SUNDERLAND — Like many other loyal customers, Wendy Rose faithfully visited the Dove’s Nest Restaurant every week before its former owner, Nancy Capen, announced intentions to close just before Christmas and sell everything inside by Jan. 21 if a buyer couldn’t be found.
Rose purchased the Route 116 restaurant, which has been a staple in Sunderland’s bedroom community since the 1970s, on Jan. 22, the day before her daughter Skyler Rose’s 15th birthday. She plans to reopen later this month on a date that’s yet to be nailed down.
“I’ll never forget that day,” Rose said on Tuesday, standing in front of the restaurant’s breakfast bar, which was covered in plastic to prevent damage.
Over the past few months, Rose, who grew up across the Connecticut River in South Deerfield and now lives in town, has overhauled the interior with upgraded utilities and a fresh coat of paint, purchased new equipment including a 9-foot cooking hood, and deep-cleaned the restaurant’s grill.
“My boyfriend (Shawn Stone) ate here every day for four years, and I came almost every Sunday. It was sad they were closing, and I thought of an occupational change from the beauty salon industry to the restaurant industry,” Rose said. “I saw a void in the community.”
This will be the first restaurant Rose has managed, but it’s not the first business she has owned. In 1992, after graduating from Franklin County Technical School, Rose, as a 17-year-old, opened her first salon above Brad’s Place on Main Street in Greenfield. A few years later, she opened an in-home salon on Franklin Street, which she managed for nearly two decades before moving into Wilson’s Department Store in 2012.
It’s also not the first time Rose has cooked for a lot of people.
“I enjoy cooking. I’ve done parties at my house and barbecues on Sundays,” Rose said, noting, “I still have more to learn, but I’ve learned a lot.”
Customers can expect the same offerings as before served by five former employees and three new faces, including her daughter, Skyler, with slightly lower prices on some items. Unlike before, Rose, who has Polish roots, will serve Polish lunch specials on Wednesdays — pirogi, golumpki, lazy pirogi, lazy golumpki, and combined.
“I’m purchasing my own food. A lot will be house-made. Soups, muffins, corn beef, hash. As much as I can, I want it to be made on the premises and not bought from a store,” she said.
So far, Rose’s efforts have received an outpouring of community support from fellow residents who offer words of encouragement “at the town hall, the fire department, the laundromat, while waiting for the bus,” Rose said. “It’s unbelievable, the amount of support I have.”
Looking ahead, Rose would like to reopen around March 26, but that’s dependent on a number of variables that need to be locked down. The new hood needs to be installed, some electrical and plumbing work needs to be completed, and furniture needs to be shuffled around before final inspections can be made.
After that, there’s one more detail remaining.
“Pepsi is making us a big banner,” Rose said. “It says ‘grand reopening.’”