Page 24 - BusinessWest May 27, 2024

Murals in Vanished Valley’s lower level reflect the theme of the drowned Quabbin towns.
Staff Photo
early in 2019 when he saw an opportunity to expand Vanished Val- ley with expanded production space and a food operation, and the three principals started gutting and updating the building, and also putting up an addition.
“We wanted to add the food element in a bigger retail space, so
it made sense, obviously, to do it right there,” Britton said. “We worked on it all throughout 2019 while still producing beer, and then we were ready to go in January 2020.”
Everyone knows what happened next.
“We had just opened our doors, and then a couple months later, it came to a halt because of COVID,” he said. “It was an interesting time. It forced us to kind of relook at the brand and pivot and decide what fell within the guidelines of what we could and couldn’t
do.”The pivots they came up with not only kept the business afloat during the pandemic, they may have actually raised its profile.
“No place could open and serve food, but we were allowed to deliver food — and beer, for the first time in Massachusets. So we started doing takeout. We didn’t have barbe- cue as a food option at the time, and Mike came up with the great idea to say, ‘hey, how cool would it be to have fresh barbecue and beer delivered to your door?’
“So we added that as a takeout option, and it was the most popular one we had,” Britton continued. “Mike stayed up nights smoking
meat — night after night after night, just to meet demand. So we were delivering barbecue and beer to door to door, and it stuck. We still have great barbecue today; we kept it on the menu.”
Between the successful delivery operation, as well as two Pay- check Protection Program loans and an Economic Injury Disaster Loan, the team was able to keep the operation running. “It was a stressful year, but we made it. Once we were allowed to open the doors, we took all the necessary precautions with social distancing and things like that. It kept the lights on, and it kept the brand alive.”
“The name itself, Vanished Valley, is the tip of the cap to the Quabbin Reservoir and
the people that sacrificed for the benefit of others.”
24 MAY 27, 2024 << RESTAURANTS >>
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