Central Vermont Regional Tour 2022
On August 24, 2022, CVEDC hosted the Agency of Commerce and Community Development on a regional tour of five Central Vermont businesses.
Joan Goldstein, the Commissioner of Economic Development, Kristie Farnham, the Director of Business Support (who manages programs like the Brownfield Revitalization Fund and the Northern Border Regional Commission Grants), Abbie Sherman who heads up the Vermont Employment Growth Incentive program, John Young of the Vermont Training Program joined Jamie Stewart and Melissa Bounty from CVEDC as well as Josh Jerome who handles Economic Development for the City of Montpelier and Mark Pomilio, Jr., Director of Economic Development at Revitalizing Waterbury for a full day of business visits.
Integrative Acupuncture
We began our day visiting Integrative Acupuncture where owner Kerry Boyle described her recent move and expansion. She showed us the line of Chinese-medicine inspired chocolate she developed to “keep busy” during Covid which are now distributed regionally, and also let us peek in on Integrative’s most unique offerings including the saltwater floatation tank. (Which always makes me think of Stranger Things—I am planning to try it out soon and see if I develop psychic powers.)
The former Montpelier Granite Works
From there we visited the former Montpelier Granite Works which the Connor Group purchased in 2021 to redevelop. Fred Connor and his brothers Steve and John were kind enough to show us both the historical loveliness of the space and its modern potential. I loved the relics of the past: WW2-era beams left intact as well as old equipment, and even workers’ lunch boxes still tacked up to a stairway from long ago. The Connors’ plans are to preserve some of these elements while bringing contemporary standardization in for energy efficiency, as well as customization for a tenant to ultimately occupy the space.
Our next stop on the tour was Darn Tough’s Waterbury factory, a huge and impressive space where gorgeous high quality socks are made and workers are clearly valued. I could have spent another hour observing the rows of futuristic-looking equipment. My favorite for sure was the Panda-monium print.
Darn Tough Socks
Our next stop was in Northfield at La Panciata, where Justin Loati has recently expanded the Italian bakery his parents originally opened. Justin’s ties to the community were evident in the line-up of customer orders (all the best local shops!) and signs explaining what to do if you were actually here to pick up a bread donation. (Justin’s shout out to my own favorite Waitsfield farmer’s stale-bread-eating hungry hogs did not go unnoticed by me!)
Justin Loati of La Panciata
What’s changed for Justin and La Panciata recently, other than an expansion and new location in Northfield, is that the closure of Koffee Kup left Vermont shelves without many popular products. Justin told me before we visited that he expected questions from our group about English muffins and I thought he was joking—he was, of course, correct, and we (rightfully) discussed the exact baked goods he will supplement the Vermont marketplace with this fall in great detail. I did not know until this tour that La Panciata produces all of iconic Worthy Burger’s incredible buns!
Sadly, I failed to take a picture at our final stop on the tour—Montpelier’s Caledonia Spirits. While our conversation was excellent, our libations were even better; see their Pinterest page for an idea of all you can try out at their beautiful, hospitable location (or make yourself at home).