The Social restaurant is now open at the Inn at Montpelier. Photo by Phil Dodd
Man Seeks MJ Friday’s Italian Dressing Recipe
Gordon Miller, of Colchester, wants to know if anyone from the area knows the recipe for the house Italian dressing served at the once-popular but now defunct MJ Friday’s restaurant, which was located on the second floor in the building across from city hall in Montpelier in the mid to late 1970s. Our own local historian, Paul Carnahan, is on the case, but if you see this notice and you know the recipe, please email it to editor@montpelierbridge.com.
The Social Restaurant Closes; Now Catering Only
The Social, located at the historic Inn at Montpelier, has closed as a full-service restaurant and is now exclusively a high-end catering venue. Opened to local fanfare in May 2021; reviews praised being able to dine alfresco on the spacious veranda and their congenial service, but also hint of a decline in momentum as the cold weather set in. Things could still change next year — the online review website Yelp states: “The Social is temporarily closed. Scheduled to reopen on May 1, 2023,” but a phone call to the Inn has confirmed that a return to restaurant status is unlikely.
Montpelier Police to Get Bias Training
The Montpelier Police Department will serve as a pilot site for “Managing Bias” training in partnership with an independent nonprofit research and analysis organization in Virginia and the U.S. Department of Justice COPS Office. Officers from Barre City, Barre Town, Northfield, Berlin, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, and the Capitol Police will join the training, starting this fall.
County Road Construction Causes Headaches
Calling it a “fiasco,” Stephen Kroll of Haggett Road in East Montpelier took to social media about this summer’s road construction on the County Road in East Montpelier. Kroll wrote on Front Porch Forum the surface is so bad that sharp stones tore his wife’s tires. Others posted similar stories as well. Relief is in sight, but not for weeks. One of the contractors, Blue Mountain Trucking and Excavating, has experienced delays, according to East Montpelier road foreman Guthrie Perry as reported to the select board during their August 22 meeting. The meeting minutes state that Perry told the board the digging (of culverts) won’t start until after Labor Day weekend. Paving could begin after that.
B&W Photographer Peter Miller Needs New Studio
Waterbury photographer Peter Miller, who has written six books on Vermont and photographed the state since the 1950s, has announced he will soon be in need of a studio. He wrote in a recent press release that the house he lives in has been sold, and the “original arrangement” allowing him to stay “until the end of my days” is no longer an option. He must leave by January 31, 2023. Miller seeks a studio, a technician/curator to organize and market his photographs, and someone to take over the business. For more information on Miller and his work, go to petermillerphotography.com or contact him at peter@petermillerphotography.com.
—Compiled by Carla Occaso, Chris Therrien, and Cassandra Hemenway
