Good morning,

Last year at this time, we announced the launch of  Small Shops, a pilot program offering free chamber membership to independently owned, single-location brick-and-mortar retailers in Newton, Needham, Wellesley and Watertown.

We created the program because many of our independent merchants were facing a tsunami of challenges: competition from online shopping, tariffs, immigration policies, soaring insurance and utility costs, financial market volatility and general economic uncertainty.

Pretty much everything on that list remains a challenge today. In many cases, the pressures have only intensified.

At the same time, our small shops bring vibrancy to our downtowns and village centers. They help make our communities distinctive and desirable places to live, work and visit.

Plus, as I wrote last year, this is personal to me.

So today we’re pleased to announce that Small Shops will continue for another year.

Eligible retailers will receive free basic chamber membership, providing access to networking, advocacy, business resources and marketing opportunities.  Participants also have access to the chamber’s Retail Collaborative, where merchants share ideas and strategies for navigating today’s retail environment.

Eligible retailers can learn more and apply here. Current Small Shops members will be automatically renewed, so no action is needed.

This effort would not be possible without a second year of underwriting from Needham Bank, Eastern Bank, The Village Bank, Insource Services Inc., NBC10 Boston and The Street.

Please join me in thanking our underwriters for supporting our independent retailers.

And, as always, please support local.

P.S.  If you’d like to support our Small Shops program,  contribute here or contact Lise Elcock at  617-244-1864. And thanks.

If you map it, will they come?

Looking to relocate or open a street-level business in Newton? The Laredo administration has rolled out a new tool designed to help.

The city's new Vacant Storefront Map lists 43 empty spaces, along with property owner contact information.

Creating a list of available spaces can be a valuable resource — but identifying sites is only one reason why storefronts sit empty.

Zoning hurdles and lengthy permitting processes can frustrate landlords and deter tenants, along with factors outside the city’s control, explained Chuck Tanowitz in a recent Newton Beacon column.

The City Council took a step last fall by reducing or eliminating parking requirements for village center businesses.

But that change didn’t apply citywide, requiring many landlords to continue confronting an arduous process.

Case in point: Stop & Shop Plaza

For example, last week, after a long, agonizing process, the Newton City Council agreed to make it easier for the owners of the Stop & Shop Plaza in Nonantum to lease vacant space.

The owner, KF Realty Associates, went to the city about a year ago after struggling to attract tenants. Their problem wasn't the property or location — it was the red tape.

(Read our letter to the council.)

Under the old zoning, most prospective tenants faced a months-long special permit process just to get a parking waiver — a dealbreaker for many businesses.

And anyone familiar with the site knows there’s oodles of parking there.

"No business is going to wait two months to see whether the city council is going to grant a special permit or not," said Councilor Susan Albright.

Still, some of Albright’s colleagues fretted that lifting the restriction was a ruse for future residential development (as if that would be so horrific), even as KF Realty said it simply wants to fill empty storefronts.

The petition barely cleared the required two-thirds threshold, passing 17–7 with two votes to spare.

“We all say we want to support our local businesses, but we can't say it; we actually need to do it,” Councilor Allison Leary told her wavering colleagues. “It's really important we send a message to our businesses that we are willing to be flexible."

Tuesday grab bag

• Here are 36 gasoline-saving tips from AAA.
  
  
• Once again, we’re going to publish a list of Boston Marathon runners who are
• supporting chamber nonprofits through participation and fundraising efforts. If your nonprofit has a runner participating on its behalf, complete this form before March 25.
  
  
• Ken Buckley has withdrawn his name from the Needham Planning Board election, citing personal reasons. That leaves Gary Lesanto and Oscar Mertz, competing for the seat in the April 14 election.  RSVP for our 9 a.m. March 25 chamber debate.
  
  
• A Wellesley College professor is the co-author of a book and curriculum about Bad Bunny.
  
  
• Newton Schools Foundation hosts a Trivia Night on Friday (Mar. 13), 7 p.m., at American Legion Post 440. Proceeds benefit Newton Public Schools through grants.
  
  
• Chamber members get 20% off tickets to “Evy in the Garden,” a spare and moving performance on grief at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Watertown, featuring actress Laurie O'Brien and composer Carolyn Surrick, on March 22, 3 p.m. Use code 20OFF at checkout.
  
  
• Formosa Bun & Dumpling Factory, serving dumplings, bao, ramen, yakisoba, and beef noodle soup, is now open in Newton Centre at the former Jake's Falafel Corner location on Beacon Street. (BC Heights)
  
  
• Get Konnected! is launching Boston’s first-ever “50 Most Influential People of Color and Allies in Hospitality & Tourism” list in 2026. They’re looking for nominations.
  
  
• Wellesley College’s Spring 2026 Just in Time Job & Internship Career Fair is March 31 (3–6 p.m.), offering employers a chance to connect with students and alums from Wellesley, Babson and Olin for full-time and summer roles. Registration for employers is open through March 20.
  
  
• Have space to host 100+ guests and interested in partnering with the chamber? We’re always looking for new venues to host our larger networking events and signature programs. Reach out to Gabby Mantello at to start the conversation.
  
  
• Boston 25 News recently traveled to Wellesley to report on the proposal to build housing on the MassBay Community College parking lot.
  
  
• By any chance, would you like to adopt a rat?

TPS updates: El Salvador and Haiti

The automatic extension of certain TPS-based Employment Authorization Documents for El Salvador expired yesterday.

If you are wondering whether an employee from El Salvador is still authorized to work, the answer is probably yes, according to Pathway for Immigrant Workers.

Meanwhile, a federal appeals court sided with a lower judge’s ruling this weekend against the Trump administration’s efforts to end temporary protected status for roughly 350,000 Haitians. The administration is expected to appeal.

ALSO: A Wall Street Journal investigation looks at another group targeted by Homeland Security.

Newton doc offers Rx for primary care

State Rep. Greg Schwartz, who represents parts of Newton and Brookline, has filed a bill he says would help address the shortage of primary care practitioners by allowing practices to hire and retain more clinicians and support staff.

“It’s not that medical residents aren’t interested in going into primary care, and it isn’t that they’re not ready to take a lower salary,” Schwartz, the only practicing primary care physician in the state Legislature, told Brookline.News.

“It’s that they just don’t want to practice in an area of medicine that doesn’t have administrative support. Those resources are just not provided to primary care the way that they are for some of the specialty care practices.”

Finally, we’re increasingly hearing from members who’ve been scammed.

You are very smart. So is the dark web.

Last week we brought together experts from several sectors to help small businesses and nonprofits better understand the risks. I learned a lot and even put a few new safeguards in place. If you missed it, here’s the webinar.

That’s what you need to know for today, unless you want to know about the 79-year-old billionaire who likes to give the men in his life pairs of $149 black Florsheim shoes and expects them to wear them.

Max Woolf will be here on Friday.

Greg Reibman (he, him)

President & CEO

Charles River Regional Chamber

617.244.1688

P.S. We’re now 34 days away from our most popular event of the year.

Max Woolf contributed to today’s newsletter.