Page 31 - BusinessWest December 12, 2022

The messages covering the walls of Nosh range from thought- provoking (as shown here) to overtly political.
on it. And I was like, ‘yeah, I can do something with this.’ I had no idea what the menu was going to be; I just knew I could pull it off.”
Two weeks later, Nosh was born, with little equipment other than a commercial refrigerator and a panini press. “That’s how I built my menu, with those two items. I was making soups and sandwiches for the holidays. And during the holi- day market, it was successful enough that I said, ‘all right, maybe we can do something with this.’ So we stayed.”
Six years later, Skinner is glad she did, not only growing and expanding her establishment, but getting ready to open up a second location in Gasoline Alley on Albany Street (more on that later).
Broader Palate
The expansion happened in 2018, when a pair of divided spaces became available, and Skinner contacted the property owner about taking over both sides.
“My small staff and I worked during the day, then worked at night tearing down walls and stuff. We opened a week before MGM opened,” she said. “It’s been great. The business continues to grow, even though we are so hidden back here. I still get people who come in and say, ‘I’ve lived in Springfield all my life, and I didn’t know this space existed, this whole street.’”
The larger space gave Skinner a chance to expand her culinary offerings, which still center on sandwiches, salads, soups, and baked goods, but a much broader variety of each.
“There were some good original eateries down here, like Nadim’s and the Fort, but not a lot of variety, or something that was our niche at that
point,” she said, before recalling her stint working for a restaurant at the veterinary school at Tufts University when her former catering-company employer got the contract there.
“A lot of first-year students would come in who were vegetarians or vegans, and that’s where I honed in on that aspect of the cuisine I pres- ent. We also had large-animal doctors who were
“What caught my eye was this big wall, and I could picture a menu on it. And I was like, ‘yeah, I can do something with this.’ I had no idea what the menu was going to be; I just knew I could pull it off.”
carnivores, so I had to cook everything. And I felt a restaurant shouldn’t be limited to one cuisine, but should be able to serve all different palates. That’s what my vision was for this space.”
The restaurant has expanded over the years to Saturdays and a couple of evenings each week, but weekday traffic, especially foot traffic from the downtown office towers and surrounding businesses, have long been her bread and butter, as well as people visiting the MassMutual Center for events.
The pandemic posed challenges to all res- taurants, but Skinner’s sister-in-law designed an online ordering platform, and Nosh switched to
You Worked Hard to Save for Retirement.
Now What?
Barbara Trombley, Financial Advisor, CPA
Mike Trombley, Financial Advisor, Former MLB Player
Since 1965
Call or visit our website
for more information:
(413) 596-6992 www.TrombleyAssociates.com
3 Retirement and Estate Planning 3 Investments
3 Social Security Review
3 Tax Strategies
Securities offered through LPL Financial. Member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Trombley Associates, a registered investment advisor and separate entity from LPL Financial.
BusinessWest
WOMEN IN BUSINESS
DECEMBER 12, 2022 31