RJ's Taking Over Hotel on North Restaurant
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The owners of a well-received city eatery are taking over a shuttered North Street spot.
The Licensing Board approved a change of manager and transfer of liquor license from Berkshire Palate to J&D Reyes Restaurant Entertainment, the owners of RJ's Restaurant on First Street.
The space is located at 297 North St. within Hotel on North and formerly housed Berkshire Palate's second location. Jose and David Reyes say they will manage the two restaurants simultaneously, as they are nearby.
"I know that Jose has had a real presence at RJ's," Chairman Thomas Campoli said.
The proprietors' lawyer pointed out that in three years of business, they have kept steady business and stayed out of trouble by not over-serving, having police involvement, or coming before the Licensing Board for a show cause hearing.
"Between the two of them, they do a wonderful job juggling the current restaurant that they have, which is very busy," she said.
"And I think as you have all — many people in the county have seen — they've done a tremendous job with that location specifically in creating what they have created."
The license transfers were approved conditionally on the applicant receiving its outstanding certificates with the Department of Unemployment Assistance and the Department of Revenue.
RJ's opened in the former Rainbow Restaurant in 2021 to specialize in seafood, chops, and pasta in an elegant but approachable setting.
Jose Reyes has worked in the restaurant business for nearly 30 years and has operated his own since 2005. Before the Pittsfield venture, he was the proprietor of venues in Long Island, N.Y., but wanted to expand his operations outside of the big city.
Berkshire Palate, a farm-to-table eatery, opened its second location in the Hotel on North spot in 2021. Around the same time, its owners opened 413 Bistro in the previously shuttered restaurant attached to the Holiday Inn on Main Street in North Adams.
According to The Berkshire Eagle, Berkshire Palate closed its Pittsfield doors indefinitely in January to "retool and refine the restaurant's operations to fit better into its business model." The hotel had opened in 2015 with the restaurant Eat on North.
The board also had a preliminary discussion with Berkshire Mazda about changing its license to solely sell pre-owned vehicles. The car dealership is building a new location on Route 7 in Lenox and would like to keep its location on East Street for used vehicles.
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