2008 Woodie Awards
College holds soft opening for 51 Main Street
Lea Calderon-Guthe
Issue date: 5/1/08 Section: News
Though the first full opening of the newly renovated space at 51 Main Street is not until May 15, the open house on April 25 has had students, faculty, staff and town members alike buzzing with excitement over the décor, the mood and the opportunities at the aptly named 51 Main.
51 Main began in the summer of 2007 as the brainchild of Dean of the College Tim Spears and was projected to open in February. The space, formerly the home of the restaurant Eat Good Food, has undergone significant remodeling to better suit its new function as a bar and lounge, and it is this remodeling that has delayed its opening. Micah Gurard-Levin '07.5, a graduate involved with the project from the beginning, said that the delays were necessary to properly present the space.
"It was more about getting things right so that when it did open it sent the right message to people who came in," Gurard-Levin said. "They could understand exactly what the space had to offer, whereas if we tried to get it open as soon as possible, if you send the wrong message it's hard to get people to come back."
Both Spears and Gurard-Levin agreed that the wait was worth it for 51 Main to have turned out the way it did. The place is now more handicap-accessible with a bathroom in the first floor, and a large platform has been removed from the front of the space to open up the floor. A professional designer from New Jersey was called in to outfit the space with furniture to fit the idea of an urban establishment while maintaining ties to the Middlebury community, and since then bistro tables, bar stools, Eames lounge chairs and a sofa, among other things, have been ordered to complement the softly lit brick walls, dark wood floors and heavy red drapes.
A large tavern table is also currently under construction by the College's facilities staff using wood milled from a century-old spruce that fell near the College. Dean of Library and Information Services Barbara Doyle-Wilch hoped the upscale furniture and décor would have the effect of creating a worldly escape from the smallness of small-town Vermont.
51 Main began in the summer of 2007 as the brainchild of Dean of the College Tim Spears and was projected to open in February. The space, formerly the home of the restaurant Eat Good Food, has undergone significant remodeling to better suit its new function as a bar and lounge, and it is this remodeling that has delayed its opening. Micah Gurard-Levin '07.5, a graduate involved with the project from the beginning, said that the delays were necessary to properly present the space.
"It was more about getting things right so that when it did open it sent the right message to people who came in," Gurard-Levin said. "They could understand exactly what the space had to offer, whereas if we tried to get it open as soon as possible, if you send the wrong message it's hard to get people to come back."
Both Spears and Gurard-Levin agreed that the wait was worth it for 51 Main to have turned out the way it did. The place is now more handicap-accessible with a bathroom in the first floor, and a large platform has been removed from the front of the space to open up the floor. A professional designer from New Jersey was called in to outfit the space with furniture to fit the idea of an urban establishment while maintaining ties to the Middlebury community, and since then bistro tables, bar stools, Eames lounge chairs and a sofa, among other things, have been ordered to complement the softly lit brick walls, dark wood floors and heavy red drapes.
A large tavern table is also currently under construction by the College's facilities staff using wood milled from a century-old spruce that fell near the College. Dean of Library and Information Services Barbara Doyle-Wilch hoped the upscale furniture and décor would have the effect of creating a worldly escape from the smallness of small-town Vermont.
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