Nudel Closing After 13 Years in Lenox

LENOX, Mass. — Nudel restaurant is ending its 13-year tenure in the fall with the hope that a new owner will continue its legacy.

Earlier this month, owner Bjorn Somlo took to social media to announce that his time with the eatery is coming to an end. It will be wrapping up on Labor Day weekend and has switched to "NudelBAR" in the meantime, opening from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday through Monday.

"Hospitality is a full contact sport and there's a lot of people out there that really love punching down but it was always the good ones that saved us," He said during an Instagram Live video on Aug. 11.

"We got to find a core group of people that ate and tasted with their mouths and appreciated what their eyes saw and were excited to see things in motion. They were excited to see change and effort and they were excited to see honesty, a pulling back of the veil of fine dining. It was wild and it also going to come to an end."

Nudel opened in August 2009 for lunch with chef David Wurth, whom Somlo described as an "incredibly talented chef whose skills in the kitchen are only dwarfed by his kindness."

The owner further detailed the restaurant's modest start.

"We started with this being me a young, driven, arrogant, passionate, vulnerable chef who loved cooking and wanted to make good food with great ingredients," he explained.

"When we started, we couldn't afford olive oil and butter in the same weeks. We didn't have enough refrigeration and we slowly grew and we learned. We learned a lot about food, we learned a lot about hospitality, learned a lot about people. We got to watch young men and women grow up, which was fantastic and we also got beaten up pretty good."

Somlo thanked the many staff members who have cycled through Nudel throughout the years and the people who have enjoyed its cuisine.

Last month, he told the Pittsfield Licensing Board that he will not let the liquor license be rescinded and that he is "pursuing all options."

"I really want this piece of Pittsfield history to keep on going with or without me," he said to the board. "And know that the good work we did is going to keep going as well."



 

Pittsfield Celebrates Robert 'Bob' Presutti on Arbor Day

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:33PM / Friday, April 26, 2024

Bob Presutti, right, is presented the Hebert Award in 2017 for his volunteer efforts at Springside Park. He died in 2023 at age 88.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A tree has been planted next to the Berkshire Athenaeum in honor of local "giant" Robert Presutti.

Officials celebrated Arbor Day on Friday by installing a commemorative plaque next to the American elm sapling. This is a tree that James McGrath, the city's park program manager, said Presutti would have been particularly proud of.

"Today is a day where we yes, celebrate trees, but today is also a day where here in the city we intentionally try to acknowledge the good work of folks in our community who spend their time and their efforts and their talents to make Pittsfield a more beautiful place," he said to a crowd of about 20 people.

"Today we are honoring a longtime community volunteer named Bob Presutti. I'm sure a lot of you here know Bob and know his contributions to the city, not only when it comes to trees and parks but also to the Retired Senior Volunteer Program."

The longtime volunteer passed away last year at the age of 88. He contributed more than 10,600 hours to RSVP and had great impacts on the Parks Department over the years from sharing his knowledge and talents to ensuring that workers were safe when working on trees.

"This morning I went through my emails to see how many emails Bob Presutti sent me since the year 2001 when I started with the city. Bob Presutti sent me 14,000 emails and nearly every single one of those was about trees," McGrath said, prompting laughter and smiles from attendees.

One thread struck him as particularly important because it showed Presutti's empathy when it comes to the safety of city workers while caring for trees.

"There were multiple emails from Bob about the need to get the Parks Department maintenance guys into a program learning about chainsaw safety and learning about ladder safety. He was really into making certain that our city workers were well cared for and had all of the instruction that they needed and in fact, he even offered his own time and services after he became certified to teach our city workers," McGrath said.