After three years of sitting vacant at 15 Main St. in Williamsburg, the building that once was home to the Big Mamou Cajun restaurant is being transformed into an eclectic art studio that will house three businesses: a professional knitter, a restorer and seller of antique lamps, and an oil painter.
“Many people have been stopping by here wanting to know what is going in,” new owner Nancy Basler said. “Its amazing, the neighbors, people in the library, the post office, Town Hall, everyone has just been so warm and welcoming.”
Basler is a knitter and her husband Jim Basler is a contractor who also restores antique lamps. They currently live in Yarmouth Port, but had been looking to move to a small town and open a business.
“We travel a lot and we have passed through Williamsburg many times over the past two years looking for a place to buy. One day there was a for sale sign on the property and we bought it,” Basler said. “We are really excited to be part of Williamsburg.”
Since the purchase in April, the Baslers have slowly been renovating the place from top to bottom.
“We took out every semblance of a restaurant, liquidated all of the equipment, and sold it at very good prices to local business like Elbow Room Coffee, the Snack Shack and Bread Euphoria,” Nancy Basler said. “It made us happy to be able to that for business in the community.”
The Baslers are doing the renovations themselves with the help of framer Kevin Houle of Angelic Builders in Williamsburg.
The couple will live in an apartment they are renovating above the studio. “We plan to be here most of the time,” Basler said.
Interested in the history of the town and their new property, Basler immediately contacted local historian Ralmon Black of the Williamsburg Historical Society to fill her in on all the details.
“He told us this was originally built as a forge and we have found some old hand-forged hooks in the basement,” she said. “We also found signs from almost every other business that has been here from restaurants, to a pharmacy and a flower shop.
Basler says she plans to put the signs up in the studio.
The third business partner is an oil painter who will sell her work at the studio, but currently wishes to remain anonymous until the business opens. That won’t be until sometime next winter, Basler said.
The space itself does not yet have a formal name, though Basler’s business is called “Nancy Basler Knits.” She will sell knitted goods and knitting machines and will offer classes on using them.
Her profile and knit goods can be seen at www.nancybaslerknits.com.
Basler said that she and her husband have been overwhelmed with the amount of support and enthusiasm they have discovered in Williamsburg and they look forward to bringing that same spirit to town.
The Worthington Historical Society will hold Cabaret V, its fifth annual fundraiser Saturday. It will be hosted by Helen Pollard, president of the Historical Society, and family at 343 Huntington Road (Route 112).
This year’s theme is the fabulous disco era with music provided by DJ Scott Evans.
A cash bar will open at 6 p.m. and dinner will be served from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Entertainment will include The Dancing Queens who will provide dance demonstrations and lessons for anyone who needs to refresh their disco repertoire.
Later in the evening, the Bad Signs, a “jazzy rock band,” will perform followed by The 45s who will play classic rock from the ’60s and ’70s.
The event is co-sponsored by the Historical Society and Hilltown Arts Alive. Tickets are $25 and available at the Corners Grocery or by calling Diane Brenner at 238-5593.
The 2016 Plainfield telephone book is now available for purchase at the library. Each book is $1.
Residents are asked to call 634-5030, ext. 2, with any corrections that need to be made.
Ideas for this column on life in the Hilltowns can be sent to Fran Ryan at Fryan.gazette@gmail.com.