Published: 4/9/2021 2:56:31 PM
NORTHAMPTON Longtime downtown business owner Bill Muller thought he had a plan consolidate his Northampton businesses, Guild Art Supply and Pierce’s Frameshop, and his Easthampton printing business, Big Wheel Press, into one space in the old Serio’s Market storefront on State Street in Northampton.
The spot was ideal, complete with parking. “We were working on floor plans and everything,” he said. “Then COVID hit.”
Surrounded by so much economic uncertainty, Muller scrapped those plans entirely. Instead of staying in downtown Northampton, where he’s run Guild Art Supply for 37 years, he made the tough decision last year to move the store and framing shop to his press space in Easthampton.
4 people, 1 takeout meal every week, for 3 months: ‘413 pledge’ seeks to ease impact of COVID on Northampton restaurants
Updated Feb 16, 2021;
Facebook Share
Groups of four people ordering one takeout meal every week for three months: That’s the goal of Northampton’s newly introduced “413 Takeout pledge,” a campaign that organizers say aims to ease the “difficult plight” of those in the service industry amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The restaurant-focused campaign is being led by the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce’s Economic Development Committee along with the Downtown Northampton Association. The idea for the program stemmed from a survey the EDC conducted last year that found people felt a healthy restaurant community is needed for the rejuvenation of the Pioneer Valley city during the COVID-19 public health crisis.
Ice sculptures coming to Amherst Town Common
Ice sculpture/ artist Rob Kimmel in Amherst. FILE PHOTO/COURTESY OF AMHERST BID
Published: 2/1/2021 11:38:59 AM
AMHERST A unicorn, bear and penguin, all carved from blocks of ice, will be among the creatures displayed on the Town Common Friday and Saturday evenings.
The Ice Sculptures on the Common: A Drive-Thru Experience runs from 5 to 7 p.m. on both days. The event is being organized by Amherst Recreation, the Amherst Business Improvement District and The Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce.
Gabrielle Gould, executive director of the Amherst BID, said she had hoped to have a more elaborate festival taking place the weekend after the Winterfest grand finale, with fire throwers, live music, a beer tent and hot mulled wine. The pandemic, though, changed those plans.
Published: 1/12/2021 7:51:08 PM
NORTHAMPTON Since the start of the pandemic, the Community Food Distribution Project has delivered 27,000 packages of food, according to Alisa Klein, the executive director of Grow Food Northampton, which runs the program with the Northampton Survival Center.
On Tuesday, participants at the Lumber Yard and Florence Heights apartments received an extra container with their regular bundle of food: a warm meal of meatloaf, garlic green beans, and smoked gouda mac and cheese cooked by Jake’s on King Street.
It was the first day of a new initiative launched by Grow Food Northampton and the Downtown Northampton Association. The organizations are providing meals made by local restaurants to people who are food-insecure.