A new restaurant is preparing to open its doors next month in the former Bluestone Pizza building in Irasville, bringing a family-run business, classic American fare, and long-range plans for artisan cabins to a high-traffic section of Route 100.
Mad Moose Bar and Grill, operated by Eric and Erin Vreeken and their family, is targeting an early December opening. They are leasing the building from property owner Talmage Jestice who purchased the property this fall.
Vreeken told the Waitsfield Select Board that his family’s experience spans several previous ventures, including running a deli in Lake George and a distribution company in Colchester that serves Shaw’s and other regional supermarkets. “We have some food experience,” he said. “We had a deli in Lake George. We had three locations at the time. We ended up selling those businesses, [went to] Costa Rica for a year, put the kids to school there – it was quite the adventure.”
The family returned to Vermont and continued running their distribution company. The restaurant will now become the newest joint project among Vreeken, his wife and their children. “There’s myself, my wife, we have four older kids, and they range from 24 to 15,” he said.
Vreeken said the restaurant is close to receiving all of its remaining approvals. “We are looking to open on December 1,” he said. “We have most of our paperwork done, just waiting on the local license. I feel like if all goes well, we can open on December 1. We may even soft open by Friday or the weekend – we’re still debating that.”
The lease includes the apartments above the restaurant, which are currently undergoing fire-safety work. “We’re taking over,” Vreeken said. “The fire marshal asked for an egress to be added to it and they’re doing that right now. That should be done within the next week so that should be also ready to go by December 1.”
In addition to reopening the restaurant space, the Vreekens plan to add six artisan cabins along the tree line behind the building.
“In the spring, we plan on building some artisan cabins on the property,” Vreeken said. “We’re looking to put six 10-by-14 cabins along the east side of the tree line where our parking lot is.”
The hillside behind the building is part of the parcel, and Vreeken said the cabins would be placed on its upper section. The units are intended as maker spaces for local craftspeople. “We’re going put six artisan cabins and allow local artists to use them,” he said. He described artisans ranging from alpaca-fiber knitters to jewelry and cosmetics makers. “It would be a space to demonstrate your product – maybe how it’s made – and offer those products for sale to the public.”
The cabins will be powered and heated, though the final choice of heating system is still being reviewed with the family’s insurance carrier. The plan is to charge no upfront rent, instead using a small revenue-share model. “It would be zero entry for the artisans,” Vreeken said. “We would offer them maybe a 10% revenue generation.”
For the restaurant itself, the menu will expand on the popular staples of the former Bluestone Pizza. “We’re gonna basically try to do a Bluestone but just a little better,” Vreeken said. The kitchen will continue to serve pizza using its double-stacked pizza oven, along with wings, burgers, salads and what Vreeken described as classic American cuisine. “My wife put together a great salad menu,” he said. The restaurant will also feature a full bar with beer on tap.
The initial plan is to operate six days a week from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. “We’re planning on only closing on Wednesdays,” Vreeken said, noting that exact hours may shift once the owners see what diners prefer. “We have to open and see what the demand is.”
Longer-term ideas include adding a bike path through the rear of the property to improve safety for cyclists accessing Route 100. The website madmoosebarandgrill.com, is expected to go live ahead of opening day.
You might also like
