Main Street Restaurant Closes Doors

By Jen Thomas - February 20, 2008
iBerkshires Staff

Milan at Fifty-Five on Main Street in North Adams.

NORTH ADAMS - Yet another downtown eatery has closed its doors in the city, after chef and owner John "Jack" F. Carlow III vacated his Milan at Fifty-Five Main Restaurant and Bar last month.

"I don't know much but I can say that I received a letter from the owner, informing me that he was terminating his operation, at the end of January," David Carver, managing partner of Scarafoni Associates, which owns the property at 55 Main St., said Wednesday. Milan's lease with Scarafoni ran through this May.

Milan at 55 specialized in high-end Italian fare in a contemporary setting and, in the summer, was popular with actors at the Williamstown Theatre Festival.

Milan is the latest in the long list of restaurant closings within recent years in the city. Gideon's Fine Dining and its smaller sibling, Gideon's Nightery (later EGL), Hickory Bill's BBQ, Breda's Italian Restaurant and Sugar Llama all called it quits in 2007, and other North County establishments like the Taconic Restaurant in Williamstown and Christina's in Cheshire have been shuttered over the last few years for various reasons.

Last month, calls to Milan, which had operated on Main Street since 2002, were answered by a voice recording that said the restaurant was closed but did not say why or for how long. This week, both the phone line and Web site were discontinued.

Carlow, contacted on Wednesday, said he was not ready to comment.

Carver said the restaurant's abrupt closing is an opportunity to return an old favorite to the area.

"We're actively searching for a new restaurant owner. What we want to do is bring a first-class diner operation back to Main Street," he said.

The Milan location is better known to area residents as the site of the Capitol Restaurant, a longtime favorite that offered diner and American favorites like macaroni and cheese and meat loaf.

It wasn't unusual to see lines out the door of the Capitol in the 1970s and '80s when the former Sprague Electric would spill hundreds of workers into the downtown at noon. The restaurant closed in the 1990s.

It was replaced by another eatery, Milan, which Carlow purchased. The Schenectady, N.Y., resident had worked at the former Il Tesoro on Holden Street. There have been a succession of resturants in that location, including Gideon's, which closed last year. It now houses Taylor's Fine Dining.