Three Penny Taproom, Montpelier
“I didn’t want to open another restaurant from the ground up, but here we are…People expect Three Penny to look and feel a certain way, and we don’t want to disappoint.” –Kevin Kerner, Co-owner, Three Penny Taproom
We’re in an odd place with a lot of unknowns.
On Sunday, July 9, our general contractor put the finishing touches on our major kitchen expansion on the first floor. The weather forecast called for Tropical Storm Irene–levels of flooding, so we moved everything out of the basement and lifted up everything on the first floor. By Tuesday, the water was 3 feet deep on the main floor. If you were sitting at the bar, the water would have been up to your hips. The dining room and bar were totally destroyed. It took a month for demo and drying out. We had nine dehumidifiers running seven days a week, and my business partner, Wes Hamilton, or I would empty them daily. We pulled up the floor and walls and took everything down to studs. We cut the walls at 48 inches to mitigate mold growth.
I didn’t want to open another restaurant from the ground up, but here we are. Our goal is to reopen by the end of October. People expect Three Penny to look and feel a certain way, and we don’t want to disappoint. We’ll probably do minor changes to make us a more efficient restaurant. It’s been hard to make definitive plans until we see how the insurance money shakes out.
In the meantime, while construction is underway, we’re going to offer some food and drinks in our parklet out front. Burgers, sandwiches, and beer Thursday through Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. That will generate some income and give hope to Montpelier. It feels like Covid all over again as we’re constantly revamping and revising. But we’ll do whatever it takes.
Wes and I feel responsible for our staff of 50. It’s the best crew we’ve ever had, and it would break my heart to lose even one. We’ve always put our staff first. We make decisions geared to making this a safe place for our staff to work and for our guests to enjoy. One of the things we’re most proud of is winning a Seven Days Daysie for Best Place to Drink Alone. That says a lot about who and what we are. Since our founding in 2009, Three Penny Taproom has been a meetinghouse. People come here to enjoy stellar food and drink.
The Montpelier community is our family. From July 11 and on, we were inundated with volunteers who showed up to help clean out. A huge shout-out to Katie Trautz and Peter Walke of Montpelier Alive. They’ve been fighting hard for Montpelier since July 10 and won’t give up. They both deserve a key to the city when it reopens. It’s people helping people. There’s a reason we all have chosen to live here.
