Norwood, Massachusetts, October 21, 2025
News Summary
A significant outage at Amazon Web Services (AWS) severely affected local businesses around Boston, particularly impacting ordering and payment systems. Maha Juice Bar in Norwood reported substantial losses due to its digital ordering system being down. Many service workers, including those at local salons, faced income disruptions as a result of the failure of electronic payment services. Experts warn that such outages highlight the reliance on a single cloud provider and their potential long-term economic effects.
Norwood, Massachusetts — A major outage at Amazon Web Services (AWS) disrupted local businesses across the Boston area, leaving merchants without digital ordering and payment systems for much of the day.
What happened
Maha Juice Bar in Norwood, Massachusetts, experienced significant operational issues due to an outage at Amazon Web Services (AWS). The owner of Maha Juice Bar, Marcieli Pastorio, reported that their ordering system, Toast, was offline all day, resulting in lost orders across multiple locations. The credit card machine was also offline, complicating transactions and delaying processing of credit card orders.
Immediate effects on local businesses
The outage affected point-of-sale systems and online services relied on by small businesses. The health food restaurant has locations in Cambridge and Franklin as well. Staff at affected locations switched to manual order-taking and handled some sales in cash where possible, but owners reported missed and delayed sales when customers could not complete transactions.
Service-industry workers also reported income disruption. Sarah O’Malia, a stylist at Golden Salon in Walpole, highlighted the reliance on digital payment systems and how not being able to receive tips in cash impacted income for her and her team. O’Malia mentioned that customers often forget to send gratuities if they cannot do it immediately, contributing to financial strain. O’Malia recently opened the salon in August and noted concern about how interruptions to digital systems affect new businesses.
Expert commentary and broader implications
Cloud infrastructure experts note that outages at major providers can ripple across many sectors. AWS is known to account for about one-third of all internet traffic globally, serving as a backbone for many online applications and services, including healthcare and transportation. Cybersecurity and cloud specialists observed that widespread reliance on a single provider increases systemic risk. Cybersecurity expert Peter Tran emphasized the widespread dependency businesses have on cloud services like AWS.
Analysts warned the outage could have significant financial consequences. Experts estimate the AWS outage could result in billions of dollars in losses across various industries. Business owners expressed anxiety about longer-term effects on customer trust and operational resilience even as some platforms began to recover later in the day. Business owners are anxious about the potential long-term impacts of the outage even as some platforms begin to recover.
Local human impact
For many small operators, the outage translated directly into lost or delayed revenue. Employees who typically receive tips via card or app faced immediate reductions in take-home pay when those systems were unavailable. O’Malia recently opened her salon in August, expressing concern about how such disruptions affect not just herself but her team as well.
What businesses can do next
Advisers recommend that small businesses maintain backup payment options, keep a supply of change and receipt books for manual orders, and document lost sales during outages for records and possible insurance or relief claims. Companies are also encouraged to review service agreements with cloud providers and consider multi-cloud or hybrid arrangements to reduce single-source risk.
Background
Cloud providers like AWS host a large portion of internet services and applications used by businesses of all sizes. Interruptions at major providers can affect ordering systems, payment processing, scheduling platforms and other operational tools. The scale of AWS’s role in global internet traffic means outages have potential to affect sectors beyond retail, including healthcare and transportation infrastructure that rely on cloud-hosted systems.
FAQ
What happened at Maha Juice Bar?
Maha Juice Bar in Norwood, Massachusetts, experienced significant operational issues due to an outage at Amazon Web Services (AWS).
What did the owner report about ordering systems?
The owner of Maha Juice Bar, Marcieli Pastorio, reported that their ordering system, Toast, was offline all day, resulting in lost orders across multiple locations.
Were payment systems affected?
The credit card machine was also offline, complicating transactions and delaying processing of credit card orders.
Does the restaurant have other locations?
The health food restaurant has locations in Cambridge and Franklin as well.
How significant is AWS to global internet traffic?
AWS is known to account for about one-third of all internet traffic globally, serving as a backbone for many online applications and services, including healthcare and transportation.
What did cybersecurity experts say?
Cybersecurity expert Peter Tran emphasized the widespread dependency businesses have on cloud services like AWS.
What are the estimated economic impacts?
Experts estimate the AWS outage could result in billions of dollars in losses across various industries.
How are business owners reacting?
Business owners are anxious about the potential long-term impacts of the outage even as some platforms begin to recover.
How did the outage affect service workers?
Sarah O’Malia, a stylist at Golden Salon in Walpole, highlighted the reliance on digital payment systems and how not being able to receive tips in cash impacted income for her and her team.
Did O’Malia mention anything specific about tips?
O’Malia mentioned that customers often forget to send gratuities if they cannot do it immediately, contributing to financial strain.
When did O’Malia open the salon?
O’Malia recently opened her salon in August, expressing concern about how such disruptions affect not just herself but her team as well.
Quick reference table
| Business | Location | System affected | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maha Juice Bar | Norwood, Cambridge, Franklin | Ordering system (Toast), credit card machine | Lost orders across multiple locations; delayed credit card processing |
| Golden Salon | Walpole | Digital payment systems | Inability to receive tips electronically; cash tips limited |
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