Business

Watertown Restaurants Will be Spotlighted at Chamber’s Spring Seasonings Event on April 13

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Watertown’s Nzuko restaurant will be appearing at the Charles River Chamber’s Spring Seasonings Event. The Charles River Chamber announced the lineup for the 2026 Spring Seasonings event, which spotlights restaurants from Watertown, Newton, Wellesley, and Needham. See which Watertown eateries will be featured at the event in the announcement from the Chamber, below. Watertown’s vibrant restaurant scene will be on full display at Spring Seasonings: A Taste of Our Towns, happening on Monday, April 13, from 5:30-8 p.m. at the Newton Marriott. Hosted by the Charles River Regional Chamber and presented by The Village Bank, the event brings together top culinary talents from across the region.

Business

Charles River Chamber Panel Looked at How Watertown Became a Life Science Hub

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A panel of speakers discussed the life science industry in Watertown at an event hosted by the Charles River Regional Chamber. From left, City Manager George Proakis, Boylston Properties President Mark Deschenes, CEO of Labshares Phillip Borden, and C4 Chief People Officer Kelly Schick. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

Eleven years ago, 25 life science companies had facilities in Watertown. Today, more than four times that many companies are located in the City, making it one of Massachusetts’ life science hubs. On March 10, the Charles River Regional Chamber’s life science panel, “Watertown’s Life Science Future,” looked at how the City became one of the hottest centers for biotechs, and what’s next.

Business

Chamber Hosting LGBTQIA+ Morning Meetup in Watertown

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The Charles River Regional Chamber will host an LGBTIA+ Morning meetup on Friday, March 20 from 8:30-9:30 a.m. at Fly Together Fitness in Watertown. The event is free and open to LGBTQIA+ members and non-members. See more information provided by the Chamber below. Rise and connect! Our popular LGBTQIA+ Networking Series is switching things up — trading the evening cocktails for morning coffee and heading back to one of our favorite community spaces.Join us at Fly Together Fitness, a proudly LGBTQIA+-owned pole and dance studio in the heart of Watertown, for a morning dedicated to LGBTQIA+ professionals looking to make real business connections across industries.Complimentary coffee provided.

Business

Chamber Hosting Panel on Fraud Prevention & What Small Businesses Need to Know

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The Charles River Regional Chamber will host a panel on fraud prevention and response. The free webinar will feature a panel of speakers, including Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan. See details from the Chamber below. Fraud is one of the fastest-growing and most costly threats facing small businesses today. From payment and payroll scams to phishing, identity theft and vendor fraud, bad actors are becoming more sophisticated — often targeting businesses with limited time, staff and safeguards.

Business

Watertown Remains a Bright Spot for Life Science, Chamber to Host Forum on the Industry

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Life science clusters in Watertown in 2025. The image appears in Watertown Bio’s 2025 Life Science Industry Report. The biotech industry, while slowed, still has some life in Watertown, according to a recently published study. The City boasts the third most life science firms of any community in Massachusetts, the fourth most venture capital investment, and 20 new firms came to town in 2025. The 2025 Watertown Life Science Industry Report was released by Watertown Bio founder Sam Ghilardi, and looks at the economic impact of life science firms, the profile of firms in town, the drug development pipeline, and real estate/life science space in Watertown.

Business

See the Highlights from the Charles River Chamber’s Forum on Housing, Real Estate

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The Charles River Regional Chamber recently hosted a forum looking at housing production in the area, and heard from a panel of experts, as well as State Sen. Will Brownsberger. See details in the announcement below. A new Boston Indicators report, authored by Newton’s own Amy Dain, found that the law has already helped generate nearly 7,000 housing units statewide. So far that includes 203 homes completed or in the pipeline thanks to MBTA-C in Needham; 193 homes in Watertown; 158 homes in Newton; but none to date in Wellesley, according to Dain’s report.  

(We believe the Watertown number of MBTA-C units is actually higher than Dain reported … Dain concludes that MBTA-C is the most effective state policy to boost housing production in years, writing that “construction is happening as a direct result.”

At the same time, she cautions that the law’s hallmark flexibility “leaves a lot of leeway for communities to embrace — or sidestep — the law’s housing goals.”but sadly not Wellesley’s.)

What’s next?

Around Town

Charles River Chamber’s Sends Letter with “Timely Immigration Information for Employers”

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The Charles River Regional Chamber sent a letter about anticipated immigration enforcement efforts in the Boston area, and included guidance for businesses and information about immigration policies. See the letter written by Chamber President & CEO Greg Reibman, below. To our members:

Our chamber firmly believes in abiding by all federal, state and local laws. However, those laws include individual protections, rights and due process that we believe must also be followed. This afternoon, I’m writing to share with you timely information related to immigration provided to us by the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, as well as the office of Attorney General Andrea Campbell, that may be important to you, your employees and others in your circle.

Business

Chamber’s Real Estate Forum Focuses on What’s Next in the Fight for Housing

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The Charles River Regional Chamber will host the Annual Real Estate Forum: What’s next in the fight for housing on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 9-11:30 a.m. at UMass Amherst Charles River Campus, Newton (formerly Mount Ida). See the announcement from the Chamber below. When the MBTA Communities Act became law in 2021, it marked the most significant zoning reform in Massachusetts in decades — opening the door to new housing production across eastern Massachusetts. But no one believed it would solve the housing crisis on its own.Four years later, the pressure hasn’t eased.