There's an old saying that competition brings out the best of the competitors, so homage must be paid to Jonathan Levine. Over the past two decades, I have come to know Jonathan quite well, and have immense respect for his contributions to Pittsfield. Truth be known, Jonathan would cover things that The Eagle did not. This pertained to whether a subject was to be covered at all, or if covered, the detail to give it.
One local elected official, who I will keep anonymous but might point out that they went from the Pittsfield City Council to higher office, said that reading Jonathan's account of a Pittsfield City Council meeting in the Pittsfield Gazette was just like reading a transcript. This was said with the highest praise — it was truly objective journalism that these days is lacking. The tone and tenor of the article was set by those that attended the meeting, with salient quotes from all, and not from the personal predilections of the journalist.
I am not sure journalists today have an understanding just how opinionated their so-called "objective" news pieces really are. Jonathan was old school. He was not afraid to voice his opinion, but it was in well-defined opinion areas of the Pittsfield Gazette. Based upon innumerable conversations I had with him over the years, he was more conservative than the area (a fact not known to the general public), yet this did not show in his journalism. And it barely showed in his opinion pieces. Don't get me wrong, I know of a former mayor who could not stand his journalism. But this had more to do with specific criticisms of behavior while in office, rather than advancing a conservative or liberal agenda. Jonathan did have an uncanny ability to find legitimate faults in local government and was not afraid to say so.
Eagle articles, by choice and arguably necessity, were far less detailed, did not cover most City Council agenda items, and usually did not cover subcommittee meetings unless there was some hot topic. Nor does iBerkshires or local radio fill this void. Levin's absence constitutes a real "void," where that term is thrown around too often in a cliché manner after someone's death. What Jonathan did really will not be replicated. Quite literally, we will be less informed because of it. This is not to bash The Berkshire Eagle or iBerkshires or local radio, it is just that The Eagle covers all of Berkshire County, and a reader in Adams wants to hear about Adams, not the details of the Pittsfield Parks Commission.
While my columns have been published in numerous newspapers around the country, and too many to count have been published in The Eagle, I often turned to the Pittsfield Gazette to publish columns that were more in depth, or ruffled feathers The Eagle did not want to ruffle. From my numerous conversations I had with Jonathan, there was one criterion for which he did not waiver: it had to be about Pittsfield. This is not a given: just recently I read a "viewpoint" column in the Berkshire Edge, an internet newspaper (if that be the proper name) focusing on Great Barrington, which allowed a columnist to run a column on the New York gubernatorial race. Jonathan would never have allowed that stuff to fly and understood it was his mission to deliver news about Pittsfield that you couldn't get elsewhere.
A long time ago, I gave the former editor of the Eagle a Wall Street Journal column on one of the most successful local newspapers in the country. I am pretty sure he filed it in the circular file. The Wall Street Journal, when interviewing this newspaper, found that the secret to its success was the repeated mentioning of local names in a positive manner. Years ago, things such as my goal in inter-elementary school floor hockey made it to the Eagle. Eventually, this went away, and I believe to the detriment of this paper. But Jonathan never forgot that. He covered local high school plays. His editions with prom photos quickly sold old. Local, local, local. Names, names, names. And save for those holding public offices, these names were always in a positive light and made you want to pick up the newspaper.
When I was a young lad, I had an immensely powerful swing of the baseball bat. I had one major setback: I could never connect that powerful swing to the pitched baseball. Much of the spring of my youth was spent playing in a league for kids that did not make Little League — Minor League. Minor League baseball was around for over 50 years in Pittsfield, constituting countless memories for Pittsfield's men and some women. The Pittsfield Gazette had a long and detailed account of that league when it came to an end, along with photos of the past, which brought a tear to my eye. The Eagle did not cover the story. That was the difference Jonathan Levine brought.
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Pittsfield 2024 Business Wrap-Up: New Life and Closures
By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
Mayor Peter Marchetti gets ice cream cones from the reopened King Cone on Fenn Street.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — In 2024, the city's business landscape saw some shakeups, with restaurant openings and closures and some new ventures.
King Kone, a soft-serve staple, was purchased by the nonprofit Roots & Dreams and Mustard Seeds to be run as a workers' co-op. At the end of the 2023 season, the Barbarotta family closed the shop's order and pickup windows for the last time as they prepared to sell.
The ice cream shop had a soft opening in August, offering frozen treats on a "pay what you will" basis while employees perfected the craft.
In 2023, Roots and Dreams was allocated $179,000 to purchase the soft-serve ice cream shop at 133 Fenn St. and convert it into a worker cooperative. It owns a series of storefronts ranging from 117 to 129 Fenn St.
This model provides workers with a flat wage, revenue shares, and the opportunity to buy into the business.
There were moving trucks outside the location instead of preparations for the lunch rush. It was first reported by PCTV on its Facebook page and a call to the restaurant was answered by an employee who said the eatery had no plans to reopen.
The former Crossroads Cafe saw new life in 2024 as Bei Tempi, which is Italian for "good times." Owners Elizabeth and Richard Zucco wanted to bring back food while preserving the establishment's long-held popularity for live music.
In 2023, the Licensing Board approved a change of stock interest for Crossroads Cafe and an application from Zuke's Soups and Variety LLC, doing business as Bei Tempi, for the transfer of license, pledge of inventory, and pledge of license from C.T. Colvin Inc. doing business as Crossroads Cafe.
Bei Tempi was granted an entertainment license in June.
North Street saw a new breakfast and lunch spot when Marie's North Street Eatery and Gallery opened in the former Maria's European Delights.
Maria's European Delights closed at the end of 2022 after 15 years in business. Maria Sekowski's late husband Krzysztof "Kris" opened the store in Great Barrington in 2007, and, in 2013, it was moved to Pittsfield. The Eastern European deli was known for the smell of homemade soup, stuffed cabbage, kielbasa, and impromptu musical numbers.
New owner Neil Davis, a veteran entrepreneur, has kept an office in the historic Shipton building for about 10 years and Marie was a formal administrative assistant before they went into business together. He also owns a shredding business in California and has other startup ventures.
When Maria's closed, he saw an opportunity in the space and a way to connect with the community and purchased the business in February of 2023.
The space had been formerly occupied by Berkshire Palate, a farm-to-table eatery, which opened its second location in the Hotel on North in 2021. Around the same time, its owners opened 413 Bistro in the previously shuttered restaurant attached to the Holiday Inn on Main Street in North Adams.
Unfortunately, not all city eateries made it to 2025.
Attorney Bill Martin said there is a "really bad relationship" with the holder of The A's liquor license — with owners struggling to even get in contact. A few years ago, the former tenants went out of business and now, he said the GEAA is facing a worse situation with the latest tenants.
He said there are unpaid vendors, amounting to "tens of thousands of dollars worth of obligations that we're probably going to have to clear in connection with an application" for a liquor license transfer.
According to The A's Facebook, the restaurant appears to have been closed since late summer.
Pittsfield also saw a new plant shop and liquor store/Latin market.
Owners Emilee Yawn and Bonnie Marks opened the original location on historic Eagle Street in North Adams in 2020. Within two years, the shop outgrew the Eagle Street storefront and moved to a larger location on Main Street.
They offer classes and workshops, residential and commercial plant care, and sell various plants and related merchandise. They also offer personal and cleaning products that are green, sustainable, and refillable.
It features authentic Latin food from several countries, including Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru.?
The owner Frank Goncalves would drive by the building every day and see the rough condition it was in. He made it into an opportunity to make the area look better and more welcoming.
Prior to the opening of the market, the Hispanic, South American, and Central American communities had to drive an hour or longer to get authentic Latin food, Goncalves said.
Independent Connections officially unveiled its Massachusetts branch on Fenn Street in March with a ribbon cutting. The IT solutions company's specializations include consulting, cloud computing, and cybersecurity.
"We're focused on serving local businesses with state-of-the-art technology while providing superior customer service," CEO Christa Proper said. "And Indy's presence in Pittsfield will help keep jobs here, and continue to attract talent to this area."
The building, formerly occupied by Alliance Appliance for more than 40 years, underwent a makeover after it was purchased by the company last year. Proper explained that it was an "employee collaboration," with staff members assisting in ripping out carpet, cutting bushes, cleaning windows, and painting.
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren meets with local entrepreneurs Destiny Saunders, Jocelyn Guelce, Desean Scales and Ludwig Jean-Louis, who all received support through the Berkshire Black Economic Council.
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren was in the city in July to talk small business opportunities and met with four local entrepreneurs who have received assistance, advice and promotion through the council's programs.
The Berkshire Black Economic Council's work to support and attract new small businesses to the gateway city got boost with $455,000 secured by Warren in 2023's appropriations package.
"I'm here to celebrate partnership because I really do believe that we have the pieces right, every part of it then starts to work better," Warren said. "And of course, I'm also here to celebrate being able to put nearly half a million dollars into funding this effort, and the work that is being done here to make sure that small businesses, that Black-owned small businesses, are not at a competitive disadvantage."
Jonathan Butler was recognized for a decade of leadership at 1Berkshire's annual meeting, held at Barrington Stage.
When Butler joined the organization in 2014, he was executive director of the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce. He then navigated the 2016 merging of the chamber, Berkshire Economic Development Corp., Berkshire Business Bureau, and Berkshire Creative into the 1Berkshire that is known today.
While serving the entire county, 1Berkshire has had its strongest impact in Pittsfield, where it is headquartered. The organization has sold its property at 66 Allen St. after 12 years and will move to the second floor of Crawford Square on North Street.
A few businesses with locations in Pittsfield announced closures in 2024.
Designer and entrepreneur Annie Selke started with a bedding and sleep items business in 1994 as Pine Cone Hill. The largely wholesale home decor operation added Potluck Studios dinnerware in 2002 and Dash & Albert Rugs in 2003.
She invested nearly $4 million into the former Interprint mill on Peck's Road that dates to the 1860s and moved in 2007. The company was purchased by Rugs USA in 2023.
In the fall, signs appeared on Staples' front window in Berkshire Crossing indicating that it would close on Dec. 13. Then Big Lots announced in December that it would liquidate its assets after a purchase agreement with a competitor fell through.
"We all have worked extremely hard and have taken every step to complete a going concern sale," Bruce Thorn, Big Lots' president and CEO, said in the announcement.
"While we remain hopeful that we can close an alternative going concern transaction, in order to protect the value of the Big Lots estate, we have made the difficult decision to begin the GOB process."
The closeout retailer moved into the former Price Rite Marketplace on Dalton Avenue in 2021. The grocery had been in what was originally the Big N for 14 years before closing eight months after a million-dollar remodel. Big Lots had previously been in the Allendale Shopping Center.
Big Lots filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September. It operated nearly 1,400 stores nationwide but began closing more than 300 by August with plans for another 250 by January. The Pittsfield location had not been among the early closures.
Advanced Auto Parts, with three locations in the Berkshires, is also closing 500 stores and 200 independently owned locations by about June. The North Adams store has had a "going out of business" for weeks and one of the Pittsfield stores is also slated for closure.
The Public Safety Advisory Committee has ranked four properties to consider during its feasibility study on locations for a new police station. Three have existing structures and one is a vacant lot. click for more
During the event, Pittsfield Bureau Chief Brittany Polito will ask the four Select Board candidates questions curated from voter submissions.
click for more
Officials approved a third-party investigation on alleged staff misconduct at Pittsfield High School that's expected to wrap up by March. click for more
