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Gustavo Cruz and Yuridiana Zaragoza with a tray of her tamales.

Yury's Kitchen Brings Traditional Oaxacan Food to Pittsfield

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Yury's Kitchen, located at 496 Tyler St., opened on Feb. 18 and began selling traditional Mexican dishes from Oaxaca as well as some American cuisine.
 
The owners, Yuridiana Zaragoza and Gustavo Cruz, are originally from Oaxaca and wanted to bring the culture and tradition to Berkshire County. 
 
Cruz's sister, Sheyla Cruz, who also works at the restaurant helped translate for this article.
 
"They wanted to share what is the tradition because it's not just food, it's a whole tradition so they wanted to share that with Berkshire County people so they can try technically how Oaxaca tastes," said Cruz.
 
Zaragoza moved to Berkshire County five years ago and started selling tamales from her house, hoping to one day open her own restaurant like her mom and grandmother before her. 
 
"They've been dedicated to the kitchen for a long time so it was a dream to open up their own," Gustavo Cruz said. 
 
Zaragoza said her customers wanted to have a place to go to enjoy more of her food. 
 
"When they started they only did delivery so a lot of other customers asked for a place and a place for them to come and have dinner and breakfast and so now that they have it they feel really happy and being here they say it makes them feel at home," Zaragoza said.
 
 Zaragoza said she is the third generation in her family to have a restaurant. 
 
"She especially feels really happy and proud of herself to have a restaurant here in the United States and her mom also has a restaurant in Oaxaca, Mexico," Zaragoza said. 
 
Yury's Kitchen not only has Mexican dishes but also some American favorites, as they wanted to make sure anyone could come to Yury's Kitchen and have options to enjoy.
 
"For their own experience when they go to a restaurant from their own experience one might want to have American food and the other one probably wants to have Mexican food so they said once they opened their restaurant they then will think about their customers and for them to have options," Cruz said. 
 
Yuridiana Zaragoza and Gustavo Cruz, who are married and have two kids, said their 9-year-old son said he feels famous now that the restaurant is up and running. 
 
"He's like really happy because a lot of people post them on social media and now he says that he's famous," Cruz said.
 
In the future they want to be able to open another restaurant that's bigger and where they can have social events. For this year they hope to win Best of the Berkshires for Mexican food. 
 
Yury's Kitchen is closed on Wednesdays but open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. closing at 7 p.m. on Sundays. They serve American breakfast from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Mexican dishes noon to 8 p.m. Find the menu and more information on their Facebook page. 

Tags: new business,   mexican food,   restaurants,   

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Pittsfield Seeks CPA Funds for Bike Racks, AED

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city plans to apply for Community Preservation Act funds for park bike racks and an AED machine at the pickleball fields. 

On Tuesday, the Parks Commission endorsed Pittsfield’s applications for CPA funds. 

"Both of those projects are certainly, relative to CPA funds, low cost but high benefit," Commissioner Anthony DeMartino said. 

Through CPA, bike racks are proposed for a few city parks, and the Berkshire Mountain Pickleball league is looking to place an automatic external defibrillator at the Benedict Avenue pickleball fields. 

Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resources Manager James McGrath and Recreation & Special Events Coordinator Jennifer VanBramer presented the two small project applications, which will go through an eligibility period before full consideration in the spring of 2027. 

During the city’s free, six-week, summer playground program, it was observed that many kids access parks by bicycle. The plan is to buy between six and eight racks to be placed at Durant Park, the Common, and Clapp Park; other parks are being considered as well. 

McGrath explained that the three parks hosting the playground program don’t have bike racks, and they wind up on the ground and sometimes become a distraction. 

"The ancillary benefit to having bike racks is that it encourages that mode of transportation for folks that want to come to the park on their bike," he said. 

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