Letter: Kudos North Adams Police Department

To the Editor:

Praise to members of the North Adams Police Department:

Interim Chief Mark Bailey, Detective Sgt. Bran Vivori, Detective Josh Zustra, Officers Taylor Kline and Khalil Paul will be participating in Boston's Run To Remember (on May 28) honoring Officer George Angeli, who lost his life while on duty in North Adams.

This half marathon/10K is a true testament to the kindness and dedication these amazing North Adams Police Department officers are to our community. Best of luck on a great run.

Jim Holmes
North Adams, Mass. 

Roxie's Barkery has Grown in Size

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
12:39PM / Monday, June 30, 2025

The 'barkery' offers its locally produced dog treats and custom cakes as well as merchandise. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Roxie's Barkery and Boutique has expanded, creating more room for items in its shop. 

 

Owner McKenna Burzimati started the dog treats business online in 2020, an outgrowth of her desire to create healthy treats for her dog, Roxie. 

 

"Five years ago, I adopted Roxie from Dog Star Rescue, and at the time, I was working at an animal hospital, and then I had to transition to a dog daycare, and Roxy was my first personal dog," she said. "I had had family dogs pretty much my entire life, so it was my first time going out and buying things for her. And I really quickly noticed that there was not great stuff in the pet industry. A lot of treats that had artificial preservatives in it, dyes, just really bad ingredients. So I decided to start making her her own treats."

 

Two years later, the "barkery" moved into a storefront in the Norad Mill and added other merchandise, including some cat items. But it was soon apparent the space was too small to handle customer demand.

 

"We were running out of space very quickly, like within the first couple months of being in the smaller space, we knew that it was not going to last. We weren't going to be able to stay here forever, so we just kept building that out as much as we could," she said. "We weren't able to fit as many dogs. It was even a little hard with more than three people in here, you're kind of shopping over each other. And we do so many events here as well, and that started to be like lines of people out the door ... it was fun, but we could tell that sometimes it was a little bit stressful."

 

Earlier this year, they were able to expand into the room next door when a 3D printing company moved out. They were able to take down the wall, thanks to mill owner David Moresi, and add about 400 square feet to the shop.

 

"It just so worked out perfectly that our neighbors that were in this space also needed a bigger space, and a space opened up down the hallway, so they moved down there, and then Dave was amazing and willing to knock out the wall for us. So then we expanded into this space," she said.