Door Prize Eatery Expanding at Mass MoCA for Summer
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Jennifer A. Klowden and Bryan "Swifty" Josephs will be moving their pop-up eatery, Door Prize, into the vacant restaurant space at Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.
They were approved for a beer and wine license by the Licensing Commission on Tuesday.
The couple have spent a few months offering a sampling of regional cuisine once or twice a week, ordering through Bright Ideas Brewing. Their website, which also advertises their catering services, hinted at a "big announcement" coming soon.
"We will be serving American regional cuisine focused on highlighting different areas we've traveled or lived over the years, so the menu will rotate frequently, but have notes of kind of a different city or region and then move on to other ones," Josephs told the commissioners. "We'll have sandwiches, salads, kind of one-bowl supper-type things."
They envision a casual environment with high tops and German "beer hall" tables inside the former Gramercy location and on the patio just outside. They're working with a local farm for flowers and plants and local artist to supply them with art for the walls.
"Kind of bright, cheerful environment, really trying to use the brightness of the space and just that to try to make it as welcoming as possible," Josephs said.
Klowden said she would be handling the alcohol service, which would focus on small batch and locally sources wines and craft beers. She added later that they were not interested in adding liquor to their license.
"It won't be a place where I expect people to be partying, it'll be more of a restaurant vibe, where they're getting a glass of wine or a beer with their meal," she said. "That is the energy we're looking for. We're not going to be open late. We're planning on being open until eight o'clock."
The commissioners asked for assurances on how and where the alcohol would be served, recommending strongly any employees were TIPs (Training for Intervention Procedures) trained. The couple said they were anticipating hiring six people but that they would not all be dealing with the alcohol service; those who were would be trained.
"I'm going to probably be mostly handling [the alcohol] since, with the hours are limited, I will be there every day," said Klowden. "I'm planning on being the person that mostly pours and serves and talks about alcohol most of the time. But we will train people who are working in the counter."
In response questions, she said the service outside would be limited to about four tables on the patio and that large planters would be placed to deter people from walking off with drinks. There will also be signage warning patrons that alcohol could not be taken beyond a certain point.
The couple said they plan on operating the restaurant Friday through Monday from about June 10 to Oct. 31, similar to pop-up Chama Mama that operated in the space last summer. They plan on being open from 11 to 8 and possibly opening at 10 on Sundays for brunch. They were approved for 10 to 10 in case they needed to stay open longer for special events. They will be open for Solid Sound on Memorial Day weekend but only with a limited menu and no alcohol.
The commissioners postponed action on an application to serve outside for a one-day event at the Veterans of Foreign Wars with a request for more information. Bar manager Kerry Vanuni said the fundraiser would run from noon to 9 p.m. on June 5 and would include a poker tournament, corn hole tournament and a barbecue. She couldn't say how many people were expected but had tried to schedule different activities at different times to reduce the numbers, and that part of the parking lot would be tented. Everyone entering would get a bracelet, she said, to make sure no one was there who wasn't supposed to be.
The commissioners expressed a number of concerns, including about club's capacity, which is dependent on the number of members, its lack of fire protection, the ability contain drinking within the outside perimeter and that the location of the tents be provided with the application. The application was postpone to May 24 with a request the more information be provided.
Tags: license board, mass moca, restaurants,
