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The Korean Garden opened last month on Ashland Street in North Adams.
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The restaurant, which has operated as an Italian eatery and several variations of Mexican/Southwestern, seats 100.

New Korean Restaurant Opens in North Adams

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A pair of veteran restaurateurs are offering traditional Korean and Japanese cuisine and sushi.

The Korean Garden at 139 Ashland St. opened more than a week ago in the former Red Sauce location.

After living in North Adams for eight years, Yong and Jenny Pae thought it was time to open up their own eatery.

"We know a lot of people like Korean food and good sushi so we thought a long time ago that we wanted open up here," Jenny Pae said.

The Paes are not new to the restaurant scene and have worked with Boston restaurateur Jae Chung, who grew up in Clarksburg. They ran their own small Korean take-out business in Boston for a decade about 15 years ago.

Pae said the menu has many traditional favorites such as bulgogi, kimchi, and hot stone bi bim bab. There are aso various sushi and maki specials, including the North Adams Maki and the Red Sox Roll.

"It's different," Pae said. "A lot of people say North Adams only has a Burger king and Chinese food and we need something new and something fresh. We try to give the best service and the best food."

She said they have been busy since opening a week ago Saturday.

"Business has been busy a lot of people come in late," Pae said. "I think maybe we need a couple weeks to really get a lot of people in here all the time."

She said the restaurant seems to be a hot spot for college students with its close proximity to Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. She added that a lot of Williams College students stop in, too.

The building has been mostly empty since Red Sauce Ristorante abruptly closed in 2012. More recently there were a short-lived Italian and a Southwestern restaurant.

The Korean Garden is open every day except Monday for lunch and dinner. During the week the hours are 11 to 9:30 and on the weekends, 11 to 10.


Tags: new business,   opening,   restaurants,   

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RFP Ready for North County High School Study

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The working group for the Northern Berkshire Educational Collaborative last week approved a request for proposals to study secondary education regional models.
 
The members on Tuesday fine-tuned the RFP and set a date of Tuesday, Jan. 20, at 4 p.m. to submit bids. The bids must be paper documents and will be accepted at the Northern Berkshire School Union offices on Union Street.
 
Some members had penned in the first week of January but Timothy Callahan, superintendent for the North Adams schools, thought that wasn't enough time, especially over the holidays.
 
"I think that's too short of a window if you really want bids," he said. "This is a pretty substantial topic."
 
That topic is to look at the high school education models in North County and make recommendations to a collaboration between Hoosac Valley Regional and Mount Greylock Regional School Districts, the North Adams Public Schools and the town school districts making up the Northern Berkshire School Union. 
 
The study is being driven by rising costs and dropping enrollment among the three high schools. NBSU's elementary schools go up to Grade 6 or 8 and tuition their students into the local high schools. 
 
The feasibility study of a possible consolidation or collaboration in Grades 7 through 12 is being funded through a $100,000 earmark from the Fair Share Act and is expected to look at academics, faculty, transportation, legal and governance issues, and finances, among other areas. 
 
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