school, along with some PawSox memorabilia. According to Dan Barry's book ' While the stadium won't last for all eternity, Mercer said McCoy would be proud that it outlasted the critics who derided it. 'I think he'd feel he had the last laugh after people called it 'McCoy's Folly,'' he said. 'It endured for decades and decades.' But, Mercer said, '(McCoy) probably also would've understood that, just like Ebbets Field and the Polo Grounds, everything has a shelf life, as much as it pains you to admit it sometimes. It's where we are.' Advertisement Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Simp McGhee's owner loves camaraderie with guests, food industry
Feb. 15—A lot has changed since Christy Wheat bought Simp McGhee's restaurant in downtown Decatur 20 years ago. But one thing has never changed: her love for visiting with customers, especially repeat ones. "I love everything about my job — the camaraderie with clients," Wheat said. "Our guests are more like family, and when you see someone every week, it's just nice. I just like the industry; I love being in the food industry." Wheat owns Simps at 725 Bank St., which sells fresh Cajun seafood and beef. Her husband, John Wheat, owns Josie's Mediterranean Cafe at 109 Second Ave. N.E., also downtown. The restaurant is named after Simpson "Simp" McGhee, a colorful 19th-century riverboat captain who was known around Decatur for shooting the rapids at Chattanooga and drawing the ire of river officials and drinking in bars with his pet pig. The restaurant was named after him many years ago under the previous owner. Wheat bought the restaurant in 2005. It takes a lot of hours to run a successful business, as any business owner can tell you. "During the week I come in at noon and then go back home when my kitchen staff gets here about 2:30 p.m. I come back to work at 4 and work the evening shift until we close," Wheat said. "We are closed Sundays and Mondays." Wheat got her start in the restaurant business the hard way — by being a server first and then working her way up to management and finally buying the business. She isn't sure what training is out there for prospective restaurant owners, but she knows experience is everything. The restaurant world transformed with the COVID-19 epidemic and hasn't gone back, she said. "COVID changed the whole industry — finding employees is harder and the workforce is very different now," she said. "It has changed as far as the way employees are, to being able to even find employees for that matter — it's just very different now." Costs have always been a concern for restaurant owners, especially now. "Food costs, operating costs, wages — everything is up," Wheat said. They don't always pass it on to customers. "We absorb what we can until it comes down to the point we just can't anymore," Wheat said. The two restaurants owned by the Wheats are very different. "Simps is more a casual but fine dining atmosphere where Josie's is more your night life — casual, relaxed with live music five nights a week." — Assistance for owners Although Christy Wheat worked her way up, learning how a restaurant works from serving, managing and then finally owning the business, there is help out there for new business owners. The Decatur-Morgan County Entrepreneurial Center at 1629 Fourth Ave. S.E., offers a Business 101 course twice a year — once in the spring and again in the fall. "It teaches the basics — financials, law, licensing, branding and all of it," said DeeDee Berry, office manager at the Entrepreneurial Center. She said it is a fantastic course. "It's good for new startup businesses, and will help people enhance their business and get a firm understanding of how to run it well," she said. She said 30 or more people typically attend the 10-week course each semester. The Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce offers both personal and professional development through its many activities and events, but nothing specifically geared solely toward new business owners, said Rachel Keith, the chamber's director of communications. "Throughout the year we have several events in which we offer professional development, including Breakfast and Biz, and Emerging Leaders," she said. And as far as on-the-job training, there is the Alabama Community College System Innovation Center across from City Hall, she said. "It customizes training for employees and employers — that's a big part of what they do," Keith said. Whether it is meat cutting or forklift driving, they offer training and they are constantly developing that training, she said. "Let's say an employer has a need to have someone training in forklift driving," she said. "They have a class with the Innovation Center and train several people at once who are interested in getting that certificate. You are talking about for free getting employees trained and certified for a job they already have or to get certified for a job that they want. That's a great benefit for our local employers, too, because they are not having to pay to send that person." Calhoun Community College and Athens State University also offer classes in business that could benefit a new business owner. — or 256-340-2361
