Page 90 - BusinessWest May 2, 2022

Get Hired Job Fair
May 5: Holyoke Mall will host an in-person job fair from 3 to 6 p.m. on the lower level near Macy’s. Spon- sored by Valley Opportunity Council, the Get Hired Job Fair is a convenient opportunity for Western Mass. employers to interview and hire workers, and to help job seekers connect with businesses who need their skills. Employers from a variety of indus- tries will be in attendance looking for candidates at all skill levels. Several stores and venues at Holyoke Mall will also be in attendance to fill open positions. The event is free to attend for all job seekers. Employ- ers that have already signed up to staff a table include
Agenda
MGM Springfield, Holyoke Medical Center, Spring- field College, Trinity Senior Communities, and Valley Opportunity Council. Employers interested in partici- pating in the upcoming job fair should contact Jim Geraghty, advertising representative for Holyoke Mall, at (617) 840-2998 or [email protected]. For full details regarding the job fair, visit www.holy- okemall.com/event/get-hired-job-fair.
Annual Shred Day
May 7: The Wealth Transition Collective of Holyoke is partnering with Cooley Dickinson VNA & Hospice for their annual shred day. Anyone who has financial or sensitive documents that need shredding may bring them to the VNA & Hospice of Cooley Dickinson,
168 Industrial Dr., Northampton from 9 to 11 a.m.
A donation of $5 per paper box will directly benefit the VNA & Hospice. Shredding will be conducted on a first-come, first-served basis until the truck is full or 11 a.m., whichever comes first. Only paper items will be accepted. For more information, visit www. twealthtc.com.
Jack’s Walk
May 14: Jack’s Walk, a fundraiser to benefit the Jack Jonah Foundation, will take place at the Ashley Res- ervoir in Holyoke. The foundation has a stated mis-
Dewey’s
Continued from page 9 adding that each night has a different theme, with vocalists or “a vocal-like
instrument” on Wednesdays, with a “throw-back R&B” on Thursday. Friday night is more of a “funky, groovy night,” as he put it, with Saturday devoted to straight-up jazz and Sunday and its brunch reserved for classical or a “more groovy type of band.”
It is the combination of all of the above that has enabled Dewey’s to get off to a good start and attract visitors from across this region and well beyond it, said Lumpkin, noting that he carefully tracks such information and notes that through aggressive, tar- geted marketing and people simply Googling ‘live music,’ or ‘craft cocktails,’ Dewey’s has drawn patrons from Vermont, New York, and many from Connecti- cut, New Hampshire and the Boston area, in addition to communities across this area.
“I have always said that music, food, and drinks are the one thing that can really unite anybody and everybody,” he noted. “That was my hypothesis before we opened, and seeing it come to fruition has been quite amazing.”
Elaborating, he said Dewey’s has been able to attract a clientele that is diverse in every sense of that word, which is unusual in hospitality — and espe- cially in this region.
sion to “encourage, foster, teach, engage, and provide opportunities, specifically in the areas of drug aware- ness.” The foundation also provides assistance (finan- cial or otherwise) at the local, state, and/or national level in the promotion of drug awareness and educa- tion. The foundation is named in honor of Jack Jonah, who died of a heroin overdose. Jack’s Walk features a full schedule of activities. The day begins with a pre- walk tie-dye party and check-in beginning at 9 a.m. There will then be several guest speakers, includ-
ing West Springfield Mayor Will Reichelt, Hamp- den County Sheriff Nick Cocchi, Hampden County District Attorney Anthony Gulluni, and Jack Jonah
Foundation Founder Kirk Jonah for closing com- ments and a moment of silence. The walk begins at 11, and there will be a post-walk reception at the Elks from noon to 2 p.m. Tickets are $20 for adults. Youths 18 and under are admitted free. To register online, visit Jackjonahfoundation.org.
sheLEADS Conference
May 20: The Greater Easthampton Chamber of Commerce will host sheLEADS, a woman’s confer- ence aimed at building a bold, brave community of women in the 413 with an eye on professional devel- opment and beyond. The day begins at the Boylston Room in Easthampton at noon and ends with net- working at Abandoned Building Brewery. In between, attendees can look forward to “Activating Your Lead- ership Strengths,” facilitated by Colleen DelVecchio of Colleen DelVecchio Consultants; “The Language of Leadership,” a panel discussion featuring Pia Kumar, chief strategy officer at Universal Plastics, Lynnette Watkins, president and CEO of Cooley Dickinson Health Care, and Waleska Lugo-DeJesus, CEO of Inclusive Strategies; and “Be Great Where Your Feet Are,” featuring keynote speaker Robyn Glaser Sr., vice president, Business Affairs for the Kraft Group. For tickets and details, visit www.easthamptonchamber. org.
40U40 Meet & Greet
May 20: Mercedes Benz of Springfield will host a gathering of the 2022 40 Under Forty honorees as well as the members of the first 15 classes of rising stars. The event will kick off at 5 p.m. with a meet-and-greet
“We’re in a community where you don’t really see all demographics in one establishment simultane- ously,” he explained. “What surprised me ... actually, it didn’t surprise me, because I expected it, and what has made me really happy is to see the eclectic group of people that Dewey’s has attracted.
“You see a range of age, gender, nationality, and ethnicity here every single night,” he went on. “People come in and say ‘I don’t think I’m in Springfield; this has a bigger-city vibe, because you’re seeing so much diversity in one room.’”
Moving forward, Lumpkin wants to build on this momentum, obviously, while also embarking on another venture, that sports bar on Dwight Street.
He is targeting a late-summer opening for that facility, and believes there is ample room in the mar- ketplace for such a facility and also ample motivation for him to fill what he sees as an unmet need. “There’s no sports bar in the area, and any res- taurateur understands that sports bars also produce the best margins when it comes to this industry,” he explained, adding that, overall, he is a firm believer in amassing an abundance of hospitality options and, while doing so, creating a true destination in a city or, in this case, a dining district.
“It sounds crazy to say, but there’s almost no such thing as competition in this industry,” he told Busi-
for members of the Class of 2022, who are profiled
in this edition. From 6-8, there will be a networking event for all of the 16 classes of 40 Under Forty hon- orees. Food will be provided by Log Rolling Catering. Forty Under 40 is sponsored this year by: Presenting Sponsor PeoplesBank; Alumni Achievement Award Sponsor Health New England; and supporting spon- sors Comcast Business, Live Nation, Mercedes Benz of Springfield, The Mill District, Stand Out Truck, and the UMass Amherst Isenberg School of Business.
MOSSO Summer Concert Series
June 23, July 21, Aug. 13: MOSSO, the Musicians of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, announced
a summer concert series of three programs, two in Springfield Symphony Hall and the third, an outdoor brass quintet program, in Forest Park in Springfield. On Thursday, June 23, MOSSO will celebrate the music of the late, legendary Broadway composer
and lyricist Stephen Sondheim, who penned the words and music to A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, and others. Broadway conductor Tim Stella (of The Phantom of the Opera and Hello, Dolly!) will lead the program, joined by some major Broadway stars. The program will be announced later this month. On Thursday, July 21, Maestro Kevin Rhodes will return to Spring- field to conduct a program of light classics and
music of renowned composer John Williams, whose works include Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Schindler’s List. Rhodes will be joined by a guest solo- ist. This will be a benefit concert for MOSSO, so that the nonprofit organization can continue to deliver professional symphonic music to Greater Springfield and Western Mass. The program will be announced later this month.Tickets for both Symphony Hall con- certs will go on sale on May 9. To get on the mailing list for information on these programs, visit spring- fieldsymphonymusicians.com. On Saturday, Aug. 13 (rain date: Sunday, Aug. 14), a MOSSO brass quintet will perform a free concert at Camp Star Angelina on Trafton Road in Forest Park. This concert will be pro- duced for MOSSO by Bing Productions. No tickets are required.
nessWest. “Patrons don’t go to one establishment; they typically at least go to two. They’ll say ‘let’s grab a drink here, a bite here, and dessert here’ or ‘a bite here, a drink there, and let’s get catch a show.’ People get to two or three places a night, and so the pie grows.”
Just Desserts
As he talked with BusinessWest, Lumpkin noted that plans are coming into place for what promises to be an exciting one-year anniversary for Dewey’s.
Indeed, he has a star-studded entertainment lineup coming together, with musicians from New Orleans, Boston, New York, California, and this area as well, signed up to perform.
“It’s going to be quite the party,” he said, add-
ing that there is much to celebrate — with this new venue and what is transpiring along Worthington and elsewhere downtown.
It’s taken a few years, but Lumpkin’s dream has become reality in Springfield. It’s a place where his passions come together under one roof, and where a diverse mix of clients has come together as well.
It hasn’t all gone as planned, but in most all respects, it has gone better than planned. v
George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]
38 MAY 2, 2022
DEPARTMENTS
BusinessWest