State Economic Development Secretary Visits Pittsfield
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The state secretary of economic development visited Pittsfield on Monday to hear about the condition of its economy and downtown.
Executive Office of Economic Development Secretary Eric Paley joined local small-business owners, state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, state Sen Paul Mark, and Mayor Peter Marchetti for a roundtable discussion at the Berkshire Black Economic Council at the beginning of the day.
"I think supporting downtowns and keeping them vibrant and energetic is a challenge in many parts of the state, and certainly many gateway cities, but I think people want to live where there's lively, strong downtowns," Paley said.
"And they want to spend their money where they feel there's an energetic, long downtown, and that's a critical factor for Pittsfield that we do see in other gateway cities."
He said Berkshire County has "extraordinary" strengths as a tourism and cultural leader, but like many other places, its small businesses are struggling with operating costs and affordability, as "Housing is a challenge, childcare, healthcare, these are challenges we see all across the state, but they kind of hit differently in different locations."
The secretary feels Berkshire County competes "very" well with the nearby Catskills, Hudson Valley, and Adirondacks in New York State because of how strong the cultural community is, but sustaining those communities is a challenge.
"Making the community fun year-round when so many people come in the summer, but also making sure that resources keep building and growing here is key, and there's been some flattening of some of the key economic indicators, and extending that strength is really important," Paley said.
"…There were a lot of just a lot of heartfelt, thoughtful comments and things that we need to be talking about every day as we think of different regions of the state and how we support them."
The owners of Elegant Stitches, Pittsfield Rye and Specialty Breads, and Hot Plate Brewing spoke to the secretary about the inflated costs of running a small business, including supplies, utilities, and employee health insurance.
Mike Dell'Aquila, who owns Hot Plate Brewing with Sarah Real, said the brewery sees the impact of energy and health-care costs, explaining, "We’re a growing business, and it inhibits us from being able to add more employees."
He said the 3-year-old company, which was ranked No. 3 in USA Today's list of "Best New Brewery" in 2025, is a success story for the public/private partnership that has been going on in Pittsfield. Though the brewery has seen some mixed results, with volatility in the food and beverage industry coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2021, the City Council approved a $140,000 allocation of the city's economic development funds to help the brewery open, supporting the purchase of equipment. Dell'Aquila said the city had a "very forward-looking" vision by investing in Hot Plate to bring them here.
Last year, the brewery raised its total revenue by 24 percent with a decrease in taproom traffic from farmer's market sales, which are now allowed by law, and the national recognition.
He pointed out that few downtown businesses are open after 9 p.m. or on a Sunday.
"When it's a Saturday in the summertime, North Street right now is a ghost town, and it's because of a lack of density that we're not able to attract some of those consumers," Dell'Aquila said.
Managing Director of Downtown Pittsfield Inc. Rebecca Brien added that it is very much a chicken-and-egg situation: How do you bring more people into the downtown if your storefronts are empty, but how do you fill the storefronts if you don't have people downtown?
Marchetti brought forward an idea that Rick Robbins, co-owner of Pittsfield Rye & Specialty Breads, had for a business expo that connects local businesses with one another. For example, it would allow the bakery the opportunity to provide rolls for local restaurants and kitchens.
Paley said you have to get people to spiritually understand why shopping local is good.
"There are so many reasons local is good, and then you need to present all the strengths of local and package it up in a way that's really powerful, so it's not just sort of like mediocre, you can buy a worse version of the product if you buy it here, or a better version if you buy it somewhere else, it's a better version of the product here and you make it as easy as possible for people to buy into that," he said
"And with pride, with great pride, and way better environmental impact."
The secretary was appointed by Gov. Maura Healey in June 2025. Farley-Bouvier was happy to introduce him to the area for the first time in this role. They spoke with other stakeholders before the small-business roundtable.
"We heard today from small businesses and the bigger picture of businesses with 1Berkshire, but there's much more to learn about together, including our advanced manufacturing base, our outdoor recreation economy," she said.
"There's much here to be partners with the secretary on."
Mark said it's great to have the secretary in the Berkshires early in his tenure, and knows he will be a frequent visitor, "We’re going to make sure of it."
"It was a really great cross section of the community that we saw today, from really small businesses to long-established cultural institutions and to the bigger industry organizations that are going to be visited later," he said.
The officials went to General Dynamics after the roundtable discussion.
Paley said the state is putting a "big" focus on its defense industry through its SHIELD initiative, and that the state’s defense sector is as large as its biotech sector. The Massachusetts Strategic Hub for Innovation, Exchange and Leadership in Defense (SHIELD), was developed to strengthen the state's defense leadership and accelerate the development of cutting-edge national security solutions.
Tags: economic development, North Street, roundtable, state officials,
