SPECIAL TABLE 3 EDITION - Table 3 Restaurant Group

THE
APRIL, 2014
STURBRIDGETIMES
THE CHRONICLE OF STURBRIDGE COUNTRY LIVING
MAGAZINE
SPECIAL
TABLE 3
EDITION
Sturbridge’s most dynamic restaurant group, Table 3, announces
expansion in town to include banquet, catering, teaching
T
parties of those sizes.”
cuisine and include an open kitchen where guests
By Stephanie Richards
Perhaps the biggest transformation will come
could see and interact with the chefs,” Gonya said.
able 3 Restaurant Group is ready to expand Sturwith
the group’s latest venture, the creation of
A
front
porch
project
was
completed
on
Avellino
bridge appetites in a big way. Having tasted success
Table
3 Chefs & Catering on about six acres of
last month, which added French-style doors swinging
with their restaurant revitalizations of the former Cedar
property at 420 Main
Street Restaurant (now
Street,
Sturbridge.
Cedar Street Grille) and The
Best Getting Better
Porchlight Investments
Whistling Swan (now AvelThis rendering shows the new enIII, LLC purchased the
lino’s and The Duck), their
closed front porch on Avellino Italproperty for Table 3 on
ian Restaurant. With French style
most ambitious project is
doors that swing outwards, the adFebruary 27 for $1.65
now on the menu and it will
dition has retractable screens that
million dollars from
keep their roots planted
can be drawn to provide an alfresco
1817 Shoppe, Inc. The
firmly in Sturbridge.
dining experience. The expansion alproperty, owned by Alex
lows
accommodation
of
55
people
This group came together
for special events or two groups of
and Mike Pifer, is home
in April, 2010, and includes
25 each with a divider. The restauto The Seraph, which
former West Brookfield narant was voted BEST ITALIAN
specializes in 17th and
tive Michael Lyons (PresiRESTAURANT in the Greater
18th Century reproducSturbridge Area in the 2014 Sturdent and CEO), and
bridge Times Readers’ Choice
tion furniture and accesSturbridge residents Daniel
Awards.
sories.
It also previously
Table 3 Restaurant rendering
Gonya (General Manager,
included several restauBusiness Development), Enrants
and
retail
establishments,
most recently Veroutwards to allow retractable screens to be drawn in
rico Giovanello (Executive Chef), and Patrick Farrelly
itas Restaurant.
warmer weather. It also adds additional space for par(Head Chef, Pastry Arts). The business was formed
Gonya said three acres of the property are zoned
ties.
“The
front
room
lacked
the
cozy
feeling
we
around the motto, “A restaurant meal should be among
“commercial
tourist” and the other three “suburwanted to create,” Gonya said. “It was the portion of
life’s most memorable experiences.” Table 3 follows
ban/residential.” The site includes 125 parking
the restaurant that had the most staid feeling of the
three principles to fulfill this motto including: demandspaces and four buildings, totaling 18,000 square
old Swan. The front porch allows us to connect the
ing the highest quality ingredients, focusing on excepfeet. The Seraph and Domas
tional service and flawless operations as the
(unique home furnishings) are curnorm, and consistently working to earn
rently operating in two of the buildguest loyalty.
ings. A third building included the
Table 3’s first venture (Cedar Street)
former
restaurant space, and the
bloomed in July of 2010, with the purchase
final
one
has been empty, though
and rehab of the former Cedar Street
was undergoing renovation work by
Restaurant. Five months of major renovaVeritas
owners for use as a future
tions transformed the building into Cedar
function/catering space. “We did
Street Grille, an American Bistro-type
ask the owners of Veritas to stay on,
eatery with full bar and small plates, slidbut they declined citing an interest
ers, seasonal entrees and desserts.
to return to Vieques where they had
Just a few months later, the group purpast
and future commercial interchased the former Whistling Swan and
ests,” Gonya said. “The Seraph will
Ugly Duckling Loft, renovated the build©2014 Sturbridge Times Magazine photo by Stephanie Richards
remain at its current location on
ing, revamped the menus and re-defined
The 420 Main Street campus will be a place for celebrating and learning to cook
the property. We developed a good
the Swan space into Avellino’s Italian
relationship with Alex and Mike
Restaurant with a custom bar, open
when
we
bought
the Cedar Street Grille property
restaurant with Main Street. In addition, it provides
kitchen concept, and menu featuring traditional, homeacross the street. They have been great to work with
more light from the inside out (the doors are black and
made cuisine. The Duck maintained its casual atmosin
purchasing this property.”
less
reflective),
so
a
passerby
can
see
activity,”
Gonya
phere but with a mix of customer favorites and new
Located at the corner of Cedar Street and
said. “We now have space for approximately 55 in one
Farmhouse Entrees focusing on all-natural, organic, and
Route 20, the property was ideal for its aesthetics.
larger room for special events or 25 to 30 people in
sustainable foods. “There was a stigma tied to The Swan
“Buildings two and three have beautiful post and
two separate ones using a divider. We were getting a
as a fine dining or special occasion restaurant. We
beam construction that give a country feel. The
lot of requests for rehearsal dinners and anniversary
wanted to create a more casual atmosphere with Italian
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THE STURBRIDGE TIMES MAGAZINE
THE CHRONICLE OF STURBRIDGE COUNTRY LIVING
Table 3 expansion to the Seraph campus at 420 Main Street
will host cooking classes, banquets, headed by Enrico Giovanello
grounds provide a green, spacious area for outdoor
events (possibly weddings, corporate gatherings),”
Gonya said. “Right now, I don’t know what the
variables will be within the Commercial Tourist
District with regard to things like tents. However,
I like the idea of a semi-permanent space similar
to the Publick House. There are a lot of great opportunities at this location.”
It took about a year for Table 3 to find the right
spot for their next venture. “We looked at different markets, such as Putnam and Wilbraham, and
also at other possibilities such as creating another
Cedar Street Grille in an area like Westboro. This
was a more logical direction for us, and it further
meets the interest we were seeing in catering and
the cooking school (Cooking with Rico classes),”
Gonya said. “This property sits right between
Cedar Street Grille and The Whistling Swan property, so the proximity was great. Keeping things in
close proximity makes it all easier to run because
you can keep a handle on everything. In addition,
Sturbridge is being established as a dining destination with many new restaurants opening–like
Sturbridge Seafood and Teddy G’s. Our reviews
started out heavy with local patrons but now we
are seeing people travel from outside the area to
dine here. That’s good for everyone.”
Gonya said the Town of Sturbridge has been
very cooperative in doing business. “From our first
project, we’ve had to work closely with planning,
design, zoning and the Board of Selectman. For
example, at Cedar Street Grille, we needed a variance for our addition. We’ve made sure to have
everything in order and the town has provided a
lot of positive feedback to us.”
Building 2 (former Bass retail outlet) will be the
first one to undergo renovation for use as a function, event and catering venue with seating for up
to 125. It will also allow the expansion of Table
3’s popular cooking classes onsite. “There was a
significant amount of work done by Veritas in this
direction already and the town is quite familiar
with the project and has made several recommendations. We can move on them quickly and address issues like fire and safety, and handicap
access bathrooms. Our goal is to open by the end
of April,” Gonya said. “We don’t want to operate
this venue like an island. There is a lot of room
for a mid-size function facility in town for weddings, corporate dinners, and other special events.
THE CHRONICLE OF STURBRIDGE COUNTRY LIVING
Our hope is to work together with similar businesses and when our space is filled, recommend
another local venue and vice versa. In addition,
we would like to open up the space to other caterers when available. For example, if a couple wants
a pig roast for their wedding, I could see us cooperating with Brian Treitman at B.T.’s Smokehouse. We would like to test the concept.”
Leading this new Table 3 business will be Executive Chef Enrico Giovanello, who founded Enrico’s Brick Oven Pizzeria and Giovanello’s Italian
Market, and played a key role in creating the
group’s Cedar Street Grille and Avellino restaurants. In addition, Brad Arcoite has been brought
on staff to oversee the banquet function because
of his significant experience with events management at both Old Sturbridge Village and The Publick House. Table 3 currently employs about 50
people and Gonya said staff will have first rights
on additional hours, but that there will be a need
for additional employees.
Initial plans for the former Veritas building
may be some type of food café for breakfast and
lunch. The building will likely need to be gutted,
leaving the details of the exterior intact, which will
probably take about a year. Gonya said they are
also open to the idea of mixed retail for other
building space. As for the land zoned
suburban/residential, multi-dwellings may be explored for the future.
In a time when many businesses struggle to
maintain, Table 3 Restaurant Group has been able
to thrive with its ventures. “We’ve been fortunate
to have solid investment backing and the ability
to plan. We have a great mix of strong business,
marketing and financial people and the right culinary and front house staff. Our concept from the
start has been restaurant revitalization. What we
do is allow the business side to support the business and the chefs and front of the house staff to
flourish at what they do. We set certain gross sales
targets and that has allowed us to pay good salaries
and provide resources to pay back the investment
on properties,” Gonya said. “We are really excited
about this project. It was in our plan to allow us
to grow; it just took a little longer than expected.
We’re glad it did and know it is going to be the
right thing for us. It allows for expansion, flexibility for employees, and ease to run the operation
(because it’s all in Sturbridge). It is a key piece of
the puzzle for Table 3.”
For more information about Table 3 Chefs &
Catering, go to www.t3chefs.com.
Erb Photography
The Table 3 offerings at 420 Main Street will include banquets in an elegant post-and-beam facility right in the center of town.
THE STURBRIDGE TIMES MAGAZINE
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