image description
During recent store remodels, Price Rite has enhanced its produce departments for customers to enjoy a farmers market experience right in their local grocer. (Photo courtesy Price Rite Marketplace)

Biz Briefs: Price Rite Marketpace to Hold Grand Re-Opening of Pittsfield Store

Print Story | Email Story

Price Rite grand re-opening

Price Rite Marketplace will unveil fresh new looks and shopping experiences with grand re-openings at its store on Dalton Avenue in Pittsfield, as well as stores in Chicopee, Springfield, West Springfield and Westfield. The supermarket is continuing to roll out its award-winning redesigned store concept focused on deep discounts and fresh foods after successful store rebrands in Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Pennsylvania locations.

Price Rite Marketplace kicked off its rebranding campaign in fall 2018 with three stores in Pennsylvania, followed by an aggressive 2019 rollout with 35 additional rebrands in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Maryland. The changes attracted new customers, generated industry buzz and even secured a National Grocers Association Creative Choice Award for outstanding marketing and merchandising in the supermarket industry.

Customers who visit these stores will find bright, revitalized décor, including market-style produce departments brimming with fresh fruit, vegetables and organics. Each store will also include the new "Drop Zone" stocked with special surprise buys on must-have grocery and private label items, and lower prices that extend across hundreds of products.

To mark the latest grand re-openings, Price Rite Marketplace is hosting community celebrations on Friday, Jan. 24, with music, free sampling and other fun events. Doors open 8 a.m.; the first 400 customers who arrive at each store will receive a $20 Price Rite Marketplace gift card.

 

Birthday party for Marty

Marty, the tall, googly-eyed robot that roams Stop & Shop stores searching for spills and potential hazards, is turning 1. To celebrate, all three Berkshire County Stop & Shop stores - 1 Dan Fox Drive and 60 Merrill Road in Pittsfield and 876 State Road in North Adams - will throw Marty a first birthday party on Saturday, Jan. 25, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., complete with birthday cake, crafts for kids and giveaways.

Marty the robot is used to identify hazards and spills on the floor, allowing associates to focus on customers. When the robot detects a potential hazard on the floor, he notifies store associates who take corrective action.

Marty is from Kentucky and was created by Badger Technologies. He speaks both English and Spanish. On average, he spots 40 spills and potential hazards at each store every day. Marty has more than 300 cousins who also live at Stop & Shop stores across the company's five-state footprint. And Marty's favorite dance move is the robot (naturally).

 

Richmond Grill changes

The Richmond Grill, a fixture on the North Adams dining scene, has teamed up with Main Street Hospitality to develop a new attitude for the local classic. Located in The Holiday Inn, and owned by Larkin Hospitality in Burlington, Vt., the grill now features a new look, a new feel and a new dining experience thanks to a facelift to its surroundings and new breakfast and dinner menus.

Main Street's vice president of Culinary Development, Brian Alberg, and executive chef Joe Segala, have collaborated on a new menu that celebrates classic grill favorites, as well as fresh new selections such as shrimp scampi risotto. Mel Karakaya, the general manager of the Porches Inn at Mass MoCA, is supporting The Grill's operations in close conjunction with The Holiday Inn team. In addition to her role at Porches, Karakaya and her husband own Pera and Casalina.

 

Instagram classes

Silo Media and Professionality Consulting are offering a six-week Instagram class for local businesses on Thursdays from noon to 1 p.m. from Feb. 6 to March 12 at ExtraSpecialTeas, 2 Elm St., Great Barrington. Instagram is one of the fastest, most accessible, most effective, and most affordable marketing tools available today. The cost is $35 a class or $180 to prepay for all six classes. To register, email dawn@professionalityconsulting.com or beth@silo-media.com or call 413-429-1176.

Appropriate for artists, individuals, nonprofit professionals and small business owners, the class will cover why people should use Instagram, how to set goals, how to tell a good story, explain hashtags, followers and following, how to take a good photo, how to use Instagram stories, how to link with Facebook and much more.

 

Spectrum News launched

Spectrum Networks has launched Spectrum News 1, a new 24/7 format for high-quality, hyperlocal news, weather and sports coverage for Spectrum customers in Central and Western Massachusetts. Spectrum News 1 is dedicated to providing compelling local content exclusively for Spectrum viewers in Western and Central Massachusetts. With reporters embedded in the communities of Worcester, Chicopee and Pittsfield, content includes a robust lineup of hyperlocal news, stories and area-specific weather reports, along with political and local sports coverage for viewers across the region.



Every Monday through Friday starting at 6 a.m., viewers can tune in to Your Morning News for local news and essential stories that are relevant to their daily lives with anchor Ana Bottary, followed by Your Afternoon News starting at noon and Your Evening News starting at 6 p.m. with Anchor Olivia Lemmon. On weekends starting at 6 a.m., anchors Chandler Walsh and Cam Jandrow lead coverage of the day's local news and events. Additionally, the network's journalists are embedded in the communities to cover local news on the ground. Multimedia journalist (MMJ) Valerie Bell covers Chicopee, Matt Ristaino covers Pittsfield, and Chandler Walsh and Cam Jandrow cover Worcester.

In addition, Spectrum News 1 will continue to air popular local shows such as the local-oriented public affairs program Central Mass Chronicles, the half-hour show Chamber Exchange, presented by the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, which highlights the Central Mass business community, and Chamber of Commerce, which focuses on the region's businesses and emerging sectors of the local economy. The network also will continue to provide coverage of local high school and college sports on the network, including the popular local sports program Football Frenzy Show.

 

Big Y donations

In order to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer, all Big Y Supermarkets donated proceeds from their October initiative "Partners of Hope" to 29 local breast cancer support groups throughout Massachusetts and Connecticut. This month-long program reflects the partnership, commitment and support of breast cancer awareness and research that are so vital for many.

The results have finally been tabulated and in October, Big Y raised $215,742.00 for the slate of organizations in Massachusetts and Connecticut, including locally the Berkshire Medical Center Women's Imaging Center in Pittsfield.

 

Greylock grant

Greylock Federal Credit Union has been awarded $525,000 in grant funds from the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund of the US Treasury Department. The award will expand products for low-income members and increase services that promote financial inclusion. Greylock is the only CDFI credit union in western Massachusetts.

This is the second CDFI grant awarded to Greylock. The first award of $686,500 was received in 2017. Those funds were leveraged to generate over $15 million in special lending in Berkshire County, including New Road Auto loans, Small Business loans and Safety Net loans.

The initial award also supported the program creation at the Community Empowerment Center that opened in Greylock's Kellogg Street branch earlier this fall. The new grant will enhance outreach and education efforts and allow greater flexibility to develop new products that meet the unique needs of the community. The CEC is a safe space where anyone can access the financial tools and resources needed to thrive and grow in the community. It is home to Greylock’s special lending programs, personal financial coaching services, school-based financial literacy curriculum, member education classes, and immigrant and minority services.

 

Berkshire Computer Repair Award

Berkshire Computer Repair has been selected for the 2020 Best of North Adams Award in the Computer Service & Repair category by the North Adams Award Program.

Each year, the North Adams Award Program identifies companies that have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and our community. These exceptional companies help make the North Adams area a great place to live, work and play.

Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2020 North Adams Award Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the North Adams Award Program and data provided by third parties.

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Crosby/Conte Statement of Interest Gets OK From Council

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Architect Carl Franceschi and Superintendent Joseph Curtis address the City Council on Tuesday.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — With the approval of all necessary bodies, the school district will submit a statement of interest for a combined build on the site of Crosby Elementary School.

The City Council on Tuesday unanimously gave Superintendent Joseph Curtis the green light for the SOI to the Massachusetts School Building Authority by April 12.

"The statement I would make is we should have learned by our mistakes in the past," Mayor Peter Marchetti said.

"Twenty years ago, we could have built a wastewater treatment plant a lot cheaper than we could a couple of years ago and we can wait 10 years and get in line to build a new school or we can start now and, hopefully, when we get into that process and be able to do it cheaper then we can do a decade from now."

The proposal rebuilds Conte Community School and Crosby on the West Street site with shared facilities, as both have outdated campuses, insufficient layouts, and need significant repair. A rough timeline shows a feasibility study in 2026 with design and construction ranging from 2027 to 2028.

Following the SOI, the next step would be a feasibility study to determine the specific needs and parameters of the project, costing about $1.5 million and partially covered by the state. There is a potential for 80 percent reimbursement through the MSBA, who will decide on the project by the end of the year.

Earlier this month, city officials took a tour of both schools — some were shocked at the conditions students are learning in.

Silvio O. Conte Community School, built in 1974, is a 69,500 square foot open-concept facility that was popular in the 1960s and 1970s but the quad classroom layout poses educational and security risks.  John C. Crosby Elementary School, built in 1962, is about 69,800 square feet and was built as a junior high school so several aspects had to be adapted for elementary use.

Ward 6 Councilor Dina Lampiasi said the walkthrough was "striking" at points, particularly at Conte, and had her thinking there was no way she would want her child educated there. She recognized that not everyone has the ability to choose where their child goes to school and "we need to do better."

"The two facilities that we are looking at I think are a great place to start," she said.

"As the Ward 6 councilor, this is where my residents and my students are going to school so selfishly yes, I want to see this project happen but looking at how we are educating Pittsfield students, this is going to give us a big bang for our buck and it's going to help improve the educational experience of a vast group of students in our city."

During the tour, Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey, saw where it could be difficult to pay attention in an open classroom with so much going on and imagined the struggle for students.

Councilor at Large Alisa Costa said, "we cannot afford not to do this" because the city needs schools that people want their children to attend.

"I know that every financial decision we make is tough but we have to figure this out. If the roof on your house were crumbling in, you'd have to figure it out and that's where we're at and we can't afford to wait any longer," she said.

"We can't afford for the sake of the children going to our schools, for the sake of our city that we want to see grow so we have to build a city where people want to go."

Councilor at Large Kathy Amuso, who served on the School Building Needs Commission for about 18 years, pointed out that the panel identified a need to address Conte in 2008.

Curtis addressed questions about the fate of Conte if the build were to happen, explaining that it could be kept as an active space for community use, house the Eagle Academy or the Adult Learning Center, or house the central offices.

School attendance zones are a point of discussion for the entire school district and for this project.

"At one time I think we had 36 school buildings and now we have essentially 12 and then it would go down again but in a thoughtful way," Curtis said.

Currently, eight attendance zones designate where a student will go to elementary school. Part of the vision is to collapse those zones into three with hopes of building a plan that incorporates partner schools in each attendance zone.

"I think that going from eight schools to three would be easier to maintain and I think it would make more sense but in order to get there we will have to build these buildings and we will have to spend money," Kavey said, hoping that the city would receive the 80 percent reimbursement it is vying for.

This plan for West Street, which is subject to change, has the potential to house grades pre-kindergarten to first grade in one school and Grades 2 to 4 in another with both having their own identities and administrations. 

The districtwide vision for middle school students is to divide all students into a grade five and six school and a grade seven and eight school to ensure equity.

"The vagueness of what that looks like is worrisome to some folks that I have talked to," Lampiasi said.

Curtis emphasized that these changes would have to be voted on by the School Committee and include public input.

"We've talked about it conceptually just to illustrate a possible grade span allocation," he said. "No decisions have been made at all by the School Committee, even the grade-span proposals."

School Committee Chair William Cameron said it is civic duty of the committee and council to move forward with the SOI.
 
He explained that when seven of the city's schools were renovated in the late 1990s, the community schools were only 25 years old and Crosby was 35 years old.  The commonwealth did not deem them to be sorely in need of renovation or replacement.
 
"Now 25 years later, Crosby is physically decrepit and an eyesore. It houses students ages three to 11 in a facility meant for use by teenagers,"
 
"Conte and Morningside opened in the mid-1970s. They were built as then state-of-the-art schools featuring large elongated rectangles of open instructional space. Over almost half a century, these physical arrangements have proven to be inadequate for teaching core academic skills effectively to students, many of whom need extra services and a distraction-free environment if they are to realize their full academic potential."
 
He said  the proposal addresses a serious problem in the "economically poorest, most ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse area" of the city.
 
Cameron added that these facilities have been deemed unsatisfactory and need to be replaced as part of the project to reimagine how the city can best meet the educational needs of its students.  He said it is the local government's job to move this project forward to ensure that children learn in an environment that is conducive to their thriving academically.
 
"The process of meeting this responsibility needs to begin here tonight," he said.
 
View Full Story

More Pittsfield Stories