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near-decimation by the pandemic.

“What I’m hearing right now from cultural organizations in our area is that, ‘Yeah, the COVID years were tough, and we’re making it through, but 2023 might be the year that makes or breaks us, because now we’re going to find out, are people coming back to things they used to go to, or has their behavior changed permanently?” Mark said.

“Everything’s coming back,” 1Berkshire President Jonathan Butler told The Eagle at the event. “We have this opportunity where there was a shift in the country of people moving out of urban centers and into rural places. We also have people much more routinely now entering into remote work or hybrid work settings. Those things position us well in the Berkshires.”

Filling out the workforce as a challenge in the Berkshires, Butler said.

“A lot of organizations and businesses aren’t at full bandwidth with hiring, offering 70 percent to 80 percent of their footprint, so this is another summer where there’s a lot of demand to be here in the Berkshires, and we know there’s some limitations based on this staffing crisis,” Butler said.

The hospitality and tourism industry could lose more jobs than any other sector in the state, according to a Special Commission on the Future of Work report. Mark said the region needs to bring all these moving parts together for a sort of sales pitch.

“We need to make sure affordable housing’s available, we need to make sure that there’s transportation systems available to get people to and from jobs, we need to make sure the infrastructure is there, but at the same time, we need to make sure that other places know we’re open for business,” Mark said. “We’re a great place to do business, to work and to live.”

Sten Spinella can be reached at sspinella@ berkshireeagle.com or 860-853-0085.

STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN Berkshire Black Economic Council Executive Director A.J. Enchill.

In the last six months, Flat Burger Society on McKay Street, and Mission Bar + Tapas and Berkshire General Store, both on North Street, closed their doors. All three businesses are located in Pittsfield’s Downtown District, the area on North Street between Park Square and Maplewood Avenue that also includes Center, McKay and Pearl streets.

Brazzucas, a Brazilian market, is planning to open in the former general store’s space in June. But the other storefronts remain empty. With warmer days and the tourist season coming up, BBEC and Downtown Pittsfield Inc. consider the moment ripe for new businesses.

The grant program, called Vibe North Street, will award either seed funding (up to $7,500) or sapling money (up to $25,000) to interested entrepreneurs. Businesses can apply for either depending on their needs, but the latter is more competitive. The money comes from Mass Development’s Transformative Development Initiative, which is also looking to revitalize downtown North Street. The plan is to divide the funding among four to six applicants.

Once selected, businesses that can persuade their landlords to invest will receive a further matching $2,500 or $5,000 grants available from a pot known as “flexible capital.” Organizers will review applications as they receive them. The first awardees will be announced on May 15.

A.J. Enchill, BBEC’s executive director, asks that applicants lay out how their proposals will complement existing businesses.

“Maybe it’s the case that this business represents a particular culture or demographic that would attract new walks of life to North Street,” he said. “Maybe it’s fitting a need that has been underserved.”

The vision is to turn the district into a multi-stop destination.

“We don’t want people to come to North Street for one thing,” Enchill said, “and then return back home. We want people to go from A to B to C to D.”

Though open to all, organizers give 10 more points (out of 100 possible) to businesses owned by women or people of color.

“We’re hoping to get applications from BIPOC businesses who have been discouraged to apply based on previous experiences with other grants, as well as white-owned companies who hear about it,” he said. (The expression “BIPOC” stands for Black, Indigenous and people of color.)

While the application at present is available only in English, organizers enlisted the Berkshire Immigrant Center’s help with translation. “In that way, when we do have applicants who speak other languages, we can do our best to support them in navigating this process,” Enchill said.

To help answer questions from applicants, BBEC is organizing workshops. For further information and to access the application, go to the Berkshire Black Economic Council website at berkshirebec.org/opportunities/ bbec-grants/

Aina de Lapparent Alvarez can be reached at aalvarez@berkshireeagle.com.