End of an era for the Thrush Tavern
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After 36 years, a legendary Montpelier watering spot, the Thrush Tavern, is closing. |
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By Sarah Hinckley Times Argus Staff - Published: September 10, 2008
MONTPELIER – After 36 years of serving up one of the best burgers in town, the Thrush Tavern is closing its doors.
A fiesta finale will take place on Sept. 27. The restaurant is planning to serve lunch from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and a buffet dinner from 6 to 8 p.m., and live music will serenade the sayonara crowd.
The restaurant, owned by veteran chef and food entrepreneur Paul Rumley, has been run by Lorraine Richards since last September. There have been several changes to the business in the last year, but in a struggling economy, the tavern has taken a hit.
Opened in 1972, the Thrush in its heyday was a smoke-filled institution for media noshing and the location for lots of legislative leveraging and political interaction, just a block from the Statehouse. But after the founding of the New England Culinary Institute, Montpelier's once-limited restaurant scene blossomed and numerous dining options opened in the city, thinning the crowd.
"It's a sad thing, but we gave it everything we had," said Suzanne Lewis, who has worked at the tavern for seven years. "We tried a few things – too little, too late – it just didn't work."
Lewis describes the Thrush Tavern as a place where everyone knows each other, in the fashion of a cozy family. The Tavern's final day will be a sad one for Montpelier and many representatives of the state who spent time at the watering spot on State Street.
"It's a real shame," said Montpelier City Manager William Fraser. "It's been a real community landmark for a long time."
Maybe there can be some sort of emergency legislation passed to prohibit the tavern's closing, joked Fraser.
"It's tragic. The Thrush has become part of our workday," said Gerry Morris, partner in the lobbying firm Morris, DeMag McCarty Inc., who said he ate a meal or had a drink at the Thrush three days a week during legislative sessions.
"Every statehouse in America has a Thrush Tavern. They're usually these dark little taverns across the street from the Statehouses," he said. The Montpelier Thrush was "our ancillary office," he added.
Morris said in addition to meeting with lawmakers, legislative staff and lobbyists, locals also frequented the restaurant and offered their views on the issues.
"It was a great sounding board," he said of the Thrush.
"A lot of critical state business took place at the Thrush. If those booths or bar stools could talk, you would hear tales of deal-making late at night during the closing days of a legislative session," said Chris Graff, vice president of communications for National Life.
Graff worked upstairs over the Thrush from 1978 until 2004 during his previous tenure as a Vermont correspondent and bureau chief for the Associated Press.
"Whenever we needed a quote from an important state official or legislator, we would just go downstairs," he added.
"In the 1970s, the partying at The Thrush would go into the wee hours of the morning. That was back when most legislators stayed the week in Montpelier," Graff noted. "Things changed once more lawmakers began commuting."
The Thrush didn't play political favorites, Graff said.
"The Thrush was bipartisan. Jeff Amestoy, a Republican, was a regular, as were members of the Salmon administration," he said, referring to former Democratic Gov. Thomas Salmon. "In the '70s, the Thrush was also the major watering hole for journalists. Mickey Gallagher, the news director and anchor for WCAX, used to hold court there … And then someone from Channel 3 would call us at the AP and ask us to send Mickey back."
One of the many things that will be missed once the Thrush Tavern closes is its famous Thrush burger. Made with local, grass-fed beef, Cabot cheese, bacon, lettuce and tomato, served with a side of hand-cut fries, the specialty item made many a mouth water.
"We'll be serving those all day," said Lewis, anticipating the activity of the final lunch on Sept. 27.
Times Argus Editor Susan Allen contributed to this story.
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