PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHRISTINA RAHR LANE
Colleen Taylor settles into her cozy office in the Greylock Works building for a chat with Edible Berkshires. There’s a large window with a view of the street, a couple of desks, and a massive wall calendar marking all her commitments. It will come as no surprise that the calendar is jam-packed. With 84 employees and four businesses—Freight Yard Pub, Trail House Kitchen & Bar, Craft Food Barn, and Berkshire Catering Co.—the veteran restaurateur does not have much time to sit still. For most people in her industry, it’s tough enough to keep one restaurant up and running, let alone three plus a relatively new catering company.
“I view it as my work and I know how to do it,” Colleen says. “I didn’t know it was a rare skill.” It is.
Colleen opened Freight Yard Pub in 1992 with her brother, Sean Taylor; her first husband; and her late brother, Kevin Taylor. “It was always our dream to own a restaurant,” Colleen says. While working at Sheridan Hotel Towers in the food and beverage department, she saw a Boston Globe ad for a restaurant for sale in North Adams. “It was going to be owner financed,” she recalls. “When we came out and looked at it, we really liked the area. The restaurant was beautiful and had everything that we wanted.”
Just four years later, Colleen and her then-husband opened Water Street Grill, but when the two separated, Freight Yard stayed with Colleen and Water Street went to her ex. Next up was Taylor’s Fine Dining, which Colleen and Sean opened in 2008 and then sold to Jared Decoteau of The Public in 2012. “I wanted to be a mom,” Colleen says. “My kids were teenagers and their lives got so busy. I really wanted to pay attention to them and give them the energy that they needed.”
But when Colleen’s nest was empty, she was once again eager to expand. “When my kids went off to college in 2018, we opened Trail House Kitchen & Bar,” she says. While Freight Yard Pub serves traditional pub food such as burgers, fries, and tenders, “At Trail House, we try to be a little bit healthier with salmon items and more salads.” The Taylors seemed to be on the road to success. And then, the pandemic struck.
AN UNLIKELY TIME TO EXPAND
It was immediately clear to Colleen that Trail House should be temporarily shuttered: It was the smaller of the two restaurants and often less busy. Freight Yard Pub stayed open as a takeout operation, giving Colleen a little glimpse into the future. “When we turned into a professional takeout location, I realized that the takeout was never going to go away,” she says. That prediction was the inspiration for the Taylors’ third location: Craft Food Barn.
It started as a bit of a joke between Colleen and Sean. When she made an offhand comment to him about turning the old Dairy Queen on Curran Highway into a takeout location, Sean took her seriously and made an offer on the building, which was eagerly accepted. Colleen concedes that people were shocked. Who in their right mind would buy a restaurant during a pandemic, when others were being permanently closed down?
It was rough going at first. “We opened May 17th, 2021,” says Kenneth Notchick, the head chef at Craft Food Barn. “We started with a more intricate menu. We were trying to establish ourselves as more of a high-end restaurant at drive-through speeds.” But the concept didn’t work. The restaurant’s goal was to fulfill orders in five minutes, and that wasn’t possible with items such as steak tips or barbecued ribs. So, for the past two years, Notchick has been tweaking the menu, adding grain bowls, acai bowls, specialty sandwiches, shakes, and other dairy bar products. Investments in new equipment, such as a high-end espresso machine (the same brand favored by Starbucks) and a high-speed oven helped the restaurant make complex coffee drinks and reduce cooking times.
THE RIGHT SYSTEMS
But it wasn’t just equipment that helped the operation run smoothly. It was what Colleen refers to as “process,” which she considers one of the most important aspects of running a successful business. “The same process that we’d set up for takeout during the pandemic [at Freight Yard Pub] is the same process we use at Craft Food Barn and at Trail House,” she says, “and it’s the same computer system, the same cashing out, the same training, and a lot of the same menu items.”
Consistent systems and procedures are key to running all the restaurants successfully. And that extends to training and managing staff. All employees are connected through Sling, an employee shift scheduling and planning app, and are given the option to move into positions at other locations when searching for opportunities to grow. “We try to identify leaders,” says Colleen. “If you’re a waitress but a management position opens up, we will promote you.”
Such was the case for Jessie Dubie, the front-of-the-house manager at Trail House. Originally a server at Freight Yard Pub, she moved to Trail House and was eventually promoted to manager. “I enjoy extra responsibilities by nature,” says Jessie. “There’s an overall atmosphere at Trail House that’s family oriented. They take care of their staff and we’re treated well.”
For Colleen and Sean, creating a familial culture for their staff is important. And the foundation of that culture is their own relationship. “We’re a very close family, so if you can build an organization and [family is with you], all the better,” says Colleen. Even prior to opening Freight Yard Pub, the two often worked in restaurants together.
The siblings have clearly delineated responsibilities. “I’m more front of the house and hands-on,” says Sean. “I deal with the overall dynamics of all of the properties, overseeing work that is being performed at any of the restaurants in any capacity. Colleen is more on the finance end of everything. But collectively, we both know how to do everything.” The Taylors also have three head chefs—John Singer, Derek Gerry, and Kenneth Notchick—who work in the kitchen daily and also assist with catering. The chefs collaborate with Colleen on menu development but operate with a good amount of autonomy.
QUOTE Colleen Taylor is keenly aware that her employees are the key to her success. At a time when many Berkshire businesses struggle with labor issues, her ever-expanding company seems to have found the secret sauce for retention and expansion.
GROWTH FOR EMPLOYEES
Despite the challenges of the past few years—or perhaps because of them—the Taylors continue to grow. Last spring, they launched Berkshire Catering Co. “I’ve always catered inside of all three locations,” Colleen says. “And coming out of the pandemic, we’ve noticed that there was a little bit of a void there that we wanted to fill.” Some existing catering operations had gone out of business during the pandemic when big gatherings came to a screeching halt. As events began to pick up, in 2021, Colleen took a proactive step and applied for a liquor license for her catering company. By spring 2022, when everyone was once again ready to party, so was she. Since then, the business has continued to grow.
Sharing her success with the community is important, says Colleen. She’s a regular donor to a broad variety of local charities but, she says, “My first priority is making sure my staff are being paid well and that they’re succeeding in their own lives.” She’s keenly aware that her employees are the key to her success. At a time when many Berkshire businesses struggle with labor issues, her ever-expanding company seems to have found the secret sauce for retention and expansion.
“I have very good support from my staff , and that allows us to grow more,” Colleen says. “And the staff can’t grow unless we grow.”
Freight Yard Pub & Restaurant
1 Furnace St., Bldg. 3, North Adams
Su–Th 11am–9pm, F–Sa 11am–10pm
413-663-6547
freightyardpub.com
Trail House Kitchen & Bar
896 State Rd., North Adams
Daily 11am–8pm
413-412-1090
trailhousekitchen.com
Craft Food Barn
465 Curran Hwy., North Adams
Daily 7am–8pm
413-998-7777
craftfoodbarn.com
