All updates from the month of October 2007 are listed below.

The Cheesecake Factory, first phase of Promenade now open
Written by Justin on October 26, 2007 at 5:04PM

• The Cheesecake Factory opened, as expected, at 5:00pm on October 18. It didn't take long for people to notice that it was open for business; a visit there on Monday night, a night that most restaurants are rather quiet and only three days after opening, found many people waiting 30 minutes for tables.
  
• The opening of The Cheesecake Factory marks the opening of the first phase of "The Promenade at Natick Collection", which will be followed in the next year by Crate and Barrel and other yet-unnamed tenants. The branding "The Promenade at Natick Collection" is extremely close to the "Natick Promenade", the official name of the development built on the site of Loews Theaters; however, the latter does not actively market itself under that name.
• A press release regarding the opening of The Cheesecake Factory is available on the "From Wonder Bread to the Natick Collection 2007 Expansion" page.
  

CompUSA building to house body exhibit
Written by Justin on October 26, 2007 at 4:20PM

• It's a unique but controversial use for a former retail building on Cochituate Rd. Preserved human body parts and fetuses, acquired from the People's Republic of China will be housed in nine different galleries within the building during the "BODIES... The Exhibition" exhibit. While the exhibit was planned to open tomorrow, as of Monday, exhibit operator Premier Exhibitions indicated that they had yet to receive a permit. As of 4:00pm on October 26th, the exhibit's online ticket window was not operating.
• The MWDN has some stories on this, including one about a pharmacist who was protesting the exhibit. Check out http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/homepage/x357660633, http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/homepage/x357660631, and http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/homepage/x357265055.
  

Unfair fines at the Natick Board of Selectmen?
Written by Justin on October 3, 2007 at 9:14PM

• New Natick Collection vender Melt Gelato and Crepe Cafe is calling foul play after another eatery at the mall was not fined for similar violations.
• After Melt was fined $100 per day for 10 days and a total of $1100 after failing to operate with a common victualer's license, Salad Creations was granted the same license on Monday without a penalty despite being in operation since September 12.
• Melt co-owner Brendan Barwin is planning to file a letter to request the return of his $1100, but board Chairwoman Carol Gloff insisted that while Melt had been warned twice to file, Salad Creations had never before been approached to file. Barwin stated that all previous relations with the board were with a former partner in the project who backed out shortly before opening. To resolve future issues, the board confronted the manager of Moonstruck Chocolate Cafe as to how long that restaurant had been operating without a license, only for the board to learn that the restaurant was yet to open.
• More information on the fines are online at the MWDN website at http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/homepage/x797400008.
  

A collection of news from the last month
Written by Justin on October 3, 2007 at 5:35PM

• My computer has been somewhat out-of-order for the past month; luckily, I'm back on track. So here are the news headlines to catch up on.
• The Dallas Morning News, not surprisingly, had some insight into the opening of Dallas-based Neiman Marcus' Natick store. The link to the story is http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/casual/stories/DN-p2Neimans_16bus.ART.State.Edition1.35b80bf.html.
• In Framingham, roadway improvements along Rte. 30 are being researched, with the bill going to Lowe's, General Growth, and possibly the developer of the new Natick condo towers. More at http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/homepage/x1646710472.
  
• General Growth and Simon Malls aren't doing enough to encourage recycling. At least that is the word from the Boston Globe, which reports that Natick, with letters of assistance from Framingham, Wayland, and Sherborn, will be seeking a grant from the state to support a recycling effort at the Collection. More info at http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/09/20/remodeled_mall_is_pushed_to_recycle_its_tons_of_waste/.
• GGP is preparing to launch its affordable housing program, which will create affordable housing at off-site locations in the Town of Natick. The entire distribution process is quite confusing, more information can be found at the website of Stockard Engler Brigham LLC, the agency organizing the lottery for interested individuals/familities. The link is http://www.s-e-b.com/lottery/forsale.php.
• "Wicked Local Natick", which appears to be the descendent of the Natick Town Online site, features an interview with Community Development Director Patrick Reffett in regard to the future of Route 9. The full story is at http://www.wickedlocal.com/natick/homepage/x1681073470.
• DM News, which calls itself "The News Leader in Direct, Database, and Internet Marketing", has a story about the entire rebranding of the AT Cross company, which directly resulted in their new store at the Natick Collection. That can be found at http://www.dmnews.com/cms/dm-news/catalog-retail/42541.html.
• How do you know that the Natick Collection has made it big? When it's featured in the Sunday New York Times. The story focuses in on the new idea of creating a downtown-like setting in the suburbs, it's online at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/30/realestate/30nati.html.
• The Worcester Telegram & Gazette talks about luxury shopping in the western suburbs at http://www.telegram.com/article/20070930/NEWS/709300450/1002/BUSINESS.