Unrivaled Training, gym focused on group training, to open in former Widoff’s Bakery building; Bubble tea shop to open next door in coming months

Along Worcester’s Water Street, empty storefronts are getting new life in 2020.
 
A new gym called Unrivaled Training is opening on Wednesday in the building that once housed the iconic Widoff’s Bakery, offering full group training.
 
Owner Matt Carroll said the program will be well-structured with equipment including a full dumbbell rack, full power racks, benches and the best cardio equipment, which in particular takes stress off a person’s joints.
 
“You’ll get a complete workout that will structure the body here,” Carroll said. “I can cater to athletes and the older population or people who haven’t worked out before.”
 
The gym has heart rate monitoring, which will be visible on large television screens, which will help Carroll assist members with their workouts, he said.
 
“If you’re new coming into the gym and you shouldn’t have your heart rate that high for an extended period of time, I can kind of gauge that on the fly,” he said. “Also on the fly, I can see if an exercise is too easy for the trainee, or too hard, and make an adjustment.”
 
Memberships will cost between $79 and $150 per month. Right now, Carroll is offering a discount of 10 percent off the unlimited package.
 
Widoff’s closed in 2015. One of its most popular offerings was bulkie rolls.
 
“I used to come here for rolls all the time,” Carroll said.
 
In the years since Widoff’s shut its doors, Team Link Muay Thai, a boxing gym, has opened on the top floor of the building.
 
Property owner Ed Murphy said there are still two spaces available for lease. A wall separating the adjacent units could be knocked down to create one larger unit.
 
Next door to Unrivaled Training, a bubble tea shop is being built out with a goal of opening in early February.
 
James Ta of Worcester is the franchisor for this location of One Zo, a bubble tea brand with another location in Quincy, as well as shops in California and New York. The brand says it’s the first cafe in the world to make its boba in-store.
 
Ta said one of the biggest reasons he wanted to open in the Canal District was the news that the Worcester Red Sox would be playing Triple-A ball a few blocks away at Polar Park, which is currently under construction.
 
The shop will be cozy and have a coffee shop vibe with free WiFi, Ta said. One Zo could employ as many as 50 people, he said, and customers will be able to watch employees hand-make various flavors of boba.
 
Some of the popular items at One Zo include brown sugar milk tea, taro milk tea and avocado foam milk tea, Ta said.
 
Worcester is years into a renaissance bringing new dining, development and entertainment to the city. The Canal District is home to a selection of the new businesses.
 
Across the street from Unrivaled Training and One Zo, work continues on Suzette Creperie and Cafe, located in the building that was once home to Weintraub’s Jewish Delicatessen.