I write blogs and craft press releases for Thornes Marketplace in Northampton to help raise awareness about events and individual shop owners. This month, I got to help the popular shopping center spread some great news via both blog and PR: On May 10, Thornes returned to its pre-pandemic hours and three restaurants were regrouping, with two reopening in June.

The pandemic hit business owners hard—restaurants especially—so the leaders of Thornes Marketplace were thrilled to announce the return to an early morning opening of 8:30 a.m. as of May 10, allowing Share Coffee on the main floor to once again serve morning commuters, and two other Thornes restaurants expect to reopen in June.

In addition, the main marketplace is also poised to continue to follow the commonwealth’s requirements regarding mask-wearing and social distancing indoors. Door monitors and staff will continue to enforce this requirement, and when Massachusetts lifts the indoor mask requirement on May 29 for all, or just those who are vaccinated, they plan to eliminate the door monitor position.

Mask-wearing will not be enforced inside the building; individual shop owners may enforce their own rules, however. The majority of shop owners and staff have been vaccinated.

The last year has been a very difficult one. Thornes leaders appreciate the continued support and understanding from shop owners, their staff, and customers as Thornes navigates what is hoped to be the final hurdle in reopening.

Paul and Elizabeth’s will reopen on June 3, and Patria—a new business on the lowest level of Thornes that opened shortly before COVID-19 forced closures—will begin serving in early to mid-June from a new six-course tasting menu.

Since Thornes reopened for business on June 8 last year, following a lengthy closure brought about by the pandemic, it has opened its doors at 11 a.m. The earlier opening allows Share Coffee to serve customers once again during its busiest time of day.

“We’ve been affected by the limited building hours,” says Ken Majka, owner of Share Coffee in Thornes and in Hadley and Amherst, and in Montague, where Ken has a café and pub. “That was definitely impactful, and we’re looking forward to getting open earlier.”

Share is now open Monday through Saturday at 8:30 a.m., and on Sundays, at 10 a.m.; the cafe serves coffees, teas, breakfast sandwiches made to order, fresh bakery items, salads, and other light fare. 

Ken is working to get his tables and standing bar set back up inside Thornes; in the meantime, orders are served to go. 

Nate Sustick, the son of Paul and Elizabeth’s longtime owners, Paul and Elizabeth Sustick, and the restaurant’s general manager, says their restaurant was closed for about a month last spring and reopened in April for takeout only. He’s pleased to be able to reopen for in-house dining on June 3.  

“It was a personal comfort level for me and the staff to wait until everyone was vaccinated,” he explains. “All will be fully vaccinated by mid-May. I’m looking forward to the next step. This has been a long road, and it is almost like starting anew.”

The closure and downsizing led to a loss of regular staff, so Paul and Elizabeth’s reopens with a new team, with some former employees at the core. Nate says, “This pandemic’s been survivable with the support from the local community and government funding. It’s been amazing.”

Paul and Elizabeth’s will reopen with 50 percent of its seating—about 40 to 50 seats, and Nate will encourage diners to make reservations using the app, Resy.com; walk-ins will also be welcome. 

He says he is both refreshing and trimming the menu, keeping classic items and locally produced food, such as produce and seafood from Berkshore, which will soon provide striped bass, bluefish, and scallops as they become available. 

The restaurant will be open Thursday through Saturday in June from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., and online ordering and curbside pick-up will continue Monday through Saturday.

Patria was a brand-new restaurant located on the basement level of Thornes in the space formerly occupied by ConVino when Thornes was closed in March due to the pandemic.  

Aaron Thayer, who owns Patria with his wife, Abby Fuhrman, is pleased to reopen in early to mid-June with a new six-course tasting menu in the dining room; small bites will be featured at the bar and in the lounge, and the cocktail menu has also been revamped.

Aaron says the new menu allows people to order the six courses, which will be tailored for those with allergies or other dietary restrictions, and the items arrive one at a time. “This well-curated and creative tasting menu shouldn’t leave you feeling engorged at the end,” he says.

Inside Patria, roughly 24 seats will be available in the main dining room, with 20 in the bar and lounge. Some seating will also be available outside on the patio. 

Aaron is a chef with experience at exclusive, fine dining establishments in Boston and San Francisco—and at Coco & the Cellar Bar in Easthampton.

Bon appetit!

The post Helping a Client Get the Good News Out appeared first on Beetle Press.

Marketplace in general is poised to continue following state guidelines on mask-wearing and social distancing

NORTHAMPTON—Thornes Marketplace returned to an early morning opening of 8:30 a.m. as of May 10, allowing Share Coffee on the main floor to once again serve morning commuters, and two other Thornes restaurants expect to reopen in June.

In addition, the main marketplace is also poised to continue to follow the commonwealth’s requirements regarding mask-wearing and social distancing indoors. “Our door monitors and staff will continue to enforce this requirement,” said Thornes Marketing Manager Jody Doele. “If Massachusetts lifts the indoor mask requirement for all, or just those who are vaccinated, we plan to eliminate the door monitor position.”

Thornes Marketplace would then not require masks inside the building; individual shop owners may enforce their own rules, however. Doele noted that the majority of shop owners and staff have been vaccinated.

“The last year has been a very, very difficult one for all of us,” she said. “We appreciate the continued support and understanding from our shop owners, their staff, and our customers as we navigate what we hope is our final hurdle.”

Paul and Elizabeth’s will reopen on June 3, and Patria—a new business on the lowest level of Thornes that opened shortly before COVID-19 forced closures—will begin serving in early to mid-June from a new six-course tasting menu.

Since Thornes reopened for business June 8, following a lengthy closure brought about by the pandemic, it has opened its doors at 11 a.m. The earlier opening will allow Share Coffee to serve customers once again during its busiest time of day.

“We’ve been affected by the limited building hours,” said Ken Majka, owner of Share Coffee in Thornes and in Hadley and Amherst, and in Montague, where Majka has a café and pub. “That was definitely impactful, and we’re looking forward to getting open earlier.”

Share is now open Monday through Saturday at 8:30 a.m., and on Sundays, at 10 a.m.; the cafe serves coffees, teas, breakfast sandwiches made to order, fresh bakery items, salads, and other light fare. 

Majka is working to get his tables and standing bar set back up inside Thornes; in the meantime, orders are served to go. 

Nate Sustick, the son of Paul and Elizabeth’s longtime owners, Paul and Elizabeth Sustick, and the restaurant’s general manager, said his business was closed for about a month last spring and reopened in April for takeout only. He’s excited to reopen for in-house dining on June 3.  

“It was a personal comfort level for me and the staff to wait until everyone was vaccinated,” he said. “All will be fully vaccinated by mid-May. I’m looking forward to the next step. This has been a long road, and it is almost like starting anew.”

The closure and downsizing led to a loss of regular staff, so Paul and Elizabeth’s reopens with a new team, with some former employees at the core. “This pandemic’s been survivable with the support from the local community and government funding. It’s been amazing.”

Paul and Elizabeth’s will reopen with 50 percent of its seating—about 40 to 50 seats, and Sustick will encourage diners to make reservations using an app called Resy.com; walk-ins will also be welcome. 

He said he is both refreshing and trimming the menu, keeping classic items and locally produced food, such as produce and seafood from Berkshore, which will soon provide striped bass, bluefish, and scallops as they become available. 

The restaurant will be open Thursday through Saturday in June from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., and online ordering and curbside pick-up will continue Monday through Saturday.

Patria was a brand-new restaurant located on the basement level of Thornes in the space formerly occupied by ConVino when Thornes was closed in March due to the pandemic.  

Aaron Thayer, who owns Patria with his wife, Abby Fuhrman, is pleased to reopen in early to mid-June with a new six-course tasting menu in the dining room; small bites will be featured at the bar and in the lounge, and the cocktail menu has also been revamped.

Thayer said the new menu allows people to order the six courses, which will be tailored for those with allergies or other dietary restrictions, and the items arrive one at a time. “This well-curated and creative tasting menu shouldn’t leave you feeling engorged at the end,” he said.

Inside Patria, roughly 24 seats will be available in the main dining room, with 20 in the bar and lounge. Some seating will also be available outside on the patio. 

Thayer is a chef with experience at exclusive, fine dining establishments in Boston and San Francisco—and at Coco & the Cellar Bar in Easthampton.

To learn more about Thornes Marketplace, visit thornesmarketplace.com.

Thornes Marketplace has been the cornerstone of downtown Northampton and at the center of the Main Street shopping district for more than a century. Built in 1873, it holds 55,000 square feet of space for merchants and includes features like pressed tin ceilings and hardwood floors.

The post Two Restaurants in Thornes Marketplace to Reopen and a Third Returned to Regular Hours appeared first on Beetle Press.

Protocols are outlined, and store owners reinvent themselves

NORTHAMPTON—Sharon Cohen, the owner of Footbeats for Women on the main level of Thornes Marketplace, will enter her fourth year in business on July 1. It’s a difficult time, but like all merchants in the eclectic shopping center, Cohen’s working hard to reach customers and ensure their safety.

Thornes reopened for business on June 8 after putting many new protocols and equipment in place, including air filters that heighten air quality, foggers that sanitize the building nightly, and door monitors at each of the two open entrances to ensure that people entering Thornes wear masks and sanitize their hands. Thornes also installed hands-free door openers on bathroom doors. 

Without college students and tourists from out of town, business is slower than is typical for this time of year, but customers are returning steadily. Shops owners such as Cohen, who have also instituted countless safety measures, are happy to see them.

“We’ve revamped the way the store is laid out to promote social distancing,” Cohen said. “Shoppers are saying, ‘I just wanted to shop with somebody locally.’ We’re hearing a lot of that. I think that’s awesome.”

After Thornes—and most retail and other industries statewide—were shut down this spring due to COVID-19, Cohen launched a website at footbeatsforwomen.com, so customers could still purchase her shoes. She made deliveries to peoples’ homes.

Every Friday afternoon, she also began using Facebook live to talk about shoes in stock and offer commentary on trends and new styles. “I pick them off the displays on the wall and talk about them. Customers would text and ask questions about cost or size,” she said, noting she will likely continue that practice. “We tried new, inventive ways to meet the customers.”

Cohen also said when customers try on a pair of shoes in the store, if they are leather and cannot be sanitized, they are put in quarantine for 24 hours, as per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) guidelines. 

Thornes itself has the safety of shoppers, store owners, and staff at the forefront as it expands and flexes systems and operations.

“Thornes has done a lot to prepare for our opening, and we continue to stay educated and follow safety protocols,” Thornes Co-President Richard Madowitz said. “We are receiving consistent positive feedback from shoppers on the cleanliness of the building and their comfort. We are providing a safe environment.” 

He added, “We have installed iWave ionizing air filters in all AC air handlers in the building to ensure high air quality, and we’ve purchased foggers that allow us to do extensive sanitizing overnight, while we are closed.”

Masks are available at the two open entrances, which are on Main Street and at the skywalk to and from the parking garage. “Masks are not required for those with medical conditions that prevent them from wearing one,” Madowitz added.

All shared tables and chairs on the building’s second and third floors, such as Share Coffee’s seating, have been removed, and directional arrows on the floors separate traffic and promote social distancing, as do stanchions throughout.

“Signage is everywhere,” Madowitz stressed. “Each store is managing its state-mandated capacity count, and Thornes itself is managing the state-mandated capacity counts for its common spaces without shops.”

Every morning before work, all Thornes staff follow CDCP protocols, running through a COVID-19 readiness checklist before reporting for work. 

Beginning this week, all shops in Thornes will be open Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. All merchants must also open on a fifth day of their choice. Many stores are open daily, including Cedar Chest, Rebekah Brooks, Share Coffee, Booklink Booksellers, Footbeats for Women, Jackson & Connor, ASSEMBLE, Captain Candy, and Herrell’s Ice Cream.

Check thornesmarketplace.com for specifics on other stores, or visit individual shop websites or social media channels.

Parking downtown is free through July 1. Thornes will be closed July 4 and 5. Madowitz said, “We have historically been closed on July 4, and we’ve added a closing on July 5, given that the holiday falls on a Saturday this year, and we have limited hours on Sunday.”

To learn more about Thornes Marketplace, visit thornesmarketplace.com.

Thornes Marketplace has been the cornerstone of downtown Northampton and at the center of the Main Street shopping district for more than a century. Built in 1873, it holds 55,000 square feet of space for merchants and includes features like pressed tin ceilings and hardwood floors.

The post As Thornes Marketplace Reopens, Foot Traffic Returns appeared first on Beetle Press.

The center provides treatment for a wide range of medical disorders and conditions, including traumatic brain injury, concussion, Lyme disease and diabetic ulcers

HADLEY—Bruce I. Goderez, MD, the founder of Pioneer Valley Hyperbaric, recently announced the reopening of his treatment center, which offers oxygen therapy as a healing modality for a wide range of medical disorders and conditions. As of Aug. 1, the business returned to its original address after a short-term relocation.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) is offered at many hospitals for a limited number of conditions approved by the Federal Drug Administration, including non-healing wounds, abscesses and damage from radiation treatment.  Pioneer Valley Hyperbaric offers “mild” Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (mHBOT), which Goderez said has been found to be safe and effective for a wide variety of neurological and medical conditions.

Goderez said mHBOT has been shown to be effective in the treatment of traumatic brain injury, and it can improve residual symptoms even when treatment occurs years after the injury. “It can be helpful in controlling chronic neurological Lyme disease and can improve symptoms of multiple sclerosis, peripheral neuropathy and many other neurological conditions,” he added. “mHBOT is also useful in treating sports injuries, other musculoskeletal issues, degenerative disc disease and diabetic ulcers. It has even been shown to bring about improvement in some cerebral palsy patients.”

Goderez explained that mHBOT treatment is delivered in a sealed, slightly pressurized chamber, in which the patient breathes 100 percent oxygen through a mask. He said the procedure raises oxygen concentration in the blood and other body tissues to high levels, which causes a powerful anti-inflammatory effect and triggers a variety of healing processes.

“mHBOT is helpful in a remarkable number of apparently unrelated conditions because it is working on the underlying disease mechanisms common to many different diagnoses,” he said.

Goderez said it’s long been taught that Traumatic Brain Injury damage, for example, cannot be repaired. “It turns out that HBOT can bring about real healing in this and many other conditions that have been considered untreatable,” he said. “It is incredibly gratifying to see dramatic improvements in people who had thought they were doomed to live out their lives with serious limitations due to an accident or illness.”

Treatment of most conditions requires a block of 40 treatments, delivered over an eight-week period. Treatment can be delivered in the office, but it is also possible to rent an HBOT chamber and deliver treatments at home. Whatever improvements that come about in the case of injury, such as Traumatic Brain Injury or back injury, is usually permanent, Goderez said. Some conditions require episodic treatment sessions indefinitely, in which case some patients choose to buy a chamber.

For more information, visit www.pioneervalleyhyperbaric.com or contact Goderez at goderez@charter.net or 413-582-1839.

The post Pioneer Valley Hyperbaric Announces its Reopening in Hadley appeared first on Beetle Press.