“My mother [Paige] was so warm and embracing of those in need, [and] it’s that sense of home and togetherness, service and community, that her memory holds in me.” —Eric Danforth

Eric Danforth and Megan McClure recently opened Paige’s place. Photo by Hannah Van Sickle

Eric Danforth and Megan McClure are passionate about feeding folks and creating community, values infused in Paige’s Place, a newish breakfast spot and gathering space in the center of Otis that is named after Danforth’s late mother. The eatery (located on the banks of the Farmington River, where a diner of the same name once operated), has been serving breakfast, lunch, and daily specials, Friday through Monday, since early January.

“Working with local farms and food producers became a really important piece [of our plan],” says McClure, who spent five years as garden assistant manager at Gould Farm in Monterey. Danforth once worked with Amy Loveless at the Dream Away Lodge and in the kitchen at Gould Farm.

The couple decided to purchase the Otis property on a bit of a whim after spying a for-sale sign during breakfast there last October; they closed on the property in early January.

“The local food system is a really powerful hub that we all share,” says Danforth, a native of Dalton. “My mother was so warm and embracing of those in need, [and] it’s that sense of home and togetherness, service and community, that her memory holds in me.”

The post-and-beam space is airy and bright; a record player, plus stacks of vintage vinyl, beckons customers to choose their own tunes. McClure enjoys educating customers about classic menu items sourced from the local growers and food purveyors with whom he has forged relationships, including the Farm New Marlborough and Off the Shelf Farm (New Marlborough); Berkshire Maple Products (Monterey); Barrington Coffee and High Lawn Farm (Lee); and Hawthorne Valley Farm (Ghent, New York).

“For some reason, it felt like an opportunity we didn’t want to [let] pass,” says McClure of the couple’s decision to open Paige’s Place. She envisions a vegetable garden on the one-acre property at some point in the future. And Danforth dreams of building a stage for live music indoors and assembling fire pits outdoors.

“[We’re] not just inviting people into our space,” says Danforth, who adds: “You know, it’s like that transcendent idea of all of us in one space— creating a place, together.”

Paige’s Place
119 S. Main Rd., Otis
413-729-6330
F–M 7am–2pm