Ambient light pours from large windows onto the dark street below. The cling and clatter of cutlery on ceramic plates is barely audible over the constant hum of conversation. In rural Hardwick, Vt., Claire’s Restaurant and Bar is the only business open past 9 p.m.
On a mission
Last May 24, Claire’s Restaurant and Bar opened its doors to the some 3,200 residents of Hardwick, Vt. After four years of planning and a three-month delay of the grand opening, the shared dream of a locally produced, sustainable business, came true for the four co-owners: Steven Obranovich, Mike Bosia, Kristina Michelsen and Linda Ramsdell.
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Claire's Restaurant and Bar, "local ingredients, open to the world."
(Photo by Cailey McDermott) |
It took four years because they were looking for a space suitable for a restaurant, says Mike Bosia co-owner and St. Michael’s professor of political science.
From the beginning the co-owners mission was to revitalize the rural economy, Bosia says. The Preservation Trust of Vermont has focused a good deal of time and energy on the invigoration of downtowns and concluded that Hardwick could benefit most from a restaurant, he adds.
When Bosia and his partner Steve Obranovich, chef proprietor, moved from San Fransicso in May 2004 they fell in love with the area.
“[Hardwick] was affordable, comfortable and friendly,” Bosia says.
Their goal is to create a long-term, sustainable business and to make Hardwick a bustling social center and a healthy economic community, he says.
Localizing the market
The food served at Claire’s Restaurant and Bar is all locally grown and produced by over a dozen farms within 15 miles of Hardwick.
“We provide an avenue where local farmers can not only sell their produce close to where they live, but they can come in and eat it,” Bosia says.
The menu at Claire’s is always changing and new menus are printed everyday. They reflect the current inventory and the change of the seasons.
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Steven Obranovich, right, came in on his day off.
(Photo by Cailey McDermott)
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“I make new dishes all the time—but I don’t experiment,” Obranovich says.
The experimentation process happens inside his head. When Obranovich serves his occasional new dish it’s no longer a trial, he says.
In talking to farmers before the opening of Claire’s, Obranovich and Bosia discovered there was a real desire to bring their wholesale market closer to home.
“What we found was that a lot of local produce was going out of Hardwick to be sold, because that’s where the market was,” Bosia says.
Pete’s Greens in Craftsbury, Vt. is one of Claire’s biggest contributors. In the past couple years Pete’s Greens has made a conscious effort to localize their food production by adding more businesses in Vermont and cutting back their wholesales in other states, says Tim Fishburne, delivery manager.
“It’s really great seeing the stuff we produced presented in such a nice way,” says Fishburne.
Since Pete’s are a full season grower, Obranovich plans to take full advantage of their heated greenhouses in the winter.
Table talk
The restaurant got its name from Claire Fern, who was a local artist and cook enthusiast. She was a close friend of co-owner Linda Ramsdell before her death in 2002. Ramsdell suggested her name.
“She loved cooking and conversation,” says Kristina Michelsen, proprietor and host at Claire’s.
As a singer and songwriter, Michelsen organizes the live music every Thursday night at 7:30 p.m.. The musicians are often local, and Michelsen is happy to feature anyone and everyone, she says.
Michelsen hopes that the success of Claire’s will help influence the economy of downtown Hardwick.
St. Michael’s senior Lee Waterhouse first heard of Claire’s from Bosia in a class last spring, and he says he couldn’t wait to go.
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Every night it's packed, so reservations are strongly suggested.
(Photo by Cailey McDermott)
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After making the 65-mile journey to Claire’s two weeks ago, Waterhouse is already foreseeing another trip in the future, he says.
“I wish it was 10 minutes away,” Waterhouse says, “but it’s definitely worth the drive.”
Claire’s sustainable business is a really positive idea, especially in the face of this economic decline, Waterhouse says.
South Woodbury resident Susan Stitely comes for the good martinis, and the excellent food, she says.
“[Claire’s] is a magnet for change,” Stitely says, “and it’s changing the perception of Hardwick." |
