Love Dog Café offers 'life sustaining' meals

By Anthony FydenPrint Story | Email Story
LENOX — People want more from food these days. They want food that’s natural, food that’s not filled with chemicals and preservatives, food that’s not only nutritious but also healthful. Oh, and they want it to taste great. Too much to ask? Not at all, says Deb Howard, who owns and operates the Love Dog Café and Herbal Apothecary in Lenox with her husband, Dan Howard. The couple opened the organic café in June 2003, quietly building a solid base of support from both visitors and locals. Serving lunch and dinner, the café offers organic salads, soups and entrees, catering to both vegetarian and carnivorous diners. Feel like a big salad? Try the Chef’s Special, with organic greens, hormone- and nitrate-free sliced turkey and ham, organic cheddar, grilled onions and other veggies. Want a burger you can feel good about? The Love Dog offers a special Vegan Burger, an organic beef burger or a free-range turkey burger. Kids can choose from classics such as grilled cheese or chicken strips (with goddess dressing), or barbecue sticks made from grilled tofu baked with barbecue sauce and served with celery sticks and ranch dressing. Currently, the grilled vegetable and cheese wrap, made with lightly seasoned and grilled vegetables and melted cheese and served with salad greens and sesame shitake dressing, is a favorite among many customers. “What I like to say is that we’re an organic café with something for everyone,” Howard said. “Our philosophy is serving food that I would call life-sustaining food. It’s everyday people food that people really want to eat, without all kinds of chemicals and preservatives.” Located in the Lenox Shops on Route 7, the Love Dog provides a comfortable setting for casual dining. A winding bar, where folks can sample the café’s many teas or enjoy lunch, fronts the kitchen. The café does not serve beer or other alcohol, but may consider it in the future, Howard said. The décor, created with the help of Lenox Designs, is contemporary but definitely not pretentious. The owners said they wanted an atmosphere that would allow Gen-X vegans or day-tripping grandparents to feel comfortable while eating lunch side by side. Howard emphasized that the organic specialties, while slightly more expensive than a traditional sandwich or sub shop, are affordable. Most lunch sandwiches and wraps are in the $8 range; salads start at $4.50; and children’s items range from $3.50 to $6. A section to the left of the bar houses the café’s herbal apothecary, where visitors can browse a large selection of specialty teas, herbal and homeopathic remedies and therapeutic oils. The two offerings — organic entrees and an herbal. Apothecary — are a natural match, as more consumers seek foods and health products that support their choices and lifestyles, Howard said. In fact, she said, making informed decisions is what the organic and homeopathic movement is all about. “Every day, more people are saying that they want an alternative,” she said. “A big part of the organic and herbal movement is that people are taking responsibility for their own health. You become an active participant in your health.” As people learn more about the food and health products, Howard said, they choose more carefully, believing that it matters where and how the ingredients were grown, what was added to them in the processing and how long they have been stored before being served. That explains why the market for conventional foods has been mostly stagnant, while total organic food sales have been growing at a rate of about 20 annually for more than a decade, according to the Organic Trade Association. Sales for herbal and botanical products are also growing rapidly, as people seek an alternative to traditional medical treatment. The herbs, botanical products, teas and oils offered at the Love Dog provide psychological as well as physical, benefits, Howard said: Flower essences, for example, can help people regain a feeling of “groundedness” in an often-chaotic world. People throughout the area are also recognizing the Love Dog as a bulk supplier of many popular tea varieties. An herb garden, now covered with snow, underscores the connection between the food on the plate and its source, Howard said. In warmer months, guests can eat outdoors in a small patio area. Howard is a Pennsylvania native and her husband is from Florida. They met at Kripalu, where Deb Howard ran the kitchen for about four years. The Love Dog Café has fulfilled a longtime goal of both of them, she said. The café opened with little fanfare early last summer, welcoming a steady stream of visitors. While business has slowed over the winter, the café served nearly 100 lunches on a frigid Tuesday afternoon this week. The café employs between 10 and 20 people, depending on the season. The Howards recently applied for an entertainment license and are considering offering live music at some point, although no plans are imminent. The café will host workshops over the winter, to introduce people to the products offered at the apothecary. What is a love dog? The name was plucked from a poem by 13th-century poet, Mevlana Rumi, who wrote, "There are love dogs in this world no one knows the names of. Give your life to be one." “Being a love dog means giving yourself so fully to what you do, that you wouldn’t want to do it any other way,” Howard said.
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Dalton Announces New Supplier for Energy Program

DALTON, Mass. – The Town of Dalton has signed a thirty-four month contract with a new supplier, First Point Power.
 
Beginning with the January 2026 meter reads, the Dalton Community Choice Power Supply Program will have a new rate of $0.13042 per kWh. The Program will also continue to offer an optional 100 percent green product, which is derived from National Wind Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), at a rate of $0.13142 per kWh.
 
For Dalton residents and businesses who are enrolled in the Town's Program, the current rate of $0.13849 per kWh will expire with the January 2026 meter reads and the new rate of $0.13042 per kWh will take effect. This represents a decrease of $5 per month on the supply side of the bill given average usage of 600 kWh. Additionally, this new rate is 3 percent lower than Eversource's Residential Basic Service rate of $0.13493 per kWh. Residents can expect to see an
average savings of $3 per month for the month of January 2026. Eversource's Basic Service rates
will change on Feb. 1, 2026.
 
Dalton launched its electricity program in January 2015 in an effort to develop an energy program that would be stable and affordable. From inception through June 2025, the Program has saved residents and small businesses over $1.7 million in electricity costs as compared to Eversource Basic Service.
 
It is important to note that no action is required by current participants. This change will be seen on the February 2026 bills. All accounts currently enrolled in the Program will remain with their current product offering and see the new rate and First Point Power printed under the "Supplier Services" section of their monthly bill.
 
The Dalton Community Choice Power Supply Program has no fees or charges. However, anyone switching from a contract with a third-party supplier may be subject to penalties or early termination fees charged by that supplier. Ratepayers should verify terms before switching.
 
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