SOUTH HADLEY — It seems everyone wants to meet at Violet.
Not once during a recent morning was a seat empty inside the new cafe and wine bar in South Hadley Falls. As soon as one customer cleared away their coffee and sugared confections, another settled in with a plate of gem greens or plump sandwiches. Conversations among friends and families bounced off the cafe’s lemon-painted walls.
“I think everyone is really excited for this place,” freelance writer Emily Rae said. The South Hadley resident has already visited the cafe five times in the four weeks it opened.
The South Hadley community has been hungry for a new lunchette spot since Egg and I moved out of the same storefront in 2019 to replace the old Friendly’s in a shopping center off Newton Street.
Violet owner Laura Bowman recalled passing the vacant storefront every day on her commute to Blue Door Gatherings, her Holyoke-based catering and events business. She had been searching for a permanent home for The Window, the takeout concept she launched during the pandemic to help sustain her catering business but it quickly grew into a popular destination. After weeks of driving by the empty space from her South Hadley home, Bowman became convinced it was the right fit.
It turned out to be the perfect pairing.
“I think South Hadley really needed this kind of cafe concept, especially down in the Falls,” Bowman said.
Inspired by Bowman’s culinary experiences in Napa Valley, Violet cooks up California cuisine in the Pioneer Valley. Visitors can stop by for farm-to-table food and coffee from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday through Saturday. In the fall, Violet will open in the evenings as a wine bar, serving a selection of wines from local sellers to be sipped alongside small plates of food.
Unlike her Holyoke businesses, Bowman wanted Violet to feel like a French-style cafe with a cozy neighborhood feel. Blue Door Gatherings draws on her culinary and sommelier training in Napa Valley to host intimate catered events and curated dinners, but those meals take place only a quarter.
Meanwhile, The Window inadvertently garnered a local following. Rae said she frequented the spot for confetti cookies and turkey Caesar sandwiches, but it was not exactly a place where she could sit and work.
Weather was also a challenge, Bowman noted. A snowstorm or heatwave dispelled any visitors at the picnic tables.
“The Window showed me that there was a possibility for us to do more and expand,” Bowman said. “Violet was really created out of that necessity and that need of just wanting a space to gather people and host people.”
Local, fresh food is at the heart of Bowman’s menus. Ashley Davenport, events manager at Blue Door Gatherings, said that Bowman takes inspiration from local farms and markets. In the newly-renovated kitchen, chefs concoct the focaccia sandwich breads, seasonal pastries, sweets, sauces and dressings.
“I felt very inspired by the local produce scene in California,” Bowman said, “and I was just like, I loved living there and going to the markets and working with chefs that were always utilizing ingredients in season, and very vegetable-forward cooking.”
As for wine, Bowman has an expansive palate. Her favorites are old-world styles like those from France. However, she promises Violet’s menu will have something for wine enthusiasts and novices alike.
The Window has since closed. Its menu travelled across the bridge to Violet. Blue Door Gatherings will continue to host events as a separate business, but some of the dinner parties the company is known for will move to Violet’s location at 20 Main St.
The first wine dinners on July 24 and 25 will provide a multicourse meal with wine pairings from Glendale Ridge Vineyard in Southampton. Interested parties can sign up on Violet’s website for $150.
The Violet Founding Members subscription, meanwhile, offers more regular access to dinner parties. The $400 quarterly payment earns two seats at an exclusive dinner party, early tickets to both companies’ events and “founding member status.”
For some customers, Violet has already become exactly what Bowman envisioned — a neighborhood spot for both everyday meals and special occasions.
Molly Herbert was already familiar with Bowman’s “simple but elevated” cooking from Blue Door Gatherings dinners and catered events. When she and her daughter, Frances, were deciding where to go for a recent girls’ lunch, they skipped Panera Bread in favor of the newly opened Violet.
“The [South Hadley Public] Library is our favorite spot,” Herbert said. “I think we’ll go there next.”
