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New Owners of Adams Ale House Looking to Reopen Pub

ADAMS, Mass. — Partners Matthew Farrar and David Mendelsohn are looking to restore the Adams Ale House at 8-10 East Hoosac St.

The pub was last open in 2018 and there were hopes of finding a potential buyer but none came through and the building hasn't been open since.

Mendelsohn, who owns Brothers Restoration Services, was asked to come and restore the building for the market last year and decided to buy it. The purchase from Zing Financial LLC closed on Sept. 27 for $194,000.

Farrar, who is an ordained minister, wanted to do something in his retirement and was looking to buy another restaurant building but was pointed toward Mendelsohn and decided to become partners on the Adams Ale House project.

Their work is only just started. The two are just cleaning up the space are hoping to run some fundraisers to help them reopen. 

"We want to bring it back to community stuff. That's why we're going to do the fundraisers and create the menu and have people come in and try them, and then they can all say, 'Oh, well, they used to have this' and we will say OK. Well, if we know how to make that, if not, we'll figure it out. So our whole plan is working community on everything."

The two want to open as a steakhouse with a goal to work with local farmers. They plan to be open by capacity only a couple days a week for dinner to give the Adams community a different place to eat.

"During peak hours, Friday night, Saturday night, Sunday night, service steaks, when everyone's looking to go get some dinner with the family, and you have to drive to Dalton, and you have to drive to Williamstown or Pittsfield," Mendelsohn said.

The closures of the Firehouse Cafe and Haflinger Haus have left a gap in evening dining choices in Adams.

The two still need some permits. Once they open the restaurant portion, they would like to bring back the four-lane candlepin alley on the first floor and bring in a pool league. They're also looking to open up the second level for concerts and bring back the church that used to be there.

The building had been owned and operated by the Polish Roman Catholic Society of St. Stanislaus Kostka until it closed in 2009 because of finances. The hall was built in 1912 at a cost of $15,000.

It was sold in 2012 and opened as the Adams Ale House in a year later; it closed in 2017 but reopened under new management for a few months the following year.

"We want to revibe the vibe so that the community knows you know what yeah it's the Old Ale House," Farrar said.

They are looking for volunteers to help come and clean up the space. Contact Farrar for more information at 207-693-2927.

Hoosac Valley Begins School Year With 'New' Assistant Superintendent

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
05:30PM / Thursday, September 04, 2025

New School Committee member Tracey Tierney speaks with Robert Tetlow. Tierney was voted in last week and will be sworn in to participate in the September meeting. 

CHESHIRE, Mass. — Hoosac Valley Regional School District started the school year with nearly two dozen new staff and faculty changes, a new School Committee member and an assistant superintendent. 

 

Tracey Tierney was voted in as the third representative of the town of Cheshire on the committee. That seat has been open since Michael Henault stepped down earlier this year and no one stepped forward to run in the town election. 

 

Tierney is the principal of Emma Miller Elementary School in Savoy and has been a resident of Cheshire for 20 years. All four of her children have graduated from Hoosac Valley High. 

 

"I have some time and look forward to serving the community in this way," she said, adding she is interested in the regional study the district is participating in and would like to see the district better communicate on what is happening in the schools and how and why decisions are being made.  "Education, I think, is the hallmark of any community."

 

Kristen Palatt has been the director of curriculum, instruction and professional development for the past five years. Last week, the School Committee voted to change her title to assistant superintendent.

 

Superintendent Aaron Dean said he was recommending Palatt for the title because she deserves it for all the work that she has done and is doing.

 

"It really is more in line with the work that she's doing, because she she's supervising the administrators. She's supervising the teachers and really making sure everybody has what they need, and writing grants and making decisions on the grants," he said. "And I think that's important for her personally — this will open up professional development opportunities through my organization, because currently as a director, there's no organization for curriculum directors."