Readers' Choice 2012 Plaques Available for Order

If your business won Readers' Choice, you can now purchase a plaque celebrating your win through American Registry.

Earlier this year, Patch's annual Readers' Choice Awards celebrated the best local businesses in town. In categories ranging from the best hair salon with Eclips Hair and Nail Salon to the best burger with Black Horse Tavern, readers chose their favorites. We're not done yet celebrating and honoring our Readers' Choice winners. If you want all your customers to know you've been deemed the best of the best, here's your chance. Patch is offering Readers' Choice winners the opportunity to buy a plaque from American Registry that you can display in your business. All you need to do is visit www.myamreg.com/patch/10 to preview and purchase your plaque. Here's our full list of this year's Readers' Choice winners: Best Pizza Winner: Joe's Main …

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Winchester Businesses Get Powerful

Representatives from NSTAR and Blue Selenium Solar explained how businesses can slash energy costs through energy efficiency and solar power.

On a recent Wednesday night, Winchester businesses gathered at a Town Hall “Power Hour” to learn how to slash energy costs through energy efficiency and solar power.  Experts described quick paybacks for the measures, as short as nine months. At the event, an NSTAR representative spoke about their Direct Install program that provides a free energy audit and NSTAR payment of up to 70 percent for energy efficiency measures such as new lighting and fixtures.   A local businessman, Walter Hubbard, from PC Quickhelp, spoke positively about the process and how the changes had improved the lighting in his office.  Other local businesses, such as the Pairings wine store and Winchester Hospital, also have cut costs through implementing energy …

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Shop at Mahoney's to Support Winton Club

On Wednesday, 10 percent of your total purchases at Mahoney's will go to the Winton Club.

Winchester Residents Show Off '60s Fashions

Mount Auburn Hospital’s annual "Party of the Year" gala turned back the clocks to the fabulous '60s this past Saturday.

After 85 Years, Still Repairing Residents' Shoes

Winchester Shoe Hospital was opened in 1927. Now run by the original owner's son, the repair shop does everything from replacing soles to stretching shoes.

Holding a men’s dress shoe in one hand, John Caros brushed rubber cement between the layers of the sole. On shelves all around him were more shoes, all waiting for repairs. The owner of Winchester Shoe Hospital, Caros spends his days replacing heels broken off women’s shoes and repairing favorite loafers men have worn straight through the bottoms. Caros also does a lot of business in stretching shoes that seemed comfortable in the shoe store but, upon arriving home, were discovered to pinch toes. The amount of stretching possible depends on the leather, Caros said, but “99 out of 100 times, it works.” There’s even a stretching machine bunion attachment that can push out one specific part of the shoe. Is there ever a time he can’t repair a …

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Next Door Is a Place for More Than Just Theater

The Next Door Center for the Arts is about to launch its latest production, "Into the Woods," but staff say the center is about more than theater.

The Next Door Center for the Arts is currently in the midst of “tech week” as it prepares to mount its latest production, “Into the Woods.” This week of technical rehearsals brings together all the elements of the show, ultimately culminating in opening night this Friday. The show tells the tale of a baker and his wife, who have been cursed by an evil enchantress, leaving them unable to have children. The couple embarks on a journey to break the spell, and on the way they meet a variety of fairy tale characters. “This is a musical that will delight our children yet still holds a very deep message for adults in the audience. While there are fairy tale characters in this play, they are adults with recognizable moral dilemmas,” said Brian …

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Swizzles Frozen Yogurt Becomes Largest in New England

The Winchester shop is the largest self-serve frozen yogurt chain in the region.

Swizzles Frozen Yogurt has quickly become the largest self-serve frozen yogurt chain in New England with the help of its Winchester shop, according to the News Times. Swizzles is a self-serve frozen yogurt shop, where customers can choose from a rotating selection of frozen yogurt flavors, then add their own toppings. New York resident and CEO Adam Kessner said they rotate through about 25 flavors, with 10 on tap at any given time, including six standards that don’t change. “Living in New York and seeing first-hand the popularity of self-serve frozen yogurt shops, I saw an opportunity in New England to fill this void," Kessner told the Times. "I have chosen specific towns within Southern Connecticut and the Boston, Massachusetts regions …

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Help Determine the 'Best Of' Winchester

A weekly feature lets our readers choose the best of everything in Winchester.

Starting on Monday, we'll have a new feature on Winchester Patch called the "Best Of," which asks our readers to tell us who makes the best frozen treats, sandwiches or where the best date night location is in town. Patch's "Best Of" series focuses on a different area of business each week, as we're looking to help Winchester residents get the best service, deals and meals in Winchester only. On Monday mornings, a new topic will be posted to vote on. Vote in our polls, leave comments why you enjoy a particular establishment or business, while also posting a review of a local business. We'll compile votes, comments and relevant directory listing reviews throughout the week, until Friday at 9 a.m. Because our poll is not scientific, it is …

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Yoga Mandala Prepares Move to New Space

Yoga Mandala's new space will be shared with a new business, Core Elements, owned by Beth Maher, who has long taught at Yoga Mandala.

After 10 years in its current location, Yoga Mandala is about to move to a new site at 750 Main St. Owner Nicole Grant wasn’t actively looking for a new space, but when the chance fell into her lap just before the yoga studio’s current lease was up, Grant decided to take the leap. “This is a perfect example of yoga -- or 'go with the flow,'” Grant said. “When the demand for change comes up, we have two choices: to resist or engage; and let's just say, I saw this as both an opportunity and a challenge and knew I had a whole community to support me.” The move will also coincide with a split into two distinct businesses sharing one common space, as core elements teacher Beth Maher launches her own separate business, simply called Core …

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