After nearly two years, pandemic-born Umami restaurant closed in Stowe with a final service on August 15. Its owners, chef Aaron Martin and his wife, Jennifer, will fill the 151 Main Street location behind the village's iconic Stowe Community Church with a takeout lunch eatery, Petite Plate, which they expect to open in September.
Petite Plate's menu will include several favorites from Plate, the restaurant the couple owns at 91 Main Street, including the vegan hearts of palm "crab cake," house veggie burger and wood-smoked beef burger. A few items from Umami's menu will also remain, such as the braised pork belly bao and Korean-style fried chicken. Additional offerings will include lobster rolls, soups and salads.
Aaron Martin said Umami, a takeout spot specializing in from-scratch Cantonese and Sichuan dishes, was the couple's effort to diversify during the pandemic. Martin's team at the time included two chefs with experience working at the original A Single Pebble in Berlin, Vt.
To keep Plate afloat when seated dining capacity was capped at 50 percent, "we opened a takeout place a few doors down," Martin said. "My daughter joked we should have called it Saving Plate."
The two Plate restaurants are designed to complement each other in terms of menu and hours of service. "It's been really, really challenging with staffing," Martin said. "This will let us use Plate as a commissary kitchen [for Petite Plate]."