GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — The Well Restaurant and Bar recently reopened under new management.
Four friends who have worked together previously decided to buy Main Street eatery a month ago to keep open a local hotspot.
"We all knew we all worked together. And this came up, and we just knew it was meant for us to take over, and we knew we could do a great job of it. We knew we could just keep it the neighborhood place," said co-owner Lisa Ake.
Ake, Nik Rhodes, and Josh and Emily Irwin bought the business together. They did some minor changes to the space but will keep a lot of the look along with some staple dishes.
"The Well has always been known as kind of the neighborhood watering hole, the place where the locals maybe can come in and get a really good burger, some nachos, really good classic American pub food, you know," Ake said. "So that's kind of what I think this place has been known for this whole time, and we're continuing that by keeping the staples on the menu."
The Well opened in the late aughts and changed hands last year. When it was put up for sale again this past spring, the foursome jumped on the opportunity to purchase because they didn't want the town to lose another good place for the community to enjoy.
"Looking around, there's so much change happening, happening right now in Great Barrington, with businesses like Baba Louie's is gone now, which was a huge loss to the community. It was so sad. And there's other businesses that there are empty places now on Railroad Street, which is insane to me," Ake said. "We just had write-ups in Vogue about how cute this town is, and we just thought it would be a travesty to lose another place."
Ake says all four co-owners plan to be a big part of the restaurant's operation, and not just oversee from afar.
"We are not just owners. We are here all the time. Every dish that goes out [Josh Rhodes] touches. Like we care about the food, we care about what we're doing, service, food, everything," she said.
Rhodes is the chef at The Well and said he wants the food to have good taste at a good price.
"We are operating as a from-scratch kitchen. But that does not mean that we're gonna inflate the pricing," he said. "We want the food to have quality but maintain its approachability, both pricewise, but also flavorwise."
Ake said some of the favorites on their menu are the pork schnitzel and the "Not your IKEA meatballs," which is a Rhodes family recipe.
The Well also offers salads, soups, burgers and bar snacks and entrees likes steak frites, fish and chips, a mushroom pasta and macaroni and cheese with toppings.
The Well is currently open from 4 to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, with the bar open later on Fridays, noon to 10 on Saturday with bar open later, and noon to 9 on Sunday. The owners hope to expand their hours in the coming weeks.
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