With just about a month until MGM Springfield opens, some neighboring businesses are thinking about making changes to compete. At least one is already switching things up.
Korean restaurant Sun Kim Bop used to serve only breakfast and lunch. Now they're open for dinner until 8 p.m. four nights a week.
Sun Kim, who owns the restaurant a few doors down from the soon-to-open casino, said business has been picking up lately.
“I think a lot of events are going on at the Mass Mutual (Center), and also new customers from MGM,” Kim said. “We have a lot of new customers from MGM.”
But Kim wonders if she'll lose those customers when the casino opens, and starts serving food.
She said she already lost her manager after he took a job as a sous-chef there.
“When the casino opens, there will be other restaurants, all the new places [will open at MGM],” she said. “But I’m trying to prepare for that kind of a situation to be more competitive.”
Owners of a couple other businesses on Springfield's Main Street said they'll wait to see how the casino affects business, and adjust accordingly.
Disclosure: MGM has purchased underwriting from New England Public Radio publicizing the company's non-gambling activities. The NEPR newsroom operates independently of the station's development department, and editorial decisions are made without regard to any funding relationships.
