Business

Two bits of interesting business news today in Brattleboro.

First, it’s official, the Brooks House team has closed on the deal to finance the renovations and restoration of the historic downtown building. They should be given awards for being able to come up with the complex interconnection of financing ($24 million) that is making it possible. Work should start soon and a groundbreaking is scheduled for July 17.

Second, the rumors some have heard are true. Brown & Roberts has been sold. The Putnam family ends 40 years of family ownership with the sale.

Starting tomorrow, Thursday, June 27th, Brattleboro Cheese rolls out its new and expanded lunch and light dinner menu.  In addition to our great grilled cheese sammiches, we now offer more options, all developed by Chef Joseph Motika.  Come see us before you head to the movies! 

Our new menu is available Tuesday through Thursday from 11:30am-7pm; Friday and Saturday from 11:30am-8pm; and Sunday from 12:30 to 5pm.  Don’t forget!  Breakfast every day (but Monday, when we’re closed) from 7am-11am, Sundays til noon!

Daily Text Message Alerts Help Customers Save Money

BRATTLEBORO – The Brattleboro Food Cooperative announced today the launch of a mobile text messaging alert system that is designed to inform on-the-go shoppers of in-store sales and promotions.

Since May the Co-op has featured a different steeply discounted item everyday under the banner of “Wild Deal of the Day”. Now, consumers will be able to get these notices sent directly to their mobile phone. David Cadran, Shareholder Services Coordinator, said “The process is designed to be as simple as possible, just text the keyword to the phone number provided and you’re signed up.”

Brattleboro Cheese Shop & Café is now serving BREAKFAST! 

Come to 39 Main Street, across from the Latchis Theatre and Hotel, and have a real, homestyle breakfast!  

We now serve breakfast TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, 7am til 11am.

Delicious egg sandwiches and egg platters available to enjoy in the store or take with you.  We feature Vermont’s indigenous cheese — Plymouth Artisan cheese — on our breakfast sandwiches.  It’s similar to Cheddar but is smoother and melts beautifully.  And it was invented by Calvin Coolidge’s father!

The Dim Sum stand will be open throughout the morning and afternoon today at the regular Saturday Brattleboro Farmers Market location on Western Avenue, during and after the Heifers Parade happenings. For further information call (802) 579-9088.

I’ve been following along in the Co-op newsletter as General Manager Alex Gyori explains the ongoing woes at the Brattleboro Food Co-op.  In a discussion that has ranged from construction problems brought on by the bankruptcy of their lead contractor BayButt to the viccissitudes of Malfunction Junction, Gyori has enumerated a substantial list of “challenges” that the Co-op has faced since opening the new store last summer.

BS&L Main Office Will Be Closed for Strolling of the Heifers Parade – Chesterfield Office Will Be Open!

We are upcycling our mission and adding even more value to our community.

ReNew is a big idea with a big building. But with the economy becoming a small idea, so to speak; we are opening our doors to create spaces for other vendors, businesses, artists and nonprofits. We have a number of options and welcome a chance to partner with the rest of you.

“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” – Henry David Thoreau

We see possibility and invite you to see it with us.

This Saturday, May 11th, the Brattleboro Farmers’ Market hosts music by Animaterra, Keene’s women’s chorus, from 11 to 1.

Thinking of Mom? Celebrate Mother’s Day with gifts from our local artisans: at the market, you’ll find beautiful pottery, beaded and metal-smithed jewelry, wooden crafts, fabric scarves, soap and body care items, and lots more. Farmers, bakers, and chefs offer treats galore for your Mother’s Day brunch and beyond.

Now is gardening time! There’s no better place to buy seedlings for your garden than from farmers at the market. You’ll find hardy, healthy plants of all kinds to grow bodacious vegetables, herbs, flowers, and perennials.

After having to unexpectedly close for most of the winter, Brattleboro Cheese makes its triumphant return to Main Street!

The “little shop that could” reopened a few weeks ago, directly across the street from its old location.  Now you may find your favorite cheeses at 39 Main Street!

Brattleboro Cheese is the only full-service cheese shop in the area.  This means all of the shop’s fine Vermont, New England and imported cheeses are cut-to-order by friendly, knowledgeable individuals.  None of the cheeses are pre-cut nor are they wrapped in plastic.  This ensures the cheeses are sold at their peak quality, and customers are given the opportunity to try a cheese before they take it home. 

Community Capital of Vermont is a statewide small business and microenterprise lender serving low and moderate income entrepreneurs. Loans range in size from $1,000 to $100,000 and can be used for business start-up or growth and expansion. CCVT specializes in providing loans to business owners who lack the collateral or credit history to qualify for traditional bank loans.

Loan proceeds can be used for working capital, equipment or vehicle, inventory, or to refinance debt.

The Windham Foundation has awarded Vermont Partnership for Fairness and Diversity a $5,000 grant to support its 2nd Annual Vermont Vision for a Multicultural Future Conference. The conference will be held November 7th – 8th, 2013 at the Grand Summit Hotel at the Mount Snow Resort in Dover, Vermont.

The Vermont Vision conference allows leaders from different sectors to generate actionable ideas in a participant-driven process. The conference’s unique format, facilitated by Adrian Segar, engages participants in deciding what is discussed and presented, by whom, when and how.

The Brattleboro Area Farmers’ Market opens for the season Saturday, May 4th! Join us in welcoming new and returning vendors, market friends and customers, and the many signs of spring– including the traditional Maypole Dancing, with Andy Davis and friends, from 11 to 1. Families are welcome!

The market is open outdoors on Rte 9 in West Brattleboro, rain or shine, every Saturday from 9am to 2pm. EBT and debit cards are welcome. Enjoy our picnic tables, children’s area and take advantage of our ample parking or Frequent Walker/Biker Program.

As reported early this week, The Tavern at the Colonial Motel will be under new ownership come May. There are also a few other restaurant changes in the Brattleboro area.

Gillies Seafood is closed and the windows are bare. This was a go-to seafood restaurant in West Brattleboro staffed by friendly people, with good food and seemingly big crowds not too long ago. They also featured a fish market next door.

We at SALON JACQUE welcome our new stylist Kelly Darling-Snow to our artistic team. Kelly comes to us from Keene, NH and we are thrilled to have her.

Please book your appointments with her WED. 9-7 THUR. 12-8 FRI. 9-7 SAT. 9-5 at 802-258-4411.

Finalists have been selected in the 2013 Strolling of the Heifers Vermont Business Plan Competition, which offers a total of $60,000 in prizes.

The 14 finalists, chosen by a statewide panel of judges, were chosen on the basis of business prospectuses submitted during the first phase of the contest. They will now prepare detailed business plans and will make presentations at the final judging session on June 5.

The competition is a collaboration of Strolling of the Heifers, a Brattleboro-based local foods advocacy organization, and Vermont Technical College, with additional partnership contributions by Vermont Small Business Development Center, Southern Vermont Community Action, and Vermont Interactive Television.

Saturday, March 30, 2013, marks the final week for the 7th season of the Winter Farmers’ Market.

It is also the 6th Annual CSA Fair hosted at Post Oil Solutions’ Winter Farmers’ Market. A variety of CSA(Community Supported Agriculture) Farms will join our regular market line-up to offer information about their farming operations and their CSA share options.

With recent discussion here about how to keep local dollars in Brattleboro, I’m hoping someone here in Brattleboro might read about this exciting option and run with it!  Apparently this program incents residents to shop locally at participating businesses who provide % credit for purchases (via a card), which is then applied to the purchaser’s property tax bill (renters receive a yearly rebate check instead.)  The program is a win-win — local businesses get increased patronage, residents are rewarded for shopping locally, and as I understand it, the decrease in town revenue from the property tax credit is directly offset by the increase in taxes paid by healthy, thriving local businesses.

I was saddened to hear that ADIVASI will be closing it’s beautiful store on Flat Street. It hs always been a favorite place of mine to pick up an unusual gift or a beautiful tablecloth while supporting independent artisans. This is a huge loss for our town. I wish the family well.

It’s now a registered trademark of Citicorp: