middbrief College plans meeting to solicit input and decide fate of 51 Main St

Author: Lea Calderon-Guthe

Dean of the College Tim Spears discussed the impending opening of 51 Main, the newly renovated space at 51 Main Street that will become a bar and lounge, in a brief meeting on-site on April 22. Plans to turn the space into a chocolate bar have been postponed pending its success as a lounge and community feedback, but its use as a music venue and area to showcase student works is almost certain. The meeting attendees, which included Director of the Center for Campus Activities and Leadership Doug Adams, Director of the Project on Innovation in the Liberal Arts Elizabeth Robinson and Dean of Library and Information Services Barbara Doyle-Wilch, generally agreed that above all 51 Main should be a multi-purpose space whose use would be dictated by students, faculty, staff and townspeople.

51 Main will not open officially for at least a month as more furniture is purchased and the finishing touches are added, but in the mean time there will be several "soft openings," including its first casual open house this Friday, April 25 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. The event will be low-key with light refreshments provided by the College, and all Middlebury community members are invited to attend and give ideas for possible uses of the place. Following the open house will be another soft opening on Saturday, May 10 from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. in which 51 Main will offer its full services as a bar and lounge, complete with live music. A trial run for the new locale will occur May 15 to May 17 in which its will also be fully functional as an evening hang-out spot, and the meeting attendees hoped that 51 Main would further establish itself and its role in the community over the summer with both townspeople and everyone involved in the language schools.