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The restaurant had closed abruptly in 2016.

Old Country Buffet Expected To Be Razed To Make Way For New Restaurant

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The former Old Country Buffet at Berkshire Crossing is expected to be razed.
 
The plaza owners Brixmor Property Group received the OK from the Conservation Commission to take down the restaurant. The plan is to construct a new, 5,500 square-foot restaurant in its place.
 
"The footprint of the proposed restaurant is significantly smaller. The existing restaurant is a square, rectangular shape. The concept is we've located the restaurant in that same building footprint but completely out of the riverfront area," James Scalise of SK Design said.
 
Scalise said there is a tight schedule for the owners to finalize the lease. Which restaurant will take its place was not disclosed on Thursday.
 
Old Country Buffet has been closed for the last two years. It closed with little warning in February 2016 as workers arrived there one morning to find a sign announcing its closure.
 
The restaurant was one of 74 closed by Ovation Brands at the time. Now it appears another company is interested in taking over the location. 
 
What would you like to see there?

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Pittsfield School Committee Votes to Close Morningside

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There were tears as the School Committee on Wednesday voted to close Morningside Community School at the end of the school year. 

Interim Superintendent Latifah Phillips said the purpose of considering the closure is to fulfill the district's obligation to ensure every student has access to a learning environment that best supports academic growth and achievement, school climate, equitable access to resources, and long-term success. 

"While fiscal implications are included, the7 closure of the school is fundamentally driven by the student performance, their learning conditions, the building inadequacy, and equitable student access, rather than the district's budget," she said. 

"…The goal is not to save money. The goal is to reinvest that money to make change, specifically for our Morningside students, and then for the whole school building, as a whole." 

Over the last month or so, the district has considered whether to retire the open concept, community school at the end of the school year. 

Morningside, built in the 1970s, currently serves 374 students in grades prekindergarten through Grade 5, including a student population with 88.2 percent high-needs, 80.5 percent low-income, and 24.3 percent English learners.  Its students will be reassigned to Allendale, Capeless, Egremont, and Williams elementary schools.

The school is designated as "Requiring Assistance or Intervention," with a 2025 accountability percentile of seventh, despite moderate progress over the past three years, and benchmark data continues to show urgent literacy concerns in several grades. 

School Committee member and former Morningside student Sarah Muil, through tears, made the motion to approve the school's retirement at the end of this school year.  

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