click to enlarge - Courtesy of Blackbird Wellness
- An example of what's to come at Blackbird Wellness
Running a restaurant and raising a family was more than Sharon Deitz Caroli bargained for when she opened the Bee's Knees in Morrisville 12 years ago. She put the locavore restaurant, café and community space up for sale last year, but, until now, she had no success in cementing a replacement. The timing couldn't be better — in just a few weeks, Caroli and her husband will adopt a second child. The Bee's Knees served its final meals on November 1.
The family will retain ownership of the building and live on-site, but new tenant Blackbird Wellness, owned by Jennifer Moody, will rent the bulk of the space. Moody currently operates her yoga and wellness massage studio on Pleasant Street in Morrisville, in the location that will become Morrisville Food Co-op.
When Moody moves Blackbird to 82 Lower Main Street, she'll keep Bee's Knees chef Ben Gould busy with a new hot bar that she compares to the one at Burlington's City Market/Onion River Co-op. Fresh juices and smoothies will be sold there alongside other wellness items such as vitamins and supplements, while yoga and massage take place upstairs.
Shelburne-area residents can stop mourning the demise of Archie's Grill, which closed in July, leaving the close-knit community without a local burger joint.
Though a Dunkin' Donuts will soon fill the original Shelburne Road location, Archie's will reopen in December just across the street at 4066 Shelburne Road. Marco's Pizza & Grill, still open at its South Burlington location, most recently occupied the space.
Original owner Dick Hess said on Facebook, "I will be there for a little while to help it get up and going, and then be a customer instead of an owner."