Timbers closing for a month??

[bullwheel12]

So what's the reason for Timbers closing for a month...what about the open year round, three meals a day advertisements???

[thinksnow]

Please, can you tell everyone the details as you know them?

[bullwheel12]

MY BAD....i guess I didn't get the details...Timbers is only closing for a couple weeks for spring cleaning, and a few functions...sorry. (Does Egans ever close for a couple weeks though?)

[Tin Woodsman]

MY BAD....i guess I didn't get the details...Timbers is only closing for a couple weeks for spring cleaning, and a few functions...sorry. (Does Egans ever close for a couple weeks though?)

Apples and oranges. Egan's is at the busiest crosroads in the Valley and has been operating in some guise or location for many years. Timbers was created de novo over the summer and never really had the chance to get up to spped before opening day. I think it's time to take a well-deserved break, take stock of the areas of improvement, and re-open in a few weeks with a renewed vigor, new chef, and new plan for the future. Unless you were REALLY counting on an important dinner reservation within the next few weeks, I don't see it as a big deal. Sure, I hope this doesn't become an annual occurence, but it is the shoulder season right now anyway.

[bullwheel12]

i guess i just feel like if you are going to advertise being open year round, you should be.

[Tin Woodsman]

i guess i just feel like if you are going to advertise being open year round, you should be.

Well then wehre do you draw the line? If a place is closed for X-Mas or New Years Day, can they no longer say they are open year round? Where's your cut-off? Regardless, my sense is that this os a one-time thing to take a breath after the first, hectic season of operation. Also, if you read between the lines, it seems that this interlude will also allow the new chef to come in and spend the necessary time to mold things into the fashion he or she desires. If the price to pay for a more smoothly run ship is three weeks of closure during the mud season, so be it.

[bullwheel12]

Whatever. Maybe a three week rest will be good for a restaurant with inconsistent food, service, and chef.

[Yard Sale]

I don't see what the big deal is?

[Lostone]

I had heard about this the other day, and thought nothing of it.

I thought a lot of businesses took a break after the rush of the ski season is over.

[freeheel_skier]

late mud season? No?

[shadyjay]

A lot of restaurants take some time off, everywhere, during slow seasons. Heck, I stopped at a gas station down by Killington last week and they're closing for 2 weeks for vacation, and I'm sure they're considered "year-round".


YAHOOO! Post 100! :D

[win]

Let me clarify. Year around does not mean ever day every week. It means that we will operate during the vast majority of the year. The Pitcher Inn always closes in Mud and Stick season for two reasons. One is to do a thorough cleaning and two is to give the staff vacation time. We are closing Timbers for a couple of weeks for three reasons. First, it needs cleaning, there were puch list items from the hard opening and normal repairs after a busy winter season. Second, this is a slow time of year with very little to draw people up to the mountain until the summer activities begin in June. Third, we will be bringing in our new Manager and Executive chef, and this gives him the time to prepare for a reopening in a couple of weeks. As far as the summer schedule goes, we will be serving breakfast and dinner definitely at Timbers, but we are looking at whether is makes more sense operating the CR Pub and outdoor grill or Timbers for lunch on a daily basis given the activities that we are planning on the Mountain this summer.

[Tin Woodsman]

Oh the humanity! Three weeks of no Timbers!!!

Thanks for clearing things up, Win. One vote here for the patio/grill option.

[Yard Sale]

My vote (If I were to have a vote) is also for the CR Pub and outdoor patio for lunch.

[HowieT2]

Let me clarify. Year around does not mean ever day every week. It means that we will operate during the vast majority of the year. The Pitcher Inn always closes in Mud and Stick season for two reasons. One is to do a thorough cleaning and two is to give the staff vacation time. We are closing Timbers for a couple of weeks for three reasons. First, it needs cleaning, there were puch list items from the hard opening and normal repairs after a busy winter season. Second, this is a slow time of year with very little to draw people up to the mountain until the summer activities begin in June. Third, we will be bringing in our new Manager and Executive chef, and this gives him the time to prepare for a reopening in a couple of weeks. As far as the summer schedule goes, we will be serving breakfast and dinner definitely at Timbers, but we are looking at whether is makes more sense operating the CR Pub and outdoor grill or Timbers for lunch on a daily basis given the activities that we are planning on the Mountain this summer.


IMHO-go with the CR and outdoor grill. I for one, can't resist the smell of grilled burgers (and some LTs) after biking.
Are you planning any changes to the configuration of Timbers? Every time I was in there I thought there was a lot of wasted space in the center. Perhaps some bar height tables?

[BushMogulMaster]

Perhaps some bar height tables?

Perhaps a baby grand? :D

[007]

Perhaps some bar height tables?

Perhaps a baby grand? :D

Now you're talkin.........style and class for the winter evenings!

Maybe a local Progressive Jazz Trio from Burlington on Saturday nights.

[Tin Woodsman]

A floor that gives you better than 50/50 odds of not breaking your neck while walking in ski boots would be a nice start.

[BushMogulMaster]

Perhaps some bar height tables?

Perhaps a baby grand? :D

Now you're talkin.........style and class for the winter evenings!

Maybe a local Progressive Jazz Trio from Burlington on Saturday nights.

The Bruce Sklar Trio. It doesn't get any better than that. Bruce is actually very interested in doing a Timbers gig. He's not from Burlington (he's a Moretown resident), but he's the best there is.

[HowieT2]

A floor that gives you better than 50/50 odds of not breaking your neck while walking in ski boots would be a nice start.

Isn't that the dance floor for "events"

[win]

Thanks for the feedback. I was hoping for some. We are going to look at the decorations and furniture layout as well this summer.

Hot here in Palm Springs with all the ski gurus!

[Treeskier]

I heard that part of the spring cleaning was to include a redesign of the kitchen. A second ergress and a way to dispose of trash other then fhe front door. As for the new cook I heard it is one of the original owner of Egans who has been most recently teaching at the local cullinary school. Are these rumers founded?

What about a pub-ish menu and less formal tables tucked into a corner of the Timbers that could also be used for less formal breakfast and lunches. Will need to be able to see the sports on the TV. (serve a kids menu also)

I like to piano thought.

[Lostone]

Quite the variety between a progressive jazz quartet to sports on TV. :shock: Don't see why they can't please everyone. :roll: :wink:



Hot here in Palm Springs with all the ski gurus!

Some of that global warming we've been hearing about, or just a local hot air event? :lol:

[HowieT2]

I heard that part of the spring cleaning was to include a redesign of the kitchen. A second ergress and a way to dispose of trash other then fhe front door. As for the new cook I heard it is one of the original owner of Egans who has been most recently teaching at the local cullinary school. Are these rumers founded?

What about a pub-ish menu and less formal tables tucked into a corner of the Timbers that could also be used for less formal breakfast and lunches. Will need to be able to see the sports on the TV. (serve a kids menu also)

I like to piano thought.

They had a kids menu already.

[Strat]

Let me just mention that Egan's almost never closes... Christmas, Easter, a few other choice days... haha, not to say that there's anything wrong with Timbers, the two restaurants aren't analogous whatsoever...

[win]

Local Favorites Return to Sugarbush
***

Two Long-time Valley Residents Set to Run Sugarbush Food and Beverage





Warren, VT (May 9, 2007)- Gerry Nooney and Chris Clements, both long-time Valley residents, will be bringing their expertise and love of food to the Sugarbush Hospitality team. Starting next month, Clements will oversee all of the resort’s Food and Beverage business while Nooney will assume the position of General Manager and Executive Chef for Timbers. Both men have decades of experience in the food and beverage world.



Gerry Nooney will accept the toque at Timbers from outgoing chef Sam Palmisano. Palmisano, who put in countless hours and played a key role in authoring Timbers’ menu during the latter portion of the season, will be leaving Sugarbush to open his own restaurant, Pulcinella’s, in South Burlington.



“Sam stepped up when we needed him this winter and we wish him great success in his new business,” said Sugarbush President Win Smith.



Nooney, a 21-year Valley resident, has a long history in the restaurant business. In the late 80s he was the chef at the Tucker Hill Lodge. He then went to work in the Sugarbush Inn’s Onion Patch, a restaurant he transformed into the Grill Down Under. It was his experience with the Grill Down Under that gave him the motivation to open his own place. In 1993 he opened John Egan’s Big World Pub, a restaurant that has become a Valley institution.



“Gerry was the driving force behind the Big World’s (Pub) immediate success,” remarked John Egan. “He brings a fun and infectious energy that spills out of the kitchen and into the dining area. Plus, I know his love of sport and healthy living will translate into the next evolution of Timbers’ menu.”



Throughout his career, Nooney has worked with the New England Culinary Institute as both an instructor in fine dining and as mentor to the school’s students. It’s an experience he believes to be invaluable.



“You need a deep understanding of food to truly bring out its flavor,” remarked the 46-year old. “When you have that, you create dishes that people will come back again and again to enjoy.”



Nooney is completing teaching at NECI and will start work at Timbers in June.



Taking the helm as Food and Beverage Director, Chris Clements began his hospitality career with ARA Leisure Services, the company that owned Sugarbush in the early 80s. While with ARA, Clements was responsible for the food and beverage operations for Sugarbush, as well as two ARA resorts in Pennsylvania. He accepted a job with Marriott Management Services in 1988 and was charged with retooling and refining the hospitality and catering operations of such large-scale outfits as Ohio State University’s Concession division, University Of Michigan Athletics and the Stratton Mountain Ski Resort. He landed back at Sugarbush in 1994 as the Food Service Director, responsible for all on-mountain food service and golf course offerings. In 1997 he opened Clifford’s Catering and Bongiorno’s Restaurant in Fayston. Most recently, Clements served as Sodexho’s General Manager for the National Aquarium in Baltimore.



“We are really pleased that Chris and Gerry will be joining our team,” continued Smith. “To get professionals of their expertise and wealth of knowledge as well as their love of the Valley and knowledge of Sugarbush is key to the continuing improvement of the visitor experience at the resort and the success of the Food and Beverage unit.”