Manchester restaurant honored by travel mag; Irene recovery bucks for biz still available

Manchester restaurant makes Top 10 for French restaurants in U.S.

Travel + Leisure magazine has named Brasserie L’Oustau de Provence, located in Manchester, VT,  the No. 5th “Best French Restaurants in the U.S.” in its August 2013 issue. Brasserie L'oustau logo

Rated along with well-known culinary meccas such as Daniel in New York City, La Chaumière in D.C. and Joël Robuchon in Las Vegas, Brasserie L’Oustau was celebrated for its homage to classic French cuisine and hospitality.

Said Travel + Leisure in its writeup about Brasserie L’Oustau: “Authenticity and service are always in style at this southern Vermont brasserie, which attracts diners from as far as New York and Canada. Owned by Michel Boyer, a well-respected connoisseur of French gastronomy, this is a real gathering spot where friends and family meet for American interpretations of French food – pommes frites, slow-cooked onion soup, roasted chicken, savory sausages, and vegetables – all sourced locally.”

Launched in January 2012 and pushing through possibly the worst ski and foliage seasons on record, Brasserie L’Oustau has implemented unique culinary programs: monthly wine dinners to feature wine pairings from specific regions of the world such as the Loire Valley and New Zealand; a July 2013 dinner promotion with a menu highlighting six special lobster dishes; and a small-dish menu for its newly named Bar Matisse located within the restaurant.

Says Michel Boyer, owner of Brasserie L’Oustau, “That has been our goal — to provide classic French service and cuisine in a refined and casual ambiance without having to be in France.”

Brasserie L’Oustau is located at 1716 Depot St., Route 11/30, east of Manchester Center. For information about the restaurant, visit www.brasserieloustau.com, on Twitter at “BrassLOustau,” on Facebook at Brasserie L’Oustau or call 802-768-8537.

 More funding available for businesses still recovering from Irene

Springfield Regional Development Corporation and Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation have announced that they have received an additional $500,000 in funding for a program that has already provided grants to more than 30 area businesses struggling from the effects of Tropical Storm Irene.

The two organizations have been utilizing a $1 million Community Development Block Grant for Disaster Recovery, which was awarded to the two by the Vermont Department of Housing & Community Development last year. The first round of grant awards went to businesses that demonstrated a variety of remaining unmet needs from Irene, including replacing equipment and inventory as well as physical repairs. Businesses received up to $50,000. The recipients are located in Brattleboro, Wilmington, Ludlow, Marlboro, Athens, Chester and other towns throughout Windham and southern Windsor counties.

“We know flood recovery is a marathon not a sprint”, commented BDCC Board Chair John Meyer, who was instrumental in the organizations pursuing this funding from the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development. “There are still a number of small businesses, farms and nonprofits that have not fully recovered despite being open or partially open.  These funds are critical to getting them all the way back,” added Meyer.

Stanley and Laura Lynde of Lynde Motorsports, one of the area businesses that has received funding, said that  “The grant has been an incredible boost toward full recovery of our normal business operations. We have been able replace some critical equipment and repair some of our damaged structures.”  The Timber Inn Motel in Ludlow also was awarded one of the grants. Co-owner Glenn Heitsmith said, “Two years after the storm, our recovery continues. We had come a long way on our own, but the CDBG-DR program enabled us to finally repave our parking lot, which really improves the functionality and aesthetics of our property.”

With the additional $500,000, the RDCs will begin another round of workshops and applications in the coming months. Previous applicants are welcome to re-apply and the process may be streamlined for those with applications already in-house. This supplemental funding is from the $21.7 million in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds allocated to the state from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development following Tropical Storm Irene. Vermont is slated to receive an additional $17.9 million and will make more funding available to the RDCs, if needs remain.

“We’ve been able to get assistance in the hands of those that need it”, said Bob Flint of SRDC. “It’s been heartening to see the impact this program has had and we know there are still needs remaining in the region which we hope to address through this additional funding.”

More information on workshops and grant applications will soon be available on the BDCC and SRDC websites, www.brattleborodevelopment.com or www.springfielddevelopment.org. The RDCs and the Vermont Small Business Development Center will sponsor technical assistance seminars for businesses that want help with the application.  The session dates will be announced in the coming weeks.

For more information on the CDBG-DR program and an update on the timeframe for supplemental funding business applications please contact: April Harkness, BDCC, 802-257-7731 or Paul Kowalski, SRDC, 802-885-3061

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Filed Under: Business & Personal FinanceBusiness in Brief

About the Author: This item was edited from one or more press releases submitted to The Chester Telegraph.

RSSComments (0)

Trackback URL

Comments are closed.