Spotlight On New Business

December 2006

Urban Dance Complex

Dance instructor Sarah Cover has opened the Urban Dance Complex studio at 188 Krupp Drive in Williston, specializing in teaching up-to-the-minute dance styles like hip-hop and jazz funk as well as more traditional styles of dance.

Located in the space that was once occupied by G. W. Savage Company, Cover said she is using about 4,000 square feet of the 8,000-square-foot building. Linda I. Letourneau of Redstone in Burlington assisted her in finding a location that met her specifications, Cover said. "This facility already had the dimensions I needed," she noted.

To make the space ready for her studio, Cover refurbished the interior, installing a wall with a glass window for visitors to view classes in progress, she said. East Shore Dry Wall helped with construction of interior spaces, and Reliant Electric did most of her lighting and electrical work, she said. Heron Pond Woodworks installed the studio floor.

"We put down a sprung wood floor," Cover said. She noted that the business that preceded her in the facility had provided on-site showers for their workmen to clean up before leaving work for home. That aspect of the space was one of the qualities that attracted Cover to the location. "It has stalled bathrooms and showers. Dance studios rarely have that," Cover said.

Cover teaches classes for students aged six to adult, including instruction in ballet and modern dance as well as specialties like breakin, tap, funk and African modern dance.

Classes run for semester-long sessions, with a performance at the end of each session, she said. In addition, Cover choreographs and produces a hip-hop show with her dance company.

Cover grew up in Vermont, but left at age 12, she said. She studied dance in her youth and began doing hip-hop street dancing at about age 16 in Santa Cruz, CA. As a jazz dancer, she had the basic understanding to allow her to teach herself, she said. Since then, the street dance styles have moved into studios, she said. She continues to visit Los Angeles and New York City regularly to study and remain current on the styles.

Cover has been instructing for about five years, having taught at Contemporary Dance and Fitness Studio in Montpelier and in the Flynn theater’s educational studio where she taught jazz funk and hip-hop.

Cover decided to open her own studio so she could have creative control over her work, she said. The skills of hip-hop and the other forms have found their way into modern culture and have become career-track choices, she said. Broadway and touring companies as well as television and movie producers are looking more and more to this dance discipline, she said. "It’s really hot now."

The Urban Dance Complex is open Monday through Friday, from 3:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Saturday hours are 9:30 a.m. to noon.

Additional information is available by calling (802) 863-6600, or by visiting Cover’s Website at www.urbandancecomplex.com. The mailing address is 188 Krupp Drive, Williston, VT 05495.

Green Mountain Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine

Andy Bowen and Eric Elsinger have formed a partnership to found Green Mountain Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine located at 85 Main Street in Burlington. They offer outpatient physical therapy, orthopaedic recovery programs and health and maintenance programs for athletes.

The alliance between the two men occurred when they discovered that they had followed parallel yet distant paths. After growing up together in Longmeadow, MA, Bowen obtained a master’s degree in science from Regis University in Denver, CO, while Elsinger obtained an MS at Springfield College in Massachusetts in physical therapy.

Elsinger worked in outpatient orthopaedic and sports medicine while honing his skills and his interests in running, cycling and skiing. He received his certification as a strength and conditioning specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) in 1996. Remaining in Colorado after college, Bowen worked with Mark Plaatjes, a world-champion marathon-runner, at Plaatjes’s Boulder Running Company, a specialty clinic in Boulder. He has adapted a similar training program in the new business.

Bowen and Elsinger arrived in Burlington within a year of each other, met again and worked together as physical therapists. Upon recognizing their common interest in lower-extremity body mechanics, they decided to go into business with a view to treating "runners and riders."

Elsinger states that their goal at Green Mountain Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine is to help their patients "progress to the point where they can return to gym- or home-based exercise" and "improve the over-all level of their enjoyment and performance" in sports.

Toward that end, Bowen and Elsinger utilize a "hands-on approach" in patient care , incorporating a strength and conditioning program and video feedback to address and correct dysfunction. Theirs is a scientifically based, proven treatment program that assesses biomechanics and uses slow-motion video analysis and computerized biofeedback strength-testing.

Slow-motion video analysis reveals dysfunctional postural patterns which can be adapted while walking, running, jumping, throwing, skiing, riding, skating, playing tennis, cycling or other pursuits. A "computrainer" assesses cyclers with immediate visual feedback on pedaling weaknesses. The patient is able to see improvement as the rehabilitative program progresses.

Each individually attuned program addresses energy, flexibility and strengthening, head to toe, even including footwear. Elsinger cites the vital role of biomechanically correct footwear in correcting problems or potential problems and in determining treatment. Custom orthotics are prescribed in some cases.

A wide range of treatments, including joint mobilization or manipulation, massage, myofascial release, muscle energy and stretching techniques and ultrasound can be put to use in order to restore the pain-free movement of the musculoskeletal system.

Green Mountain Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine’s pre- and post-operative rehab programs address surgeries, ranging from total joint replacements to shoulder repairs and spinal postoperative situations. In explaining the reason for beginning their business, Elsinger states that their mission in providing health care is "not just our job, it is our passion."

Appointments are scheduled Monday through Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

The mailing address for Green Mountain Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine is 85 Main Street, Burlington, VT 05401. The telephone number is (802) 861-6700. The Website is www.greenmtrehab.com.

Park Squeeze

Park Squeeze, a restaurant owned by Betsy Vick and Andrew Messigner, has opened at the former Park Restaurant space in downtown Vergennes.

The Park Squeeze focuses on "healthful food that tastes good." The restaurant offers noodle bowls and wraps. Sample wraps include roasted marinated portabella, vegetarian burrito, basil pesto, blackened fish, and smoked turkey. For noodle bowls, Park Squeeze lets the customer "be the bowl," and mix and match their choice of broth, noodle, protein and ample amounts of veggies. Park Squeeze offers a "Lil Squeeze" menu for children, such as buttery noodles, and peanut butter apple wraps. Appetizer options include spanikopita, roasted beet salad and Thai peanut noodle salad. The Park Squeeze is a member of the Vermont Fresh Network and uses local ingredients from farms such as Misty Knoll, Dakin Farm, La Platte farm, Cabot Creamery, Blythdale farm, Grafton village farm and Messinger’s, whenever possible. The restaurant serves beer and wine along with juice and soda.

The Park Squeeze is designed to have a relaxed atmosphere. Customers order and pay at the counter and "we do the rest," as the sign above the counter says. "I wanted a community- oriented place where a parent can come with kids, couples can come on dates, and older people and business people feel comfortable," says Vick. The brick interior walls hold rotating shows by local artists, currently photographs by Brooke Burgee. Tables are small and easily pushed together, and there is outdoor sidewalk seating.

Vick began planning the restaurant in 2003 by completely refurbishing the interior and converting the upstairs apartment into her office, and loft space that is rented out for parties. Vick consulted Michel Mahe, the local chef behind the Black Sheep Bistro and the Bearded Frog, for menu concepts. Andrea Cousineau and Dickie Austin, two of Mahe’s employees, took Vick’s ideas and created a menu that has almost no waste and specializes in options to please vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike.

Vick’s background as a nutritionist and belief in local food drove her desire to create a menu that she could feel good about serving. Vick also spent time as an organic farmer and hopes to eventually grow many of the vegetables the restaurant uses.

The Park Squeeze has kept the vertical green sign with red neon that marked the Park Restaurant for many years. Vick says the sign is considered a historical landmark, and the city’s approval was needed before making changes. The sign now reads Park Squeeze, but it is the original sign rewired, refurbished and repainted. The name Park Squeeze originates from the way that the restaurant is squeezed into a former alley. The brick walls inside the restaurant are exterior walls of the two stores next to it.

Vick has been pleased with the local response, many regular customers, and has been excited to have many people travel to visit her restaurant. "People are more health minded and care more about where their food comes from," Vick says.

The Park Squeeze is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

The mailing address is 191 Main Street, Vergennes, VT 05491. The telephone number is (802) 877-3015.

Sweet Clover Market

Heather Belcher and Ellen Fox have opened Sweet Clover Market at 21 Essex Way, Suite 418 in the Essex Shoppes & Cinema in Essex. The market sells organic and natural foods, featuring local and Vermont products, and offers personalized nutrition information. "We’re trying to bring back the idea of your neighborhood grocer," says Belcher, "Our priority is to buy locally whenever possible."

In addition to produce, bakery, household cleaning, baby, dairy, dry goods, grocery, bulk, and body care sections, the 3,600-square-foot store has a full-service meat counter that offers natural deli meats, and local meats and game, as well as an assortment of cheeses cut-to-order.

Sweet Clover also carries gluten-free products. "A number of people are requesting gluten-free," says Fox. "Each age group has a challenge when eating gluten-free. Newly diagnosed teenagers are challenged to find a breakfast cereal; for adults, it’s the change in texture and taste from what they’re used to. We have bakery items, and we have a granola that I eat all the time because I like the taste."

They encourage special orders. "Since we’re a small store, we can’t carry everything for everyone. They can be monthly standing orders or one-time orders. We can have the standing order waiting for you the next time you come in," Belcher says. Special orders and advance orders are available with no minimum purchase.

The store’s décor is unique, says Belcher. "We worked hard not to look like a supermarket." The duo didn’t go through the usual store suppliers, selecting antiques and fixtures made of wood. The checkout stands were constructed of copper fashioned by Larry Stearns of Vulcan Supply in Westford. Carpenter Harry Gardhope built the wooden frames, using cherry wood harvested in his back yard. Lighting design was done by Donna Leban of South Burlington. "Timothy Aiken was our general contractor," says Belcher. "Vermont Custom Concrete gave us a polished concrete floor that is just spectacular. R.C. Soule of Dick Soule, Inc. out of Enosburg Falls did the refrigeration. We bought stuff from Mason Brothers at Five Corners. The shelves are from Excalibur shelving in New Hampshire, and all the pine was harvested from the New Hampshire woods." Michael Cota of Fairfax did the electrical; Mountain Air Systems handled the air conditioning. They used Local Color paint on the walls, and all stains, shellacs, or urethanes used were selected for low emissions of noxious gases.

Eight employees have been hired. Ray Medina assists Fox with buying, and the butcher is Cole Ward from Enosburg. Local vendors include meats and wines from Boyden Farms; bread from Red Hen and La Strada bakeries; and other foods from River Berry Farm, Pete’s Greens; Jericho Settler’s Farm; Adam’s Turkey Farm; Cranberry Bob in Fletcher; and Valley Dream Farm in Cambridge.

"We’re an interactive kind of place," says Fox. "We’re filled with products by people who also shop here. This goes back to tradition."

Sweet Clover Market is open from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. seven days a week.

The mailing address is PO Box 9003, Essex, VT 05451.The store can be reached by telephoning (802) 872-8288.

Restaurant Phoebe

Aaron and Debbie Millon of Richmond have opened the new Restaurant Phoebe in Montpelier, located in the commercial space on State Street previously occupied by the Conoscenti restaurant. The husband-and-wife team purchased the business from Kevin Everleth who bought it from the original Conoscenti owner, Dale Conoscenti, Mrs. Millon said.

The establishment has a new name and a new menu. "We still serve food that has an Italian twist," Mrs. Millon said. "But our main menu is modern American cuisine." The new menu includes such items as pan-roasted wild salmon, shell steak, organic grilled vegetables with braised greens, and a selection of breads and cheeses from local dairies and bakeries.

Restaurant Phoebe is a member of the Vermont Fresh Network, which means they go out of their way to find locally grown produce and local suppliers for their menu ingredients. They are also members of Slow Food International, an organization dedicated to providing environmentally beneficial and sustainable alternatives to "fast food," Mrs. Millon said.

She said their menu, with its emphasis on locally grown and produced food from suppliers like Misty Knoll Farms, Maplewind Farm, LaPlatte River Angus, Squash Valley Produce, and Tamarack Hollow Farm, will change several times a year with the different seasons.

Millon is head chef for the new venture, and his wife is business manager. Mrs. Millon said that her husband has been cooking for more than 13 years, including several years while the couple lived in South Beach, FL. When they relocated to Vermont in 1997, Millon attended and graduated from the New England Culinary Institute, and he cooked for Shelburne Farms for several seasons. Mrs. Millon recently completed a masters degree in engineering and is now full-time business manager at the restaurant, she said.

Most recently, the Millons owned the Richmond Corner Market for about five years before selling it to its current owners. After selling their Richmond store, Mrs. Millon said the couple consulted Vermont Business Brokers in Shelburne to help them locate a restaurant, which was their business preference, allowing them to use their professional skills in a business they enjoy.

Mrs. Millon said the restaurant space, which seats about 46 patrons at tables and several more on stools at the bar, was in excellent condition when they bought it from Everleth. The décor originated by Dale Conoscenti was so much to their liking that they made very few changes before opening Restaurant Phoebe, which is named after Aaron Millon’s sister.

The restaurant is open for lunch Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. It opens again for dinner from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday; from 5:30 to 10:00 p.m., on Friday and Saturday; and from 5:30 to 9:00 p.m. on Sunday.

The restaurant can be reached by phone at (802) 262-3500.

El Mariachi Mexican Restaurant

El Mariachi Mexican Restaurant has been opened on Shelburne Road in South Burlington. The restaurant offers lunch and dinner daily in space previously occupied by la Carreta restaurant. The business is owned by entrepreneur Joe Rodriguez. El Mariachi’s manager, Shawn Calley, says the business occupies about 6,300 square feet, with seating for about 100 guests in the dining room and another 75 in the separate bar area.

Calley is a graduate of the Pennsylvania Culinary School in Pittsburgh. He has lived in Vermont for eight years, and has worked as a chef at RiRa’s Irish Pub and Restaurant, Smugglers Notch Resort and The Inn at Shelburne Farms.

The approach at El Mariachi, Calley says, is to achieve classic Mexican flavor with truly traditional recipes. And part of the concept is to expand the notion of what traditional Mexican dishes actually include.

"People come in for our burritos and chimichangas, because they are really good. But there are really great Mexican recipes that use lamb, and turkey, and fish and we offer those as well," says Calley. He notes that owner Rodriguez is instrumental in finding several unique recipes. "He’s gone to great lengths to get some of them, often written in the original Spanish. They really add to the authenticity of the menu."

The menu features a Mexican "classics" section that includes burritos, enchiladas, deep- fried chimichangas and tacos filled with a choice of chipotle chicken, pulled pork, shredded beef or grilled vegetables. Lunch specials include jalapeño chicken wraps, barbequed pulled pork sandwiches and fajitas featuring flank steak or chicken and shrimp fillings.

Calley noted that, among El Mariachi’s dinner specials, the grilled fish tacos marinated in mahi mahi sauce verde and the ancho-brined pork chop with roasted apple, cumin glaze, and spiced brazil nuts served with buttermilk scallion mashed potato are among the favorites. The dinner menu also features slow-roasted baby back ribs, steak, and honey-lime shrimp and chicken skewers.

Calley acknowledges that, as with many Mexican restaurants, the menu is "meat heavy." He says he is in the processes of adding a number of additional, creative vegetarian meals. "The menu will be even more vegetarian-friendly, and that should open up our restaurant to an even wider base of customers." Calley says El Mariachi hopes to draw strong support from the many businesses along Shelburne Road during lunch hours. He notes the restaurant offers a lunch discount to employees of Shelburne Road businesses who bring their business cards along.

At dinner, Calley sees the restaurant catering to area residents. He points out the large number of residents who live nearby and says, "I would love to see this restaurant develop a real local feel, where folks who live nearby want to come in on a regular basis. I think our location and the layout of the restaurant and bar make us well-suited for that." Calley says the complete lunch and dinner menus are available for carryout, and that private parties may be scheduled by contacting the restaurant.

The restaurant is open seven days a week and serves lunch from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and dinner from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

El Mariachi Mexican Restaurant is located at 1233 Shelburne Road, South Burlington VT 05403. The telephone number is (802) 651-0775.