Page 11 - BusinessWest January 23, 2023
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Deerfield
Historic Deerfield features
12 historic homes that visitors
are able to tour.
Continued from page 9
Davis said that the town and His- toric Deerfield have a close relation- ship and like to function as “the town’s museum,” with Deerfield residents get- ting into the sites for free. But he wants to rekindle the museum’s relationships with schools, not only in the surround- ing areas, but as far south as Spring- field and Holyoke. Schools stopped hav- ing field trips because of COVID, and now that they’ve returned, he wants to make welcoming students a bigger pri- ority in 2023.
“Western Massachusetts is a fasci- nating region, both for its history and its contemporary beauty,” he noted. “And this is one of the most magical places — this mile street that you can turn off of Route 5, and it’s like you’re going into a different century. I think that that is a part of the story of our region here in Western Mass. that is really interesting to folks who may not otherwise think of this as a desti- nation area.”
Embracing the New
One of the more recent and fre- quently visited attractions is Tree House Brewing Company. Originally established in Brimfield, the brewing company now occupies the old Chan- ning Bete headquarters on Route 5 and is celebrating its one-year anni- versary in town.
“There’s also this concept of creating small spaces for people to eat, to gather, that are pretty and accessible and inviting.”
The craft-beverage scene in Frank- lin County was “alive and well” before Tree House Brewing Company joined the long list of local breweries, Deane said, but Tree House certainly helped introduce Deerfield and Franklin County to a larger craft fanbase.
Warren added that the taproom at Tree House Brewing Company is “really fun,” and several of her col- leagues meet there to socialize and catch up after work.
“Tree House has really good beer, and they have really good pizza. You can bring your own food in, but once again, it’s nice to have options, so it’s not just Yankee Candle,” said Denise Mason, chair of the town’s Connect- ing Community Initiative. “We have Tree House, which is an anchor, and we have everything else — we want to connect all of it to give people choices.”
She went on to say that Yankee
Candle offers pizza, but if someone wants another food option, they don’t always know what’s available in Deer- field. To create opportunities for diners and restaurant owners alike means making the town more accessible.
Warren added that the piece that really leads to economic development is getting people off the highway into the town center so they can shop, eat,
  Deerfield
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