The new cafe features Mediterranean cuisine. The building, a former firehouse, has been closed for eight years.
ADAMS, Mass. — After being closed for nearly eight years, the Firehouse Cafe and Bistro at 47 Park St. will reopen this Saturday with new owners and a new menu.
The Board of Selectmen held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the restaurant, the site of the town's former firehouse and ambulance bay, on Thursday. Restaurant co-owner and Chef Xavier Jones thanked his fellow owner Warren Dews Jr. and everyone who helped make the opening possible.
"We can't do this by ourselves, so we want to just once again thank everybody. We're going to serve great food, have fabulous service, we have a beautiful atmosphere and we look forward to seeing our restaurant when we open up the doors," he said.
Dews said he is excited for he and Jones to be in business in Adams.
"I've known [Jones] for a couple of years, and the man is gifted," he said. "He is gifted at what he does. So I am blessed to be his partner here. I am blessed to be in Adams, because he told me how much you all loved him and how you supported him."
Jones operated Bigg Daddy's Philly Steak House on Commercial Street before moving to Pittsfield several years ago.
There's no Philly steaks on the new Firehouse menu. Instead, it's serving up Mediterranean infused cuisine with soups, salads, tapas and entrees including petite filet, a polenta ratatouille and a ricotta gnocchi.
The former firehouse has opened and closed several times since becoming a restaurant, most recently in 2014, when building owner William Kolis closed that restaurant after just nine months in operation. The space continued to be a meeting location for various entities including Adams-Anthony Center.
Jones, Dews and staff coordinated a soft-opening last Friday, giving those who purchased a ticket online an opportunity to visit the restaurant and sample several drinks and menu items. At the event, Jones said it was an opportunity for people to support the restaurant.
"People have been waiting for a long time for this place to reopen," he said. "It was closed for eight years, and we want it to be here for 20 years."
Town Administrator Jay Green said the opening is an example of the ongoing business development in Adams.
"This is an example of the rebirth of downtown Adams," he said. "Storefront by storefront, business by business, we're seeing people come into Adams and realizing the benefits and the beauty of our town."
Selectmen Chair John Duval said he is excited to see activity in the building again. He said the opening should help bring some nightlife to Park Street, which he said has been lacking in the past.
"I see this grand opening as one piece of the puzzle into many things that are happening on this street that you'll be hearing about very soon," he said. "There's more coming, and this is one of the pieces in this new resurrection of our downtown street."
