Mama's Place Bringing Pub-Style Home Cooking to Adams
ADAMS, Mass. — Mama's Place at 85 Commercial St. is spooning up homemade fare made by veteran restaurateur Annmarie Belmonte.
"It's pub-style food with specials that are more of what you would see in a homemade style," she said. "But the center of it is pub-style food at affordable prices."
Nearly two months after opening, Belmonte said the eatery is doing well.
Mama's Place opened on Oct. 5 and operates from 2 to 8 Tuesday through Friday and noon to 8 on Saturday for winter hours. Belmonte said she wanted to offer Adams something that it didn't have with Mama's Place.
Her goal with Mama's Place was to provide Adams with homemade food and desserts while also keeping it at an economical price. She is active on the eatery's Facebook page, often posting about specials and deals for the restaurant.
"I do a soup every day. They're always homemade. It's not anything that's coming from a can. So basically, it was to offer something in town that was different and affordable," she said. "That's basically what the whole vibe is here. I do homemade whoopie pies and cookies. I also have homemade chocolates that I do."
The community has been highly supportive since Mama's Place opened, according to Belmonte. She said it is crucial for the Adams community to support all local businesses.
"It really has been great over the last two months," she said. "I hope to see more of a continuance of what we've seen so far. Maybe on a slightly larger scale, but not going crazy because I still want this to be more of that homey feel."
Belmonte said she and her husband had previously operated Izzy's Pizza in the same building nearly a decade ago. She said despite being in a familiar location, Mama's Place has a distinct and unique ambiance.
"I'm no stranger to this space," she said. "But it's a different feel and a different vibe with having pub food and not pizza or anything like that."
Patrons of Viking Pub, next door at 83 Commercial St., can order from Mama's Place's menu. Belmonte explained, despite the pub food, she wants her restaurant to have a family-style atmosphere that people can visit for all occasions.
"A lot of people tend to think that this is just a straight-up bar room, and it's not," she said. "There are high-top tables in here where you can sit down, and someone's going to wait on you. And I think that that kind of gets lost along the way."
In addition to Izzy's Pizza, there have been a number of eateries in that space over the years, including Bigg Daddy's Philly Steak House, the Pitchfork, Valhalla Eatery and, most recently, the Village Fryer that closed in August.
Long-term plans that Belmonte said she has for the restaurant are catering, events and night offerings. She also hopes to be able to expand the menu over time to have a more diverse selection.
"I've kind of been toying with that here and there with specials to see how something other than just burgers and sandwiches and hot dogs would go," she said. "So, for instance, I offer a chicken bowl where you have mashed potatoes, corn, chicken and gravy. And that seems to go really well. Stuff like that where it's not a five-star sit-down restaurant, but it is a good home-cooked, comfort food feel that you can take home and not scarf down like you would a burger or sandwich."
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