What the heck is the MROA?


You may have heard the initials “MROA” lately. The Malden Restaurant Owner/Operators Association was formed earlier this year to provide a forum for local Restaurants to discuss and work on mutual issues. The MROA is a vital part of our community. There is probably no other single industry in Malden which does more for the community than our local restaurants. Many youth sports, teams, charities, and the Chamber itself depend upon the generosity of these restaurant owners and operators. A typical example is last week’s “Go Out for Gus” night, where members of the MROA donated part of their proceeds to a local family so they could purchase a specialty van for their son who is stricken with Multiple Sclerosis.

The restaurant industry is the fastest growing business sector in Malden. Many Maldonians have had the opportunity to experience the quality and variety of Malden food services at the Taste of Malden. At their last meeting, the MROA elected Officers to lead the organization for the next year. Both officers are restaurant owners who have consistently served the Malden community for many years. The new Chair is Joe Crowley, of Pisa Pizza. The Secretary/Clerk is Lisa Urbaczewski, owner of the Dockside Restaurant at Riverview.

One of the first priorities of the MROA will be to work with the City on a “Dine in Malden” campaign. This will improve tax revenues for the City since the passage of the Local Option Meals Tax in January provides a revenue stream directly to cities and towns from the added tax on meals. The Chamber hopes you will support this important community organization by patronizing your great local restaurants.

Happy New Year 2010

By the time you read this, hopefully, the Taste of Malden will have proven a major success. We planned this event to showcase the variety and quality of restaurants within our community. We hope that this will further the growing image of Malden as a great food destination. This is only one of the innovations we are trying this year. Another is the Annual Pass for Business Card Exchanges and Business After Hours events. We are also increasing the number of Business After Hours events. Pass holders could potentially attend 10-15 events during the year, giving the pass a potential value of well over $100. Over the last year, I have asked for your comments and suggestions. These initiatives are in response. Keep the ideas coming.

As we start the New Year, I want to take the time to thank some people for their service to the Chamber. The first is Pat Morrow of Combined Properties, our past President. Pat hired me, showed me the ropes, and has been unstintingly supportive over the last year. Thank you Pat. Additionally, I want to thank all of those Chamber members who stepped up to serve in the sometimes thankless positions as Committee Chairs. Linda Kane of Stoneham Savings Bank, our consummate joiner, led the Awards Dinner Committee to great success. Andrea Bezemes from Danversbank took on the leadership for the $10K Drawing which again proved highly popular. Most recently, Yankee Pest Control’s Galvin Murphy, as Taste of Malden Committee Chair has dragooned restaurants, sold lots of tickets, and kept us focused to make this a great event. We are lucky to have so many dedicated members of our Chamber community.

Malden Chamber of Commerce • 200 Pleasant St. • Malden, MA 02148 • (781) 322-4500 • info@maldenchamber.org