Letter: New Name for Apkin

To the Editor:

George Apkin & Sons Inc., would like to share with you some exciting news about our company. We have been working on a strategic plan to ensure that we will be able to continue servicing all our industrial and dealer customers seamlessly for the long term. To ensure that success, we have recently partnered with the Joseph Freedman Co. in Springfield and its affiliates, Perlman Recycling in Pittsfield and Eastern Vehicle Recycling in Westfield.

We are very excited for the depth that this partnership brings. They have a long history dating back 132 years, a great reputation, a professional and friendly team, and a full suite of metal recycling services to further complement our operations.

The only real change will be a small name change to: Apkin Inc. All of our employees in Adams are staying onboard in their current positions, and both of us (Joe Apkin and Bill Apkin) will be staying on as well. Joe Apkin will be leading the company as president, and Bill Apkin will be staying onboard in an advisory role. Sally Cable and Cindi McLain will remain in the office for anything you need.

We appreciate the community that we work with, and it is important to us that we sustain the reputaton and the standing that we have built. To ensure that, we have worked trelessly to make sure that we have partnered with a company that shares our values. We are confident that you will not be disappointed by the transiton.

Thank you to all who have supported us through the years, we look forward to a new chapter.

Joe & Bill Apkin, the Apkin Team
Adams,Mass. 

America's Best Restaurants Visits Adams, Dalton Eateries

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
06:34PM / Wednesday, March 25, 2026

M&J's Taste of Home's choices for the Roadshow crew to try. 

ADAMS, Mass. — America's Best Restaurants had breakfast in Adams and lunch in Dalton on Tuesday. 

 

The national media and marketing company spotlights independent eateries around the country and was back in the Berkshires to try two more local favorites: M&J's Taste of Home Diner and the Shire Tavern. 

 

M&J's owners Mark and Jeanne Lapier reopened the classic Park Street dining car almost two years ago and said they couldn't have done it without their customers.

 

"I say all the time, we can have the best food, but without customers, it's not going to get us anywhere. So, obviously there's a bunch of different components that make us successful, but customers are a huge part of that. So it's just, I don't know, it's very humbling," Mark Lapier said.

 

The Lapiers turned to America's Best, which features restaurants on its YouTube channel, to boost their promotion. The video crew's been in the Berkshires before, highlighting other restaurants

 

"They reached out to us in like September, we had actually, ironically enough, two separate customers nominate us," Mark Lapier said. "So they reached out and kind of told us what the program was about. And so we decided to start working with them, and this is a portion of what they offer with their promotions."

 

The diner asked customers on Facebook what should be cooked up for the day and got lots of suggestions — from lobster rolls to peanut butter cookies.