Pittsfield Restaurant Offers Italian Cuisine With Chilean Flair
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — An Italian eatery with Chilean flair has opened in the former Elizabeth's Restaurant on East Street.
Megan and Ronald Gomez have a shared passion for food and have always dreamed of owning their own restaurant. That dream came to fruition with the opening of Sibaritas on Friday.
"We've managed places together and we've always made it work, we've always worked so hard, it's just the way we are, we've always put one hundred percent into everything," Megan Gomez said. "When we have this passion, there's no way that this can fail."
Sibaritas — a Spanish word that refers to a person who appreciates good food — makes almost everything in house. The menu includes fresh pasta, flatbreads, salads, breakfast pastries, and coffee.
The malt liquor license for beer and wine is being transferred from Elizabeth's and, upon its transfer, authentic Chilean and Italian wines along with artisanal beers will be available.
The most popular menu item, Gomez said, is a flatbread pizza with cheese, grilled chicken, bacon, red onion, avocado, and homemade healthy dressing.
Currently, Sibaritas is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner seven days a week with an hour of closure in the mid-day. Breakfast and lunch are casual counter service while dinner is sit-down table service.
"We may change that format because a lot of people in the area are looking for sit-down breakfast and lunch," Gomez said. "But I kind of like the cafe style, to have that tranquility in the morning and the seriousness at night where you can go down and relax and enjoy a glass of wine and it's not that fast pace."
Councilor at Large Peter White attended the soft opening on Friday and, following his Facebook post raving about the coffee and banana chip muffins, she said they had a line out the door.
Together, the duo has 30 years of experience in the field. Ronald works the kitchen as the chef and Megan runs the front-of-house operations. He was born in Ecuador and moved at the age of 16 to Chile, where he learned to cook.
"Honestly we make the perfect pair and I'm not just saying that because he's my husband," Gomez said. "If there's something that I don't know, he knows it, if there's something he can't do, I've got it."
Sibaritas is a family operation, as the owners' relatives and children make up the payroll.
Gomez is a native of Pittsfield but grew up in Hillsdale, N.Y. She worked in Great Barrington for many years and always pictured her eatery's location in the Southern Berkshires but saw potential in the East Street venue after viewing it for the second time.
"To have this opportunity to bring new life into something that was functioning for 33 years was scary, but a challenge that we were ready to accept," she said.
With the help of Gomez's father, the couple renovated the building to fit their style in 2 1/2 months, often working from morning to late night. Elizabeth's aqua blue and white color scheme was changed to neutral green, black, and white, and the original tables and chairs were retrofitted to match the sleek new exterior.
"To have this, it's like living the dream," Gomez said. "The community is so supportive, I never imagined that it would be like this."
Tags: new business, Italian, restaurants,
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