STEEPLE CITY SOCIAL

Meghan Daly and Andrew Fitch met at a Pride party in North Adams in 2021 and hit it off immediately. “I was like, you’re cool, this is fun, let’s be friends,” recalls Daly. A self-taught baker who had a pie bakery in Brooklyn, she grew up in nearby Bennington, Vermont, and had recently moved to the Berkshires. Fitch grew up outside of Boston, worked for tech firms in San Francisco, but felt the pull to move back East during the pandemic. They started out selling Daly’s baked goods at the North Adams farmers market and then decided to take the leap and start a business together.

Fitch bought the building that is now home to Steeple City Social, and the two got to work renovating the space. “There was a little bit of ‘build what you want to exist,’” says Daly. “What we thought North Adams could use was more later-night spots.” Steeple City Social serves coffee, baked goods (including pie!), and sandwiches made with bread that Daly bakes every day (try the breakfast sandwiches). But the place is also a bona fide cocktail bar where patrons can sip beer, wine, or a classic cocktail while munching on caviar chips and tinned fish conserva. They’re open until 10 four nights a week.

The vibe is hipster meets vintage: The place is filled with antique furniture that sits on a large oriental rug and also offers vintage treasures for sale. “I really wanted to build a space where people can hang out and be comfortable,” says Daly. “It’s been really lovely to see people run into friends and make new friends here.”

Steeple City Social
5 Eagle St., North Adams
413-346-4109
@steeplecitysocial

THE COFFEE SHOP

When Gramercy Bistro closed its doors last year, its neighbors (Peter MacGillivray of Provisions Williamstown on the left; and Xtina Parks of Roam Gallery on the right) were sad to see the restaurant go. The building had been home to some truly iconic Berkshire businesses, including Mezze and, years ago, Phillips General Store, where MacGillivray recalls buying toys as a boy growing up in Williamstown. “The space was just begging to be activated,” he says. “It’s an unbelievable jewel of a space, on the edge of [Williams College] campus and in between MASS MoCA and The Clark, so we’re at a great crossroads.” He and Parks, who owns the building, saw an irresistible opportunity and decided to collaborate on a coffee shop. At this writing, a soft opening was scheduled for the end of June.

MacGillivray scoured the Brimfield Antique Flea Market for furniture and fixtures to fill the space, which he says will have a steampunk aesthetic. And he envisions the exposed brick walls covered with art from Roam, a gallery that features Parks’s photographs as well as a wide variety of African art. “We’ll have coffee from Africa in mugs from Africa,” MacGillivray says. Nostalgia Scratch Pastry of North Adams is on deck to provide patrons with their meticulously crafted baked goods; Ali Tatro and Shea Johnson (pictured) were hired to manage the shop. At some point, The Coffee Shop will also serve sandwiches, salads, and beer and wine. But for now, the offerings will be limited to coffee, espresso drinks, tea, matcha, and pastries. “We’re going to take our time and not rush,” says MacGillivray. “Our MO is to have superior products, and if we do that, people will hear about it.”

The Coffee Shop
10 Water St., Williamstown
thecoffeeshopwilliamstown.com

BRISKETTE & BIRDIE

Two years after her partner, Todd Tinker, passed away suddenly, Honor Harvey is honoring his memory and vision at Briskette & Birdie, a new restaurant in Canaan, New York, that sits on the site of Tinker’s popular food truck, Smokey Sweet BBQ. Briskette & Birdie, a stone’s throw from Richmond and West Stockbridge, is named after the couple’s two Labrador retrievers. One is white, the other is black—a theme that Harvey carried through her renovations on the building, which she wanted to look like “a modern Texas ranch.”

“Todd and I had this vision together,” says Harvey. “We wanted to take his barbecue and uplift it and clean it up. He knew that his sides were laden with sugar and not the healthiest, and he loved the way I served things, Mediterranean style. So, he wanted that to come together.” Those plans were tragically interrupted when Tinker passed away in May 2023. Harvey, who is a private chef and caterer, decided to forge ahead on her own and spent two years renovating the little barnlike structure, building a takeout shed, a fence, and adding picnic tables for outdoor seating. She’s hoping to add music, lawn games, and a firepit to create a welcoming, family-friendly atmosphere.

But the food is front and center. “I’m really proud of the menu,” says Harvey. There’s barbecue, of course, and that’s made with Tinker’s original smoker as well as his recipes for sauce and rub. But Harvey also invested in a wood-fired pizza oven and hired a baker who is making sourdough pizza crust with Italian Caputo flour. Fresh-cut French fries are cooked with beef tallow, not seed oils, and there are gluten-free and vegetarian options as well. We sampled the ribs and the salmon sandwich and both were outstanding. “We’re even making our own mayonnaise from scratch,” Harvey says. “I’m really focused on doing things right. I want to honor Todd here, and it’s a very fun adventure.”

Briskette & Birdie
13361 State Rte. 22, Canaan, NY
518-781-9018
@briskettebirdie

ROBBIE’S COMMUNITY MARKET

Great Barrington’s Gorham & Norton, the 113-year-old family-run market that closed last winter, is a tough act to follow. But Robbie Robles isn’t trying to compete with the memory of that Main Street icon. Instead, he’s differentiating. Robles, who launched launched Sheffield-based businesses Roberto’s Pizza in 2021 and The Pub last year, took over the Gorham & Norton building this year with the intention of creating a community market that would draw in other local purveyors as collaborators. He opened his doors on Memorial Day weekend, and his first customers got a little taste of exactly what he has in mind.

The front part of the market is filled with a curated selection of goods from local makers, including flowers from 11 Lenox Flower Farm, pastries from Pastries by Hanna, Naji’s Mediterranean Cuisine, plus offerings from High Lawn Farm, BOLA granola, JuJu’s, and others. Bags of coffee from Six Depot, Ilse Coffee, and Barrington Coffee Roasters are perched on the shelves of a vintage Kelvinator refrigerator. Robles will also collaborate with Marketplace, where he worked before he started on his own entrepreneurial journey, to provide grab-and-go meals. Over the coming months, Robles will fill the space with more local products, including his very own pizza sauce—a recipe based on his own experimentation, but with a nod toward what he learned growing up from watching his mother and his six aunts in the kitchen. “I was so in love with cooking from a young age,” he says.

Toward the back of the building, there’s a coffee bar and an area for ordering sandwiches, pizza (Roberto’s, of course) by the slice, as well as take-and-bake pizzas. And at the far back is a cozy dining room where patrons can comfortably linger. Look for the offerings to evolve and expand as Robles gathers feedback from the community and forges additional local partnerships.

Robbie’s Community Market
278 Main St., Great Barrington
@robbiesmarket413