“This is a business that’s operated within other businesses, and that’s not something we’ve seen before. If one of us does well, we both do well.” —Kevin Kelly
“I’m trying to change the economic dynamic here and food is part of that,” says Kevin Kelly, the 24-year-old founder of After Hours. That’s an ambitious goal for a young entrepreneur, but Kelly’s got something we haven’t seen in the Berkshire food scene for quite a while: a new business model that doesn’t require massive investment.
Think of After Hours as a restaurant without a permanent home.
Kelly, who launched his business in February 2024, partners with a variety of Berkshire restaurants to use their space on days and times when they’re typically closed. He cooks his own fare in their kitchens, gives the partner restaurant’s staff the opportunity to work an extra shift, and shares revenue with the restaurant on a day that would normally generate no income. He’s mindful of the restaurant’s brand reputation and its price points.
A Great Barrington native, Kelly started working in the restaurant industry when he was just 15. “My first job was as a busser at Allium,” he recalls. Like many budding entrepreneurs, Kelly landed at Babson College in Wellesley, but he continued to work in the industry, including Field and Vine, a well-known and respected farm-to-table restaurant.
He had always loved cooking and, in his last semester, balked at the idea of pursuing a conventional career in finance or consulting. “I looked at opening a restaurant in Great Barrington—the finances, staffing, what the menu would look like—and the traditional model wasn’t feasible,” Kelly says. “So, I took a step back from that. I was trying to detach from this idea of a restaurant being defined by a physical space, and the cost and stress that brick and mortar puts on a food business.”
That said, he does need a home base. Currently, that’s a commissary space at Thornwood, secured with the help of Jane Ralph, the executive director of Construct. “We’re so grateful to them,” says Kelly, who hopes to have his own kitchen space at some point.
Kelly’s first collaboration was with GB Eats in Great Barrington. “Kevin approached us and we liked the idea of what he was promoting,” says GB Eats owner Candice Rischner. “We are closed Wednesday evenings, so it felt like the perfect opportunity to support his business.”
Over the summer, Kelly’s menu at GB Eats included homemade focaccia, pork chops, pasta, and salad with lettuces from Dancing Greens Farm. “Our menu is internationally influenced and we try to stay in line with the season, and to always think about how we support local businesses, like Dancing Greens, with the food we’re putting on plates,” he says.
In addition to GB Eats, Kelly has partnered with Mooncloud, The Apple Tree Inn, Paige’s Place, Berkshire Food Co-op, Marjoram + Roux, The Well, and Common or Garden Pub. In July, he worked with Dare Bottleshop & Provisions on a Bastille Day celebration that included French hot dogs, baguettes, financier pastries, and gougères served at a table on the sidewalk outside of Dare’s Railroad Street shop. In the works when we spoke in August: a partnership with North Plain Farm; and he was working with Berkshire Cider Project as the featured chef for Hancock Shaker Village’s annual Cider Makers Dinner.
“This is a business that’s operated within other businesses, and that’s not something we’ve seen before,” says Kelly. “If one of us does well, we both do well.”
After Hours
413-717-2451
afterhoursgb.com
