Thistle & Mirth Owners Opening Burger Joint in Downtown Pittsfield

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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Flat Burger Society will open in the former Flavors that closed in December.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — "Flat burgers" are coming to downtown Pittsfield.

Co-owners of Thistle and Mirth Joad Bowman and Austin Oliver are embarking on a new endeavor in the former Flavors of Malaysia at 75 North St.

Flat Burger Society, a burger joint and future performance venue, will focus on flat, stackable burgers made from beef that is processed in-house.

It will also serve hand-cut fries, milkshakes, a small selection of salads and soups, and have a full bar.  

"Between Joad and I, we have 30 years of experience in this business," Oliver said. "And our primary goal is, we don't take ourselves too seriously, and we are here to make sure everyone has a good time.  All the bits and pieces, we're gonna make as good as possible, and at the end of the day we want people to just be having a good time."

Oliver's inspiration for the flat patty model came from his own distaste for large, thick, burgers. His will be cooked to uniform temperatures and can be stackable with as many additional burgers and toppings as desired.

"The cows come from a local farm, we butcher the cow ourselves," Oliver explained, "The entire cow goes to make the burger. Each week or so, when we're butchering we'll take a cut of it, and do a steak for that night."

Customers will have the option of getting fries cooked in cow's tallow or a vegetarian option.  

"Boozy milkshakes will be a huge component as well," he added.


Bowman and Oliver acquired the space that previously housed Flavors of Malaysia at the end of March when Thistle and Mirth reopened as a bar and ramen restaurant. Flavors closed in late 2020, citing financial issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The duo plans to open Flat Burger Society in July. They will serve lunch and dinner immediately and once they settle in, restaurant operations will focus heavily on live entertainment on the in-house stage that space boasts.

They plan on having the restaurant/venue close around 11 p.m., before Thistle and Mirth, which is a popular late-night spot in non-COVID times.

Oliver said various kinds of entertainment will be welcomed to the stage.

"I'm open for anything cool," he said. "And also other shows as well, it doesn't need to be music-specific, it can be comedy, burlesque, it can be all over the place, but just a venue in Pittsfield."

He and Bowman have a desire to look at what Pittsfield needs and deliver something unique rather than replicate what is already successful in the area.

"We've been just finding things that Pittsfield is missing, instead of just replicating what already works here, that puts us up for plenty of risk and failure, but it feels better to try to succeed doing something want to do."

Oliver said Thistle and Mirth has found success in its ramen venture and they look forward to being able to function more like the original Thistle — but still with some pandemic precautions — as comfort levels increase.


Tags: new business,   restaurants,   

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Former Country Club Reopens as The Venue at Skyline

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

The new Patty Barnaby's name is all over the venue. 

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — A new but familiar space is opening for event rentals as The Venue at Skyline.

Patty Barnaby recently leased the former Skyline Country Club building at 405 South Main St. Barnaby used to attend events there, including holding her own "Jack and Jill" wedding shower.

"I've been to the golf tournaments. We've been to fundraisers. We've been to benefits. Actually, sports banquets for our girls, my oldest daughter. We had quite a few of her sports banquets here, just town events, truly, but our Jack and Jill was here," she said. "I had my stepfather's retirement party here, so, we've had a lot of events here as a family."

The golf course closed in 2021 after 58 years and sold to Mill Town Capital, which is using the course for a solar installation. The town's eyed the driving range for a new police station, and the club has been used intermittently, such as for the town's winter festival last year.

Barnaby is active in the community, including serving on the Lanesborough Community Development Committee. She enjoys hosting events and having get-togethers.

"I just have always loved to bring people together, like at our house, doing parties. And our house is very small, so it's always a big summer party," she said.

Barnaby wanted a place for people to host events that may be too big or busy for their homes, but also in an open and beautiful area.

"We need a space like this, not only in Lanesborough, for Lanesborough residents, but in general, for people to be able to come and have events, whether it be inside or outside when the weather permits," sshe said. "It's a beautiful spot, it really, truly is. And I didn't want to see it sit because it really is one of those staples in our town that everybody just knows."

Barnaby had indicated interest in the space after the Winter Festival. She signed the lease on Oct. 31 and has worked hard to make it her own.

She's painted, added new seating, redone the bathrooms, and some other cosmetics upgrades. She also added six televisions, more bar equipment, and will be adding a jukebox.

Barnaby kept the name Skyline because of the location's history and just added "The Venue" to make it her own.

"I just love this space. It is just one of those spaces that, like you don't want to see ever sit," she said.

The former pro shop will be turned into a thrift store. She currently sells clothes out of her house and hosting pop-up thrift events but is now excited to have a permanent space. It will have hours outside of events and will be listed on her social media page once it is ready. 

Barnaby is asking that vendors should reach out so that she can compile a list for those who want to host events. She is also looking for a food vendor to sublease the space.

"I would love to have people reach out to me as I have reached out to them, to be put on a list of like vendors that we can suggest to people that are coming up for events," she said.

Barnaby said she'll help with planning at the location and that she wants to create a comfortable and joyous environment that people would like to come back to.

"It's family friendly, like I am very community-oriented and being very family oriented, so I understand when you're trying to plan a birthday party, or you just need a space, or you're trying to put little details together. I want to be able to help with that," she said.

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