Seafood and produce store opens on Route 103
Toolbox
By Josh O'Gorman STAFF WRITER - Published: November 22, 2009
PROCTORSVILLE – For Nancy Goodrich, her business is a dream come true.
The sign out front says it all: "Pleasant Valley Foods – A Vermont Family Business." For Goodrich, the seafood and produce store she operates on Route 103 just south of Ludlow with her daughter Hannah Epler is more than just an expansion of her home-based catering business.
"I was looking for a commercial kitchen to expand my home business," said Goodrich, who has been baking and cooking in her Pleasant Valley Road residence in Springfield. "I enticed Hannah to go into business with me so I could embark on my life's dream, which is having a family business."
Goodrich and Epler opened their doors Nov. 10 in the building formerly occupied by Black River Produce, which moved down the hill to Springfield two years ago. The building, still owned by Black River, sat vacant for nearly the entire time and left a void in the area, Epler said.
"I think it was clear the surrounding community really missed Black River's produce and fresh seafood," Epler said, and the store's bountiful produce bins explode with fruits and vegetables while display cases offer fresh tuna, salmon, shark and other seafood, all supplied by Black River Produce.
Pleasant Valley Foods also offers locally themed deli sandwiches, such as the Route 103 – a roast beef sandwich with horseradish mayonnaise – and the P'ville Grill, which includes local goat cheese, spinach and roasted red peppers. In-house chef Jay Clapperton prepares baked items, such as thick slabs of fresh meatloaf and fist-sized meatballs, that will satisfy both locals and the ski crowd looking for a tasty and convenient meal.
Pleasant Valley Foods has something Black River Produce did not: a selection of local wines and microbrews, and Goodrich and Epler will offer visitors a chance to sample some local flavors during a wine tasting from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday. They also offer local syrup, honey and pasta.
Goodrich said she chose the site because it offered the perfect combination of kitchen and retail space, as well as having convenient egress along a heavily traveled road.
For both Epler and her sister Rachel Epler, the food business represents a life change. Hannah Epler left her job as sales manager at Clear Lake Furniture and is settling in comfortably as she holds down the front counter.
"I've always liked the sort of comfy cozy country store atmosphere," she said.
Rachel Epler quit her job as an insurance agent and is working to expand the business' Web site to offer all of the store's items online.
Goodrich is continuing to do what she does best: baking pies cakes, cookies and muffins and preparing lunches she delivers to Chester, Ludlow, Rockingham and Springfield.
For more information about Pleasant Valley Foods, visit www.pleasantvalleyfoodsvt.com.
josh.ogorman@rutlandherald.com
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