Manchester natives brew success

By Lani StackPrint Story | Email Story
Patrons enjoying food and drink at the new restaurant Spiral Press Cafe. (Photo by Lani Stack)
MANCHESTER, Vt. — Robin and Mike Drunsic and Amy and Geoff Chamberlain have concocted a bustling new restaurant in Manchester Center. With its colorful décor, cheerful staff, creative and affordable menu, along with a kid-friendly atmosphere and free wireless Internet access, the Spiral Press Cafe has attracted a clientele that includes business-people for coffee or lunch, mothers and children for snacks, teenagers working on homework after school, knitting circles in the evenings, and out-of-town visitors on weekends and holidays. All four partners hail from Manchester. Amy Chamberlain and Mike Drunsic are siblings. All attended Manchester Elementary School and Burr and Burton Seminary — Mike and Robin Drunsic were classmates beginning in kindergarten. Sons Duncan Chamberlain and Aidan Drunsic — the latter born just four days before the cafe opened on Dec. 14, 2003, are the newest generation of Manchester natives to join the family and partnership. “We all have very strong ties to the local community and felt this was a great opportunity to create a fun and relaxing place for all types of people to enjoy — local residents as well as visitors to Manchester,” Robin Drunsic said. Ed and Barbara Morrow, owners of Manchester Center’s Northshire Bookstore, approached the Chamberlains — owners of a popular Manchester restaurant, The Perfect Wife — with the idea of running a cafe adjacent to the bookstore. Geoff Chamberlain said, “The Morrows had a very clear vision of what they saw as a bookstore cafe, and we saw this as a great opportunity to utilize the community sense of the bookstore as a gathering place.” The Chamberlains said they were excited at the prospect, but, given the demands of running The Perfect Wife, they knew they’d have to enlist help. Drunsic explained, “Amy and Geoff began to think about partnering with another couple, and immediately thought of Mike and me. We were living in Boston and just waiting for the right opportunity to move back to Vermont. We were instantly intrigued and excited about the concept and the potential for such a fantastic place in Manchester. Once we all committed to this project, we did a lot of research, visiting numerous places and meeting with owners of similar establishments all over New England.” In Boston, Drunsic was finishing graduate school and earning a master’s in business administration at Simmons School of Management. An entrepreneurship class gave her some ideas about strategizing and formulating a business plan with her husband and the Chamberlains. Amy Chamberlain’s background as a chef and training at the New England Culinary Institute was also essential in planning for the Spiral Press Café — as was Geoff Chamberlain’s experience managing the business operations of The Perfect Wife. Mike Drunsic has a background in energy and environmental analysis but is now putting his energies into the day-to-day management of the 3,000-square-foot, 70-seat cafe. “Our extremely diverse backgrounds have sparked many healthy debates about our visions and goals,” Robin Drunsic admitted. “But they’ve allowed us to create a very unique and diverse space which appeals to many different types of people.” She added, “We feel very proud of our accomplishments to date, which include innovative food and drink, unique décor and an incredible staff. We still have a large list of things we’re working on, such as providing faster service, increasing our take-out business, continuing to modify our menu and add merchandise, such as tea and coffee accessories, and selling our tea and coffee in bulk.” A deck is also planned for al fresco dining, a wine tasting is in the works for June, and the cafe is a new venue for the Turn of the Tide Music Series. The Drunsics and Chamberlains hope to host poetry readings, book club meetings, and to showcase the works of local artists. “We’re excited to build some nighttime business,” Robin Drunsic said. “Manchester has many wonderful restaurants, but there’s no real place for light fare or to enjoy a glass of beer or wine in a non-bar setting. We hope to fill that need — we offer beer and wine and serve the whole menu until 8:30 p.m. We’re a lot more than just a coffee shop.” The owners also offer regional products to further support the community. “One of our goals has been to support local farmers and artisans as much as possible,” Robin Drunsic said. “We buy Grafton Cheddar Cheese, Misty Knoll Farms Chicken, Mocha Joe’s Coffee Roaster’s coffee and Taylor Farm Cheese, to name a few.” Beth Sanderson of West Pawlet is the chef, and Maureen O’Neill, former owner of Alldays & Onions in Bennington, makes the decadent pastries. Much of the décor is also the product of Vermont ingenuity. Amy Thebault of Dorset’s Thebault Design created the striking color palate seen throughout the café —f rom the sunny yellow of the cafe’s downstairs entrance and counter-space to the deep red walls and sky-blue heating ducts of the 1,700-square-foot upstairs dining area. Thebault accessorized with gold and blue wingback chairs, zebra-striped stools, a deep purple couch, a sled-turned-table and vivid paintings of red barns in greens fields — evocative of breezy Vermont summers. “Amy is an extremely talented designer and, after discussions with us, was able to create a space that embodied everything the four of us envisioned for this space,” Robin Drunsic said. “She found the spectacular chandelier, created from baby-food jars by a local artist in Brookline, Vt., named Johnny Swing, who also created the wonderful chair, made from quarters, that is on display and for sale. Amy also worked with North Star Gallery, here in Manchester, to find paintings that incorporate both our Vermont-theme and vivid color palate.” At almost any given time, the café bustles with a diverse mix of customers — retirees reading the newspaper, writers working on laptops, business people working on transactions over lunch and children playing in a sunny toy area while parents relax and chat. Chamberlain said he and his partners are “ecstatic” about the success of the Cafe so far. “It’s far beyond our expectations.” The Spiral Press’ moniker pays homage to New York City’s legendary Spiral Press, a former printing company founded by Joseph Blumenthal, Barbara Morrow’s great uncle. Blumenthal designed and printed for, among others, Robert Frost, W.H. Auden, William Carlos Williams and Franklin Roosevelt. The Spiral Press Cafe is at 15 Bonnet St., at the junctions of routes 30 and 7A. It can also be reached through the adjacent Northshire Bookstore. Information and hours of operation: 802-362-9944 or www.spiralpresscafe.com .
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Friends of Great Barrington Libraries Holiday Book Sale

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — The Friends of Great Barrington Libraries invite the community to shop their annual Holiday Good-as-New Book Sale, happening now through the end of the year at the Mason Library, 231 Main Street. 
 
With hundreds of curated gently used books to choose from—fiction, nonfiction, children's favorites, gift-quality selections, cookbooks, and more—it's the perfect local stop for holiday gifting.
 
This year's sale is an addition to the Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce's Holiday Stroll on this Saturday, Dec. 13, 3–8 PM. Visitors can swing by the Mason Library for early parking, browse the sale until 3:00 PM, then meet Pete the Cat on the front lawn before heading downtown for the Stroll's shopping, music, and festive eats.
 
Can't make the Holiday Stroll? The book sale is open during regular Mason Library hours throughout December.
 
Proceeds support free library programming and events for all ages.
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