EAT opened in a former pizzeria in the Colonial Shopping Center.
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — EAT brings casual fresh Italian cuisine to town.
Owner Scott Grupe said when he cooks anything, above all it needs to be fresh.
"Everything is made from scratch," he said. "Everything including all of sauces, dressings, and dough. Pretty much everything."
Grupe said this was true of his last restaurant, East Arlington Takeout in Vermont, which he ran for six years. He said he has brought the same quality and inspired name (East Arlington Takeout or EAT) to Berkshire County.
He began considering a move about a year ago. His daughter goes to school in the area and he has other ties to Berkshire County. So when his lease ran out in Arlington, he decided to try something new.
"I decided to start a new and put some seats in," Grupe said. "There were other places I looked at up here but nothing had seats available. Takeout was fun but I wanted something different."
Takeout is still a cornerstone of the business but now with more room, he wants to put a focus on dining.
The restaurant rolled out with a soft opening on Jan. 10; it also offers catering and has space for group events.
The menu has the expected Italian classics as well as a long list of grinders such as "The Steak Explosion" and specialty pizzas including "The 3 Pigs and Their Friends." EAT also offers daily soups and quiches and frequent specials along with beer and wine.
Grupe said he may add more steak options as he goes along but does not want to directly compete with other restaurants in town or even in the same plaza.
"I am not going to be a bistro because there is one two doors down and I am not going to do Mexican because that is another few doors down," he said. "We are going to sell pizzas but we are not just a pizza restaurant."
Grupe said things are starting to pick up since the soft opening.
"Last night was the first night we tried dinner," he said on Wednesday. "It started out slow and then about 6:30 it kicked in and we had six or seven tables ... it happened quick."
He said he may add delivery in the future.
EAT is open Tuesday from 4-9, Wednesday and Thursday 11:30 to 9, Friday and Saturday 11:30 to 10, and Sunday 4-8. The phone number is 413-458-6164.
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Williams Seeking Town Approval for New Indoor Practice Facility
By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Planning Board last week gave Williams College the first approval it needs to build a 55,000-square foot indoor athletic facility on the north side of its campus.
Over the strenuous objection of a Southworth Street resident, the board found that the college's plan for a "multipurpose recreation center" or MRC off Stetson Road has adequate on-site parking to accommodate its use as an indoor practice facility to replace Towne Field House, which has been out of commission since last spring and was demolished this winter.
The college plans a pre-engineered metal that includes a 200-meter track ringing several tennis courts, storage for teams, restrooms, showers and a training room. The athletic surface also would be used as winter practice space for the school's softball and baseball teams, who, like tennis and indoor track, used to use the field house off Latham Street.
Since the planned structure is in the watershed of Eph's Pond, the college will be before the Conservation Commission with the project.
It also will be before the Zoning Board of Appeals, on Thursday, for a Development Plan Review and relief from the town bylaw limiting buildings to 35 feet in height. The new structure is designed to have a maximum height of 53 1/2 feet and an average roof height of 47 feet.
The additional height is needed for two reasons: to meet the NCAA requirement for clearance above center court on a competitive tennis surface (35 feet) and to include, on one side, a climbing wall, an element also lost when Towne Field House was razed.
The Planning Board had a few issues to resolve at its March 12 meeting. The most heavily discussed involved the parking determination for a use not listed in the town's zoning bylaws and a decision on whether access from town roads to the building site in the middle of Williams' campus was "functionally equivalent" to the access that would be required under the town's subdivision rules and regulations.
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