GREENFIELD — Wild Roots, the organic, “fast casual” eatery on Bridge Street in Sunderland, has found a second home for itself in downtown Greenfield.
“Greenfield has been of interest to us for the last couple of years,” said Luke Eriksen, who owns the cafe with his wife, Kelli. “We’ve looked around at several places and always felt like Greenfield had a lot of untapped potential for a Wild Roots. It was just kind of a gut feeling.”
At the beginning of January, the Eriksens of South Deerfield signed a lease at 201 Main St., in the location of the former Antonio’s Pizza and Grinders, which closed about a year ago.
“It just felt right,” Eriksen said. “We have a lot of visions and plans for the future of that space. We really hope to turn it into a nice center-of-town hangout, or go-to spot for on-the-go living, which is really what we based (Wild Roots) on.”
After roughly 30 years in Greenfield, Antonio’s on Main Street closed in doors last March due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When COVID hit last March, Greenfield became a ghost town,” said Antonio’s owner Clayton Cardin, adding that he lost two full-time staff members in the process. “Fortunately, we had the Bernardston location, and were able to deliver to Greenfield.”
The Bernardston location at 1 South St., Antonio’s II, will remain open, he said. That restaurant has been in operation since 2005.
“(Wild Roots) looks like they’re going to be pretty successful,” Cardin said. “They’ve done very well down in Sunderland, and they wanted to expand. Kudos to them.”
Although there is still some interior work to be done at the former Antonio’s — painting, for example — Eriksen said he and Kelli aim to be ready to open the doors by the end of the month or early April.
The Greenfield location will offer the same core menu as the one in Sunderland, which Kelli Eriksen opened in 2017 with her mother, Sandi Waskewic.
“But we hope to have some individuality in terms of the specials,” Luke Eriksen added.
Luke Eriksen said he’s excited by the community’s response on social media, where the announcement was first made that Wild Roots is expanding into Greenfield.
“We’re just excited to be in town, and we’re excited by the community response,” he said. “To have that kind of response … fuels my excitement.”
The cafe at 11 Bridge St. in Sunderland is currently open Tuesday to Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., offering contact-less pick-up, in-person ordering and limited in-person dining. Outdoor dining is available as weather permits.
Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne