Valhalla Eatery Opens Tuesday in Adams
ADAMS, Mass. — You don't have to go to Asgard to dine like a Viking.
Michael Kelly and Shane Doolan will bring food worthy of Odin to 85 Commercial St. with the new eatery Valhalla.
"There are enough pizza places around here and I think people want something different," Kelly said.
The two also run Cornucopia Food Truck. Doolan said they never planned to open a physical restaurant but after Bigg Daddy's Philly Steak House left the location, they figured the opportunity was too good to pass up.
"It was never our intention to do a brick and mortar," Doolan said. "We just wanted to do the food truck and maybe an out of the way kitchen to do all of the prep work then this came out of nowhere. ...
"It would have been ridiculous to not just jump in here at least give it a try."
Kelly said the menu and approach of Valhalla will be different than the food truck business. Cornucopia has an everchanging menu that reflects what the two can purchase from local farmers and vendors.
Valhalla will be a little more consistent.
"We will flip it around and we may do seasonal menus, but it won't be like the food truck where it was all over the place," Kelly said. "This will be a little more static."
Kelly referred to the menu as comfort food. Aptly named "Freyr's Fire Sword" steak fries, the "Vali Burger" with mushrooms and roasted garlic, and "The Thor" beer braised short ribs with cheddar cheese sauce, roasted garlic, and onions can be found on the menu.
There are also various deserts, salads, and other entrees. The menu can be found on the Valhalla's Facebook Page.
Doolan said they will offer take-out, delivery, and plan to work in conjunction with their neighbor, the Viking Pub.
"If it seems like there are more and more people are coming in and they want to sit down at the pub and eat, we will put a part-time wait staff on duty to go over there and help out," Doolan said. "It's a lot to have a bartender doing all that."
Kelly said because of how fast things are moving, they do not plan to make any major renovations in the already working kitchen. He added in time they would like to change the interior a bit to reflect the eatery's name and Norse inspiration.
Kelly said they try to buy local whenever possible and support the local economy.
"The more money that we can keep in the area the better. The relationships I built with the farmers in Williamstown will be coming here," he said. "I like to know the money that I get and spend goes to someone maybe two blocks down or in a nearby community opposed to a giant company."
Kelly added that so far, they have been welcomed into Adams and are excited to open.
"Adams seemed really receptive to a lot of stuff we were doing," he said. "The combination of all of these things together made it a no-brainer."
Valhalla will have a grand opening Tuesday, Sept. 18. The hours will be Monday through Thursday 11 to 8 and Friday through Sunday 11 to 10.
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