Its real name is Housatonic, but village cognoscenti refer to it as Housie. Hence the name Amy Hagerty chose for her new café and market on Pleasant Street in….well, Housie. The Housie Market she opened in June of this year reeks of an artistically rendered industrial vibe, redolent of the village’s history as home to Monument and Rising Paper Mills.
Always a fan of the building, Hagerty jumped at the chance to buy the old Corner Store when it closed in early 2014. Locals were delighted that this village mainstay got a new lease on life. “People came in to say thanks!” she reports, confirming the importance of a place that caters to residents who appreciate the opportunity to get good food close to home.
With the help of contractor Squirrel Chase and local artist Marc Pollack, Hagerty designed the store’s interior as a tribute to the town’s rough-and-tumble past. The stools under the front windows were retrieved from Hagerty’s parents’ basement (“they must be 70 years old”), and much of the furniture was salvaged from Habitat for Humanity.
Alan Watson of Watson Vintage Lighting loaned her some handsome fixtures for the cooking area. Friend Meryl Joseph hung an enormous black and white photo of a bull that dominates a long wall. And check out the steel front counter made from fire doors to the former Barberry Lumber company.
The Housie Market is not Amy Hagerty’s first foray into the restaurant business for it was she who opened Baba Louie’s in Great Barrington in the early 1990’s. “Did Great Barrington need an organic sour dough pizza restaurant back then,” she asks rhetorically. “Probably not, but now it’s an institution with long lines at dinner time throughout the summer…and spring…and fall.
Like so many ideas that appear to be inevitable in retrospect but really just grow out of circumstances, Baba Louie’s came to life because Hagerty’s home furnace blew up. Not able to afford to replace the furnace, she had a brick oven built in the basement to heat the house. Gradually she started cooking on the house-heating oven, and when her pizzas started getting neighborhood attention, she opened Baba Louie’s.
The menu at the Housie Market is peppered with items not found elsewhere, such as poached eggs on polenta. One of the most popular items is “Diamond in the Rough.” This breakfast you can hold in your hand is made with hard-boiled eggs, bacon, onions, chives, and three cheeses — Asiago, Parmesan, and cheddar.
Then there’s the Contactors’ Special, a “great deal” what with two eggs, cheddar, bacon, and her homemade tomato salsa on ciabatta with a cup of coffee for $6.99. Don’t worry about the salsa running out now that tomato season is over — Hagerty has lots of it frozen.
While not made up on the run, the menu is a last-minute affair, preferably with a twist on what to expect. Hagerty likes offering the one thing that nobody else has, such as a peanut butter sandwich with kimchi, or a Caesar salad with kale instead of romaine.
In sync with the growing trend of buying local, Hagerty buys as much as she can from local farms including North Plain Farm, Hosta Hill, Abode, Farm Girl Farm, Equinox, and Riiska Brook Farm. Most of her bread and rolls come from Berkshire Mountain Bakery around the corner, but some pastries come from Tribeca Bakery.
As befitting a café designed for neighbors, children are welcome and even have their own corner with books and games. The school bus lets students off right in front of the Housie Market, which is ideal since Peter Stanton of The Nutrition Center will soon start “food adventures,” a cooking class for children.
At present, the Housie Market is more of a café than a market, but in time there will be a wider selection of goods. But even now Hagerty has a beer and wine pouring license, and a staff that makes you feel welcome. So check it out. The pain au chocolat is worth the calories.
