Editor’s note: This story was changed Dec. 26 to correct an omission: Herbivore Patisserie: A Cape Cod Vegan Bakery in South Yarmouth will have its grand opening from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Dec. 28.
This year’s festive New Year’s Eve gathering at The Beacon Room in Orleans promises to be a little bittersweet for owners Kate Roche and Kim Premny.
“New Year’s has been one of our busiest nights of the year. We have people coming in who have been coming in for 25 years,” Premny said.
But after 28 years, the Orleans couple is looking to sell their restaurant and enjoy retirement. They have listed the 80-seat restaurant at 23 West Road for $1.6 million.
“We’re putting our toe in to see what happens,” she said. “We would love for someone to come along and love it as much as we have.”
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The owners said they plan to keep business as usual at the year-round restaurant, continuing to serve dinner as they do now until they find the right new owners.
Roche runs the dining room and Premny is the chef. Roche remembers the early days when she would bartend a full shift and then head to the laundromat with bags of linen tablecloths that needed cleaning for the next day.
Before it was The Beacon Room, 23 West Road “was a cottage in the 1920s and in the 1970s or so, it was Ardath’s, a breakfast spot. She was there for 12 or 13 years. We took over from her in 1996,” Premny said.
Roche added, “Everyone remembers she always had a playpen in the dining room because she had all these grandkids.”
The new partners named the cottage-style restaurant The Beacon Room and started out serving lunch and dinner, with Premny, a self-taught chef, creating seasonal menus.
“We have innovative American Cuisine with a lot of fresh seafood,” Premny said, noting she has experimented with serving elk loin, duck, ostrich, buffalo and foie gras.
Roche added, “Sole curry – pistachio-covered sole with a light curry sauce, that Kim created, is our signature dish.”
Roche and Premny say Resy, the online reservations platform they use, describe The Beacon Room as a special occasion restaurant —first dates, anniversaries, birthdays — but there are plenty of local diners who visit weekly.
If you are one of those people, don’t worry. Premny and Roche say they will keep The Beacon Room just as it is until they find the right buyer.
“It’s been 28 years, 29 in February. I’ve been in the business for 40 years and so has Kate. We’re hoping to pass the torch on,” Premny said.
The property and business sale is being handled by Richard Catania at The Realty Advisory, Inc.
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Timmy’s Roast Beef in West Yarmouth closes after 42 years
Another institution has closed. Timmy’s Roast Beef on Route 28 in West Yarmouth, known for its roast beef and onion rings, served its last roast beef sandwich at 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 21. – after 42 years in business.
In a heartfelt note to customers on the restaurant’s Facebook page, owner Tim Silva thanked customers for their loyalty, friendship and support over the years.
“As we step into this new chapter of our life, we want to express our heartfelt appreciation for each and every one of you,” Silva wrote. “Your smiles, stories, and kindness have made every day a joy, and we will carry these memories with us always.”
The announcement was met with more than a hundred well wishes, including one from former employee Chris Hartshorn, who now runs what he called the busiest Dunkin in Pennsylvania.
Hartshorn writes: “Tim Silva, 36 years ago you brought me on board and you went from being the best boss I ever had to mentor and a friend … Believe me when I say I think about lessons you taught me daily. I wish you, Amy and your whole family the best in whatever this next chapter brings. Thank you for giving me a chance.”
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Herbivore Patisserie, all-vegan bakery, opens in South Yarmouth
Remember Brandy Walsh? She’s the vegan baker who put a vegan desserts vending machine in Cape Cod Mall. A year later, it is still there in the mall’s food court and Walsh is opening her own Herbivore Patisserie: a Cape Cod Vegan Bakery at 474 Station Ave., Unit B, in South Yarmouth.
“We will be the Cape’s first fully vegan bakery. With some of the treats from my ATM like cupcakes and brownies but I’ll be adding croissants, pies, and whole cakes!” Walsh emailed as she stocked the shelves and set up a glammed-up selfie station for Insta-conscious visitors.
The grand opening, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Dec. 28, will have a free decorate your own doughnut table for kids, while adults partake of samples that day, including free mini cupcakes. (Having tried out the vegan vending machine, I recommend the salted caramel!)
Gwenn Friss is the editor of CapeWeek and covers entertainment, restaurants and the arts. Contact her at [email protected]. Join the Cape Cod Times free Facebook group, Good Stuff at Cape Cod Restaurants, to share restaurant news.
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