nbCC to Host 13th Annual Back-Packed for Success

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Northern Berkshire Community Coalition (nbCC) is hosting its 13th annual back-to-school event for school-aged kids for local northern Berkshire students. 
 
This includes homeschooled students. 
 
This year registration has expanded to include children entering  pre-k programs, spanning pre-K through 12th grade. Students will receive a free backpack to fill with school supplies. 
 
The event for families living in Florida and Savoy will be located at Gabriel Abbott Memorial School, 56 North County Road, Florida on Tuesday, Aug. 12 from 5:00p.m. to 6:00pm. Families picking up from Florida and Savoy will receive pre-packed backpacks and will be contacted to choose the color of their child's backpack.
 
The event for families living in Williamstown, North Adams, Clarksburg, Adams, & Cheshire will be located at the North Adams Armory gym, 206 Ashland Street, North Adams on Thursday, Aug. 14 from 1:00pm to 3:00pm. Families picking up at this location will choose their backpacks and school supplies at the event. If possible, bring children along so they can choose for themselves.
 
This event requires pre-registration to ensure there are enough backpacks and supplies ready for each child, as supplies are limited. Families can register online at:https://forms.gle/Uifib4ghS1betJzu8 or by contacting nbCC's Family Resource Center at (413) 663-7588 to register. 
 
For more information, contact Nancy Kennedy, Northern Berkshire Community Coalition at (413) 663-7588. 
 

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Main & Mill: A Vibrant New Restaurant on Main Street

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — You can now enjoy another eatery on Main Street by well-known restaurant siblings Colleen and Sean Taylor.

Their restaurant Main & Mill opened for the first time Tuesday, bringing their vision of creating something vibrant and new to downtown North Adams.

"We have created Main & Mill to be part of our day. It's very seasonal ingredients, thoughtful cooking, beauty, beautiful presentation and dishes. And we really wanted to be part of the community, the downtown area, and start a vibrant area on this end, which has been shuttered for a while," said Colleen.

The building is owned by Ginko on Main Street LLC, which has granted 20 years exclusive possession of the property to Latent Builds as the developer. Jack and Suzy Wadsworth, behind Ginko, are development partners with Karla Rothstein and Salvatore Perry of Latent.

The bank closed in early 2021 and was purchased by Ginko late that year. Plans for the property unveiled three years ago envisioned a restaurant, retail, a park and rooftop bar. 

Colleen saw potential and said she initially wanted the building when it first went up for sale. Being good friends with Rothstein and Perry, she helped them design the kitchen and the bar before learning in March that she could lease it as a restaurant space, something she told them would be a great idea.

She said one of the most important things about the restaurant was the collaboration between Rothstein, Perry, and the Wadsworths, who put a lot of time and energy into the building.

"If Sean and I had done it, we would not be able to do what the collaboration supported. The collaboration of the three of us being able to really have that kind of money to put in down here. The design that the architecture firm that Carla and Sal own is stunning," she said. "The time and effort, everyone came together to do this in a really trusting manner."

The two wanted the restaurant to be an all-day venture, so people could eat at any point throughout the day, all week long.

"We wanted it to be open for coffee and socialization in the morning where people can meet, have their cup of coffee, have a quiche, a vegetarian quiche, or croissant or yogurt. Something intentional with their coffee," she said. "Then move into a lunchtime for the downtown business or anybody, and then go into supper, dinner, with drinks later into the evening. So have it really be open all day long, so that there wasn't a void on any particular day."

They also wanted to do something different than the other restaurants they owned.

"We didn't want to mimic any other restaurant in town. We wanted to bring something that was inspiring, something that had some familiar things that people would see, and other things that we would bring to them for them to experience," she said.

As a woman business owner, Colleen said she wanted to bring a female chef into the kitchen. 

Colleen brought on Chef Anna DeRose, who she said puts twists on a lot of her dishes.

"So we have a creme brulee, but our creme brulee is topped with marshmallow," she said. "Our creme brulee is like almost two desserts in one. It's a s'mores creme brulee. So you could have a s'mores, and you could have a creme brulee - but when you put both of them together, fireworks go off."

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