Rumors Brewing About Cup & Saucer

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
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The Cup & Saucer on Main Street was unexpectedly closed on Sunday morning. The sign showed up later.
Update: According to the North Adams Transcript on Tuesday, Jan. 5, the coffee shop is closed for good. The paper reports that Lester dropped off his keys to landlord Scarafoni Realty last week. Calls and e-mails left for Lester have gone unanswered.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Has the Cup & Saucer poured its last latte? That's what its loyal patrons are wondering.

The now iconic coffeehouse at 67 Main St. owned by Daniel Lester closed abruptly over the weekend, leaving a state senator and local coffee lovers out in the cold.

Scott Brown, a Wrentham Republican, was scheduled to make an appearance Sunday morning at the restaurant, despite it being covered with placards touting his Democratic rival for U.S. Senate, native daughter Martha Coakley.

But Brown was a no-show and the Cup & Saucer was closed. A number of patrons tried to scurry in out of the drizzly rain only to find their way blocked by the locked door and loyal customers made their way to the Hub and BrewHaHa for their morning joe.

A family situation or emergency was the word being passed around Sunday morning, but four mornings have gone by with no sign of the Cup & Saucer reopening with the exception of a simple sign on the door: "The cup will be closed temporarily."

Messages left for Lester have not yet been returned and no notices are posted on the restaurant's Web site or Facebook and MySpace pages.

David Carver of Scarafoni Associates, which owns the coffee shop building at the corner of Main and Holden, said he didn't know why the Cup was closed but he had been "working" with Lester.

"If he opens back up again that's wonderful," said Carver, adding it was a good location that's had more than one successful business. "We expect it to continue to be a wonderful place for a coffee shop ... It will all work out."

The spot had previously housed the Appalachian Bean for eight years until then owner Audrey Witter changed careers and went into teaching. Lester opened the business in 2006 with a partner, Mark Florcyczk, who left a year later. Florcyczk is now an owner of the Verizon Wireless store on Main Street.

Lester recently paid off a state meals tax lien of $12,132 incurred in 2006, according to state land records.

Over the past year, the restaurant became a central meeting point in the city election and was covered with candidate's signs. Lester was big supporter of Mayor-elect Richard Alcombright, whose green T-shirted campaign volunteers frequented the shop. Coakley's only stop in North Adams so far during the special election for Senate was the Cup & Saucer.

If anyone has more information on the Cup's fate or a better way to contact Lester, post your comments here or e-mail us at info@iberkshires.com.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Armed North Adams Man Arrested Following Domestic Standoff

Staff Reports

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Matthew Parker, a 44-year-old North Adams man, is set to face multiple counts of attempted murder and weapons charges in Northern Berkshire District Court on Friday morning following an hours-long, armed standoff at a Houghton Street home.

The defendant is being arraigned for:

  • Domestic Assault and Battery
  • Assault with the Intent to Murder (3 counts)
  • Carrying a Firearm While Under the Influence of Alcohol (3 counts)
  • Possession of a hi-capacity firearm (4 counts)
  • Improper Storage of a hi-capacity firearm (2 counts)
  • Improper Storage of a firearm (6 counts)

According to a report, on June 10, at approximately 8:42 p.m., officers responded to 365 Houghton St. following a report of a domestic assault and battery. The caller said she and her husband had been involved in a physical altercation.

She said her husband was intoxicated, making suicidal statements about shooting himself, and had access to both a shotgun and a pistol.

Upon arrival, officers made contact with both the caller and Parker. During the encounter, Parker threatened to shoot officers before retreating into the home and refusing to exit.

Officers believed that Parker was armed.

To ensure public safety, police established a perimeter around the home and requested assistance from the Berkshire County Special Response Team (SRT) and North Adams Police crisis negotiators. The Brien Center was also contacted and promptly provided an emergency mental health clinician to assist with the incident.

Special Response Team personnel deployed drones to monitor the residence and provide aerial illumination. During the operation, officers saw Parker exit the house carrying a rifle. He pointed it at the drones, stated a report. Parker subsequently pointed the rifle toward several officers positioned behind their cruisers. After officers attempted to de-escalate the situation, Parker returned inside the residence.

Trained crisis negotiators maintained communication with Parker for several hours in an effort to peacefully resolve the situation. At approximately 2 a.m., Parker ceased communication with negotiators.

Drone operators later observed Parker unconscious in a recliner on the first floor of the residence, with a rifle and shotgun on the floor nearby.

Members of the Berkshire County SRT then executed a coordinated operation. Diversionary devices were deployed through a window while an entry team simultaneously entered the home, secured the firearms, and took the defendant into custody.

A search warrant was executed after Parker was in custody. North Adams Police seized four shotguns, six rifles, two handguns, and thousands or rounds of ammunition from the home.

During the operation, one SRT member sustained a minor injury related to a less-lethal bean bag deployment. Parker also sustained non-life threatening injuries during the arrest and was transported to Berkshire Medical Center for medical evaluation.

"We thank the community for its patience and cooperation throughout this incident, particularly residents in the affected area who complied with temporary shelter-in-place requests," Police Chief Mark Bailey said.  "The North Adams Police Department extends its sincere appreciation to the agencies that provided mutual aid and assisted by handling calls for service during this incident. We are especially grateful to the Berkshire County Special Response Team for its professional and decisive response, the Brien Center for the rapid deployment of a mental health clinician, and our crisis negotiators whose efforts helped maintain dialogue and contributed significantly to the safe resolution of this incident."

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