Thu 29 Mar 2007
Ananda Burra ‘07 writes in with sad news.
I thought you (and many other ephs) would be interested to know that as of this morning the Purple Pub, Subway and the new coffee shop, the perfect blend, were gutted by fire. The fire apparently started due to an electrical mishap in the Perfect Blend, which has been closed for renovations over Spring Break. Luckily the fire happened around 5am and no one was hurt.
Williamstown without the Purple Pub?! The mind reels. Mike Hackett ‘04 notes this iBerkshires story.
This morning’s pre-dawn Spring Street fire is under investigation and has closed a trio of popular businesses indefinitely.
Town Fire Chief Craig Pedercini said that no cause has yet been determined for the fire that is believed to have started in a basement beneath the Perfect Blend coffee shop. The building, which also houses a Subway sandwich shop and the Purple Pub on Bank Street, is owned by Paresky family and is managed by Mark Paresky.
Is this the son of David Paresky ‘60? I vaguely recall that the Paresky family is from Vermont, so perhaps the connection is a more distant one.
Purple Pub owner Mary Michel and pub manager Liz Chesbro were at the scene during the mid-morning.
“Devastating”
“This is devastating, it’s a business owner’s worst nightmare,” said Michel, who has operated the pub from the same location for 34 years.
“I have no idea when we can reopen.”
The pub interior does not appear to be severely damaged, she noted.
Michel said that she was notified of the fire by an employee who’d been contacted by her father about the fire.Firefighters and police would not be expected to notify business owners of the blaze, Michel said and added “They were doing what they should be doing; fighting the fire.”
Michel said that pub employees ceased daily operations at about 12:30 a.m. and noticed nothing out of the ordinary at that time. Ross should be credited for his police investigation into the smell of smoke some three hours later, she said.
“He’s the one that saved the building,” Michel said.
Kudos to Officer Ross.
March 29th, 2007 at 6:48 pm
Well, it’s that time of the decade. Time for a building-gutting fire on Spring Street.
March 29th, 2007 at 6:48 pm
scott wolf strikes again!
March 29th, 2007 at 6:49 pm
mine is funnier!
March 29th, 2007 at 7:51 pm
Oh no. I never had any emotioal attachment to the purple pub, but I have left hundreds of dollars in that Spring Street subvay. It was by far the friendliest Subway restourant I have ever been to. Hopefully, they are going to restore the store.
March 29th, 2007 at 8:30 pm
Is it officer Ross, or is Ross perhaps, his first name?
March 29th, 2007 at 8:38 pm
Hey anon- If you have more memories at subway than you do at the pub…. well… man. That place used to be the Pizza House… back when Colonial Pizza and the Pizza house were still on Spring St, and the pub was… still the place to gather.
Please… drink more, and eat less cold cuts!
March 29th, 2007 at 10:11 pm
“Is it officer Ross, or is Ross perhaps, his first name?”
The iBerkshires stories say that Officer Joe Ross noticed the smoke and discovered the fire.
March 30th, 2007 at 1:23 am
Agreed, Anonymous. Friendliest and best-run Subway I’ve ever encountered.
March 30th, 2007 at 9:05 am
Colonial Pizza and the Pizza house on spring st, different place in time. Those two pizza houses were a huge draw for townies. Just ask Contantine.
Spring St was 2 way, Arts gas station is where the Coffee shop/ shop center is now at the bottom of the st, the gym had not been updated so there was a large green lawn where the small park next to papa charlies now is. Teens hung out on that lawn, waiting for friends to cruise and party with.
Spring St, being a 2 way st, was a place where muscle cars, vans and road bikes cruised. Any given night, you could find dozens of teenagers hanging out partying or looking for the nearest party. A big spot to pass the word. Fights, rivalries between towns, the good old days indeed.
March 30th, 2007 at 1:35 pm
“Hopefully, they are going to restore the store.”
Maybe some Ephs could initiate a petition to “save Subway,” since it appears that the College doesn’t like the idea of “chains” on Spring St.
March 30th, 2007 at 1:45 pm
Ephmom- I believe Subway is the only large “chain” store on the street. Papa Charlies deli is way better anyhow. Better chow, by far. The only thing subway has longer store hours.
They should let Constantine put another Pizza place in it, if you ask me.
March 30th, 2007 at 2:25 pm
“Papa Charlies deli is way better anyhow. Better chow, by far. The only thing subway has longer store hours.”
And less expensive prices — which may matter more to college kids than gradations of taste (or, rather, tastiness). It’s all food.
March 30th, 2007 at 2:43 pm
Papa Charlie’s is better if you enjoy tiny overpriced sandwiches.
This is a very sad day.
March 30th, 2007 at 4:47 pm
Pappa Charlie’s definitely has better tasting food, but not enough better to justify the absurd prices. With only Helen’s and PC’s as fresh sandwich choices on the street, we face a sad situation.
March 31st, 2007 at 1:22 pm
With the neon signage and shopping mall sized structures that are starting to dot the campus landscape, I’m not sure the College has much standing to dictate regarding Spring Street.
March 31st, 2007 at 9:22 pm
Unless the quality has changed over the last couple of years, Papa Charlies has some really good sandwiches.
For the best priced, and best tasting sandwiches in the area, Winchester store in Pownal.
Cheapest beers… Cozies or the Legion.
April 1st, 2007 at 3:07 am
I always enjoyed the Legion. However, my favorite honky-tonk was the New Florida Lounge.
April 1st, 2007 at 1:22 pm
Man, the New Florida lounge? Up on the trail in Florida towards Boston?
I have not been in that place in so long, I do not even remember what they called it when I was going there. I had a friend of mine that used to play hard rock gigs up there in the 80s.
The legion is one of the better places to drink in town, and cheap… no doubt. Membersip is cheap too. All you need is a father or grand father that served in the military…(sons of the legion) just about anyone can join.
You got around hwc.
April 1st, 2007 at 6:19 pm
Alas, the New Florida Lounge (as opposed to the Old Florida Lounge?) is no longer in business. The building houses some other kind of business now.
They had mostly country bands when our crowd used to frequent the joint in the 70s.
April 1st, 2007 at 8:03 pm
David Paresky is the owner of the building. Mark is the son.
He also owned the building with Colonial Pizza and Cobble Cafe that burned in ‘99.
If my memory serves me, he also owns the buildings that house Helen’s and Likety Split. His reputation as a landlord is considerably less generous than his reputation as a benefactor to the College.
April 1st, 2007 at 11:10 pm
True. Paresky owns a great deal of real estate on Spring Street, and is pretty unpopular with his tenants.
April 1st, 2007 at 11:49 pm
Hmmm. Must have changed. We used to just show up and drink the cheap beers. Of course, I lived in and around Williamstown year round in four different off-campus houses for four years…so I was an honorary townie.
April 3rd, 2007 at 10:45 am
HWC- It is only like that if you are not a townie. By the rules, they should not let non members drink there, but they do. It is a townie hang out. Enough people hold membership cards to sing anyone in.
The “Pownal people” now hang around cozy corners.
The 70s…. hmhmhmhmhm…. we know a lot of the same people, if you hung around with townies in the 70s. We may have met, even, if you were around from 76 on.