Great Barrington — Can the marketplace bear another establishment for eating and drinking in downtown Great Barrington? Well, the chefs at the actual Marketplace Kitchen, the cafe and catering powerhouse in Berkshire County, sure think so.
The Marketplace has three locations: off Route 7 in Sheffield; North Street in Pittsfield; and Stockbridge Road in Great Barrington. Now the chefs and owners have opened a new place in the space formerly occupied by the Oasis juice bar (and before that, Froyo frozen yogurt) between GB Eats and Gorham & Norton on the west side of Main Street.
Miller’s Pub, located in the Barrington House building, officially opened at the end of September after several months of renovations to the storefront. The unique space is the brainchild of four men: Marketplace owners Kevin Schmitz, David Renner and Douglas Luf, along with Marketplace chef Chris Brooks. The four are now the proud owners of the new pub in Great Barrington.
“It’s sort of a blend of an American, English and Irish pub,” Brooks said in an interview in the pub last week.
“We’re not like a restaurant, but we do snacks and light fare,” Brooks continued. “People can come here before the theater or before the cinema and have a beer or a glass of wine and have a snack.”
The name of the place is no accident. The Barrington House block was the site of the historic Hotel Miller, which, in the 1950s, became the Hotel Barrington House. The building is now a mix of retail, offices and apartments. The new sign on the front of the Miller’s Pub even mimics the font of the original sign that’s visible from behind the building.
Brooks is from London, while Schmitz, Renner and Luf are American. This, Brooks said with a chuckle, has prompted him to brand the pub’s owners as “three Yanks and a Limey.”
“We wanted to create a place for people to come and, you know, see a very good mix of people,” Brooks said.
“We have a very good mix here: old, young, various backgrounds, coming from various parts of the country or even the world,” added bartender Will Churchill.
Indeed, if you closed your eyes before entering and reopened them, you’d think you were in an English or Irish pub. There are no fewer than 12 taps containing various beers and ales including Smithwicks and Guinness. Wine by the glass starts at $7, with tap beer starting at $4.50 for a 16-ounce pint of Pabst Blue Ribbon. There is also a selection of bottled beers and soft drinks.
The current brews are displayed on a digital screen behind the hardwood bar, which was constructed inside the future pub by Schmitz and a friend. The tables were built from slabs and reclaimed wood. There is also a selection of fine bourbon, Irish and rye whiskeys and Scotch whiskys.
Brooks said he sources his beverages locally wherever possible. A nice bottle of Berkshire Mountain Distillers bourbon was visible behind the bar, for example. But he is limited because, according to state law, Brooks must go through a distributor or licensed wholesaler to purchase alcohol. He couldn’t, for example, pick up the phone, call local companies like Berkshire Mountain Distillers or Litchfield Distillery in Litchfield, or the Great Falls Brewing Company in Canaan, Connecticut, and ask for delivery.
The decor is eclectic but has a flavor of its own. There are numerous signs for various beers, some of which are no doubt from bygone eras. Video screens play mostly soccer but there is certainly room for other sports as well. Today’s game featured Tottenham vs. Manchester United in a Premier League showdown.
“We have the TVs, which are most of the time silent, unless there’s a really big game on,” Brooks said. “This is a place where you can have a conversation, so it’s not really too loud.”
The size is on the intimate side. The Miller’s Pub seats no more than 49 and is restricted by its liquor license from getting any larger. But that’s precisely the way Brooks and his partners like it. In addition to the main bar and a window bar are easy chairs, a sofa, and board games for children (yes, they are welcome).
The track lighting is inviting and, from a journalist’s viewpoint, makes for a terrific photographic environment. Other items of note include, at the end of the bar, a red-light beacon that at one time sat on top of the Brooklyn Bridge. There is a large picture frame filled with English beer towels. And there is a cider press in the front window.
“It was my friend’s grandfather’s,” Brooks said. “It’s going to come out every year to be used.”
The food, a mix of starters and nibbles, is brought in fresh from the Marketplace and undergoes second-stage preparation in the pub’s finishing kitchen. Last week, the menu included a banger sausage roll with mustard, meatball sliders, magic pork buns, baby bourbon dogs and various flatbreads — all for under $10. Customers order the food from the bar and it is served to them wherever they are sitting.
“It’s all fresh,” Brooks explained. “We use High Lawn Farm cream and milk and we’ve got all good-quality products.”
Richard Stanley, a downtown businessman who owns the Barrington House and the Triplex Cinema, is the pub’s landlord. He had been trying to rent the space for several months when Brooks and his colleagues approached him.
“The world of craft beer has exploded over the last 10 to 15 years,” Stanley said. “I wish them well. They are committed.”
The pub’s hours are from 4 to 10:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, Fridays from 3 to 11 p.m., Saturdays from noon to 11 p.m., and Sundays from noon to 9:30 p.m. The pub is closed Mondays but Brooks says that could change in the spring.
Brooks says he hopes to attract everything from local working people to newcomers to part-time residents looking for a change of pace.
“We’re trying to make it as comfortable as possible here and attract a good mix of customers.”
