Sweetwaters, a restaurant that has anchored Church Street for more than four decades, will close after serving its final customers on Labor Day.
That prime Marketplace spot at the corner of College Street won’t stay vacant for long. The Farmhouse Group will move Pascolo Ristorante, which occupies a subterranean space further up Church Street, into the Sweetwaters building in November.
Sweetwaters, founded in 1981 by Tony Perry, has long been a popular landing spot for tourists and locals, as the building and its expansive patio seating sit at the busiest corner of the pedestrian Church Street Marketplace. Political candidates frequently hold election-night gatherings there. Sweetwaters is renowned for its long-running Thanksgiving Day community dinner and coat giveaway.
Sweetwaters will sell its business and transfer the long-term lease to the Burlington-based Farmhouse Group on Sept. 6, the day after Labor Day, according to a news release.
“David Melincoff, the present Sweetwaters owner since the 1990s, and Farmhouse Group owner Jed Davis, have known each other for nearly 20 years,” according to the news release. “What began as a simple conversation this past spring ultimately led to a win-win situation for all parties.”
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“Upon deciding it was time to move on, it was important for me to sell the business to a local organization that was aligned with our core values,” Melincoff said in the news release, mentioning “great guest service, high quality food, taking care of the employees and of course, giving back to the community” among those values.
In a follow-up email exchange with the Burlington Free Press, Melincoff said he is going to “take time for myself” soon after the sale is completed. He said he might eventually do part-time work and is “not sure what that is at the moment but I am sure the universe will steer me on the right path.”
“David has worked tirelessly for 40 years on the Marketplace,” Davis said in the news release. “I suspect that his next life chapter will include lots of mountain biking, snowboarding and fly fishing and I wish him all the best.”
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Davis said in the news release that the Pascolo crew “is psyched for the big move to 118 Church Street” from its current location at 83 Church St. “It’s a landmark property that will allow us to more fully represent the Pascolo concept including lunch service and even a retail presence,” Davis said of the Sweetwaters building that dates to the 19th century.
The news release says The Farmhouse Group has agreed to “make efforts to retain the current Sweetwaters staff, as well as the Thanksgiving Day Community Dinner in some format; a longstanding tradition that is near and dear to the hearts of many.”
In an email exchange with the Free Press, Davis said he is not sure if Pascolo will reopen at the Sweetwaters site before Thanksgiving on Nov. 24, but “we will certainly do something very generous for the community this year and beyond, in Sweetwaters’ honor.” Pascolo, which specializes in Italian cuisine, will reopen following “a significant renovation” at the Sweetwaters site, according to the news release.
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Davis also wrote in the email that he is in talks with “a couple local operators” to take over the 83 Church St. space Pascolo occupies. “I have almost 20 years of history with that space so I certainly want to make sure the next chapter is a great fit,” according to Davis.
Contact Brent Hallenbeck at bhallenbeck@freepressmedia.com. Follow Brent on Twitter at www.twitter.com/BrentHallenbeck.
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