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Sandra Lopez Nieves and Joseph Bevilacqua of Vermont, with chef Chris Bonnivier of Adams, took over Desperados on Eagle Street in September.

Desperados in North Adams to Close

By Brian RhodesiBerkshires Staff
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — After opening under new management in September, Desperados will soon be closed. 

 

A post on the restaurant's Facebook page cited financial difficulties for the closure.

 

Chris Bonnivier of Adams and his partners Sandra Lopez Nieves and Joseph Bevilacqua took over the Eagle Street restaurant from Pete Oleskewicz, who owned it for the previous five years. The restaurant was originally opened by David Atwell who sold it to Oleskewicz.

 

"Unfortunately due to the lack of business even through the 'busiest months' of the year we are having to quickly close," the post said. "After also receiving several notices that all of the furniture fixtures and equipment are on potential repossession from both the state and private vendors it just seems that there are far too many financial obstacles that have been bestowed on us to overcome at this present moment."

 

In November, License Commission told the restaurant it would have to reapply for a new license after Oleskewicz surrendered it to the commission. Commissioner Rosemari Dickinson said the property no longer had a valid license, and the liquor in the restaurant had to be sold or removed. 

 

The Facebook post thanked those who supported the restaurant under new ownership and said Oleskewicz would honor gift certificates from when he was owner of Desperados at his other restaurant, Miss Adams Diner. A follow-up post said to send a direct message for a refund. 

 

"We truly thank those of you that loved and supported us. Please we respectfully ask to keep the negative comments away," the post said.

 

Update on Dec. 28: This story has been updated to clarify that Miss Adams Diner is only accepting gift certificates from when Oleskewicz was owner of Desperados.


 


Tags: closure,   restaurant,   

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Veteran Spotlight: Coast Guard Capt. Thurman 'Tom' Maine

By Wayne SoaresSpecial to iBerkshires
MASHPEE, Mass. — If I were to describe the best attributes of this week's veteran, they would be an infectious personality, role model, leader, wonderful family man and a person that leads by example in the very best way. 
 
The aforementioned, are the primary reasons why Thurman "Tom" Maine enjoyed a successful and distinguished military career in the Coast Guard from 1983 to 2014. 
 
Born in North Stonington, Conn., Maine entered the Coast Guard at the age of 21 and was sent to boot camp in Cape May, N.J. His first assignment was at Coast Guard Station in Provincetown, R.I. From 1994 to 1997, he was a helicopter pilot for Coast Guard Air Station at Otis Air National Guard Base and was elevated to operations officer, chief pilot at the base from 2004 to 2007. 
 
During his 31-year career, Maine flew some of the Coast Guard's most elite helicopters; the Sikorsky H-3 (the Coast Guard's last amphibious aircraft), the Sikorsky H-60 (the most widely flown military helicopter in the world) and the H-65 (a smaller, faster helicopter that deploys on ships).
 
Maine continued to rapidly climb the ranks and in 2009 was promoted as the Coast Guard's liason to the Chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon, a position he held until 2011. Following that assignment, he was promoted to captain and rose to be the commanding officer at the Coast Guard's prestigious Aviation Training Center in Mobile, Ala. 
 
During his tenure as commanding officer, he suffered a devastating blow when four Guardsman were killed during a night training exercise. He conveyed that his greatest achievement in his entire military career, was the leadership he provided
to his 600-member unit and the families of the fallen Guardsmen, by always being accessible, communicating constantly and holding vitally important family nights.
 
He said this tragedy, "gave him the ultimate opportunity to live out his faith." He also lobbied intensely for the student pilot who was killed to be awarded his designation posthumously, which he did.
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