College leases former restaurant

Author: Tamara Hilmes

Over the years, many residents and business owners in the Middlebury community have felt an increasing separation between the College and the town. Recently, however, the College made a decision that administrators, students and town residents alike hope will blur the lines between campus and downtown. After months of deliberation, the College signed a six-month lease for the former home of Eat Good Food (EGF), a local eatery that closed last spring.

"We've signed the lease, we've taken occupancy of the building and we've actually been in and out of the building for a couple of weeks now," said Dean of the College Tim Spears. Spears, who has overseen the project from the start, met in July with students who remained on campus over the summer to discuss possible uses for the 2,700-square-foot space, which has come to be referred to as the "EGF space."

"Earlier this summer I held a working session or brainstorming session with the students on campus and we came up with a whole list of possibilities for how that space might be used," Spears said. The group produced a number of ideas including an ice cream shop, a nightclub complete with a DJ, a dance studio, a new headquarters for WRMC and even a student-run restaurant.

"How about Dolci?" asked Spears. "Let's bring in Dolci to EGF - to cook and students get in for these meals free, and maybe there's some kind of nominal fee for people who are not students and they get to hang out with students and eat Dolci food. Maybe we bring in a small jazz quartet while this is happening, and maybe we partner with the natural food co-op and do a sampling of local cheeses with some pinot noir," he laughed. "We've got all sorts of ideas."

According to Spears, the space would be student-driven in terms of programming and planning. "I've heard from a number of students - maybe half a dozen to a dozen students - interested in getting involved with programming for that space," Spears said.

The College and its students are not the only ones with ideas. Local business owners would like to see the college use the EGF space in a way that would benefit not only the students, but the town as well.

"A lot of people are excited about this," said Tina Hutchins, an employee at Belladonna, the furniture and antiques store located just below the EGF space. She has her own opinions about what the College should do with the space. "Definitely an eatery-type thing would be great. We miss getting lunch."

While local entrepreneurs are optimistic about the College increasing its presence in town, some are worried about it stepping on the toes of existing local business.

"Don't compete with local people," advised Rachel Teachout, also a Belladonna employee. Teachout recommended that the College create a venue in which the town would feel welcome along with the students. "We wouldn't want the town people to feel like they couldn't go there - that would piss people off."

Teachout, along with other Middlebury residents, sees the space as an opportunity to decrease the separation between the town and the College.

"We totally want to see kids in town," Teachout said. "You're just so self-sufficient up there."

Hutchins agreed, saying that many in the town are concerned that the College limits the necessity for students to venture off campus.

In leasing the space, the College hopes to not only get students on Main Street, but to bring the townspeople and students closer together.

"What everyone is interested in downtown is increasing the vibrancy of Main Street and bringing more students downtown," Spears explained. "For some people in town there aren't enough students going downtown. If you do that in such a way that it's open to the townspeople, college students can begin to share what they're interested in with the rest of the town. If we do these partnerships right, maybe we bring in local Main Street merchants to collaborate on different programs, whether it's a fashion show or tasting of a local restaurant. There's a way we can work together."

Once a final decision has been made on what to use the EGF space for, the College will move ahead with making any necessary changes to the building, begin hiring and begin bringing students off campus and onto the sidewalks and into the stores of Main Street.

"We're totally for it," said Teachout. "We totally want to see kids in town."