Page 12 - BusinessWest November 14, 2022

Pittsfield
Continued from page 9
them is unique.
“A lot of people are looking for a
hotel that’s a little different — a bou- tique or independent hotel,” he said. “There’s a clientele that goes for the branded properties, but the people who stay with us are looking for that unique experience when they walk in the door.”
But Galli also credits Pittsfield’s resurgence in recent years, especially its cultural attractions and other qual- ity-of-life attributes, making the city a destination for people of all ages.
Hotel on North is part of a new look
scene in the Berkshires; that’s a huge “Pittsfield has benefited from planting ing its flag in the cultural and arts
JONATHAN BUTLER
its flag in the cultural and arts scene in the Berkshires; that’s a huge part of our growing economy and has been for the past 10 to 15 years.”
part of our growing economy and has been for the past 10 to 15 years,” he told BusinessWest. “You have invest- ments like Berkshire Theatre Group with their theater in downtown Pitts- field, and Barrington Stage Company, which has become a major anchor, as well as a number of smaller cultural offerings and pop-ups and galleries in downtown Pittsfield.
“And this has been further bolstered by the emergence, over the past eight to 10 years, of a vibrant food scene — an exciting, trending type of food envi- ronment,” he went on, citing establish- ments, new and old, like Methuselah Bar and Lounge, Berkshire Palate (located in Hotel on North), Pancho’s Mexican Resaurant, Trattoria Rustica, Flat Burger Society, Patrick’s Pub, and Otto’s Kitchen & Comfort.
“There’s some finer dining options — downtown Pittsfield’s a great place to go host some clients if you’re a busi- ness or to have a good date night as
a couple or a fancy night out with friends,” Butler explained. “But there’s also a lot of great casual offerings in downtown Pittsfield; there’s some great pubs, some great cocktail lounges. There’s also a lot of immigrant-owned businesses in downtown Pittsfield, which adds to the diversity and pro- vides a more rich experience.”
At Home with the Idea
This diversification and strengthen- ing of the city’s economy has become the main economic-development strat- egy for Tyer since she became mayor.
“I have some family history with General Electric — my great-grand- parents were part of the GE economy,” she told BusinessWest. “And when I became mayor, I felt strongly that the economy cannot be dependent on one sector; my priority has been that we have diversity in the economy,
and that includes everything from the travel, tourism, and hospitality sector to the cultural economy, and it also includes manufacturing and science and technology.”
To attract businesses across all these sectors, and to help existing companies expand, the city has created what Tyer calls its ‘red-carpet team,’ a name that hints strongly at its mission.
“We want to make sure that busi- nesses that are here now, that are homegrown and might want to expand into a new market, expand their facili- ties, or grow their employment base, have the same level of support from the city of Pittsfield as we would give to a new business that wanted to start up in the city,” she explained. “We’ve been successful at balancing that approach.”
The red-carpet team consists of a number of city department leaders who work collectively to help counsel and guide a new or existing business
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and feel on North Street, said But-
ler, noting that the well-documented vibrancy of the GE chapter in the city’s history was followed by the dark and dismal time that he grew up in: “North
Street was not a place to be in the ’90s.” The vibrancy has returned in the form of cultural attractions and new restau- rants and bars.
“Pittsfield has benefited from plant-
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