News/Business
Authentic Latino flavors roll into Greenfield with new food truck
By MARY BYRNE
GREENFIELD — Two Greenfield residents are hoping to bring a taste of their home country to the city. The Cocina Lupita food truck, co-owned by husband and wife Aleyda Romero and Efraen Fuentes — originally of El Salvador — and Joshua Breitner, opened...
Cousins take leap as business partners with new South Deerfield salon
By CHRIS LARABEE
SOUTH DEERFIELD — Those who are looking for a change in hair stylist have a new option in town.Hair Apothecary, a new salon, opened in mid-April at 4A Sugarloaf St. and is now accepting clients for July.Danielle Sullivan-Beck, Hair Apothecary’s...
Prospective owners look to reopen Four Leaf Clover Restaurant in Bernardston under new name
By ZACK DeLUCA
BERNARDSTON — Pending final approval, the former Four Leaf Clover Restaurant may reopen under new ownership and a new name.Husband and wife Alex and Amy Fiorey recently took to Facebook to announce they put in an offer to buy the property at 19 South...
Fitness center within The Body Shoppe in Greenfield under new ownership
By MAX MARCUS
GREENFIELD — Now under new ownership, The Body Shoppe’s fitness center is focusing on personal training while continuing the gym’s 35-year legacy.Co-owners Steve Ferry and Ryan Trusevitch, both fitness trainers, now run the fitness center under the...
Heath family opens The Duck Pond antique and vendor marketplace in Shelburne
By DOMENIC POLI
SHELBURNE — An area family has bought the former Strawberryfield antique shop at 1204 Mohawk Trail with plans to return the business to its previous identity.Wife and husband Katelyn Choiniere and Todd Gerry Jr. got the keys in December and closed on...
Greenfield-based Pierce Bros. rebranding to Fogbuster Coffee Works
By DOMENIC POLI
GREENFIELD — Sean and Darren Pierce will always be brothers. In fact, they’ll always be Pierce Bros. But the 100% Fair Trade-certified organic coffee they have been roasting for 27 years will now be sold in new packaging, with a nod to their flagship...
Couple looks to open Quabbin Pines RV Resort in Orange
By DOMENIC POLI
ORANGE — Roughly 20 acres at 300 Daniel Shays Highway is expected to be the site of a campground again soon, as husband and wife Michael and Chrystal Snow prepare Quabbin Pines RV Resort for business. The Snows purchased the property, formerly the...
Damn Yankees BBQ to close while owner recovers from lasting effects of COVID-19
By MARY BYRNE
SOUTH DEERFIELD — The owner of Damn Yankees BBQ on Elm Street has announced he is closing the restaurant’s doors while he continues to recover from the lasting effects of COVID-19.“Damn Yankees BBQ has been a passion of mine since a very young age and...
New Mexican restaurant in Gill puts longtime family recipes on menu
By MAX MARCUS
GILL — Cielito Lindo opened this week at the town line of Gill and Turners Falls, offering a menu of homemade Mexican staples and family recipes that have been passed down over generations.The restaurant is at the corner of Route 2 and the Turners...
Under new owner, Montague Village Store looks to rebrand
By MAX MARCUS
MONTAGUE CENTER — Recently under new ownership, the Montague Village Store on Main Street is rethinking its relationship with its community — both in its product offerings, and in the way the store styles and brands itself.Kathy Lynch, who took over...
Residents flocking to redeem bottles, cans
By DOMENIC POLI
Data shows that sales of soft drinks and alcoholic beverages are up as people take to their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in a lot of empty bottles and cans laying around and consumers looking for a place to bring them.Starting June 5,...
Following soft opening, His and Hers Comics to start regular hours Wednesday
By ANDY CASTILLO
GREENFIELD — Nishon Morgan, the “his” behind the recently opened His and Hers Comics store, has always enjoyed comic books. “There were always comic books in the house,” Morgan said Thursday, a day after his Bank Row store — which he owns with his...
Quabbin Valley Healthcare in Athol has new owners
By DOMENIC POLI
ATHOL — Quabbin Valley Healthcare is now in its third month of new ownership.Scott Wheeler and several partners from Blupoint Healthcare purchased the facility at 821 Daniel Shays Highway from Cambridge Healthcare Group on Jan. 1. Wheeler said except...
With reopening, chef hopes to bring Five Eyed Fox in Turners Falls to new level
By MAX MARCUS
TURNERS FALLS — Ashley Arthur was not a chef when she opened the Five Eyed Fox on Third Street in 2014.She had been in the restaurant business since she was 14, and had done nearly every job. But the closest she had been to a chef, she said, was a...
Terrazza owner opens new cocktail bar, The Balkan Lounge
By PAUL FRANZ
GREENFIELD — It would seem the Terrazza restaurant at the Country Club of Greenfield was just the beginning of Abaz Cecunjanin’s venture into Greenfield’s hospitality industry.Cecunjanin opened a new cocktail bar on Jan. 19 called The Balkan Lounge at...
American Knight Transportation relocates to Greenfield
By MELINA BOURDEAU
GREENFIELD — Providing a 24/7 ride service, American Knight Transportation owner and operator Richard Haste prides himself on being focused on the community and his customers — hence his business’ tagline “where the professionals drive and customers...
Turners Falls-based Mayhew Tools expands with purchase of Florida company
By MAX MARCUS
TURNERS FALLS — Mayhew Tools has been in Franklin County since it first opened in 1856, and is now expanding with the purchase of a Florida company called Bestway Tools.The sale was coordinated largely by John Lawless, who co-owns the company with his...
Turners Falls shop finds niche in vintage motorcycle repair
By MAX MARCUS
TURNERS FALLS — As one of very few motorcycle shops that can work on almost any bike regardless of its make, model or year, Nova Motorcycles draws customers from throughout New England, and sometimes from as far away as New York City.“If it’s got two...
At 92, orchard owner starts a new hard cider business
By DAVID McLELLAN
Editor’s Note: This story is part of a week-long series about the state of farming in Franklin County.People thought she was crazy.At 92 years old, Carol Hillman, owner of New Salem Preserves & Orchards, 67 South Main St., has started a new business...
Stylist unveils two new salons in Greenfield, Turners Falls
By MELINA BOURDEAU
GREENFIELD — With Textür Beauty Bar and Textür Blow Out Bar in two towns, owner Carleigh Dlugosz said she wants to bring “a driving energy” to both locations.Dlugosz, a Turners Falls resident who previously co-owned Lavish on Chapman Street with...
