Tunic

 

This morning I headed up this alleyway to Main Street, Northampton. 

 

 

I decided to check out the new coffee shop called Tunic.

 

About fifteen years ago a friend of mine ran a restaurant out of that space called Eclipse. 

 

 

All the coolest people went there. 

 

 

My friend Zakariah, the chef at Eclipse, was a pretty chill dude.

Alas, the joint ended up closing amidst some kind of scandal involving nudity and underage Smithies, as reported in the Springfield Republican:

As the incident was recounted by commission chairman Brad Shimel, chef Zachariah Gorham admitted to serving the four girls on a night when Eclipse was without electricity because of a snowstorm. When the girls returned to their dormitory that night, a resident adviser noticed they were intoxicated and saw one of them was vomiting in the dormitory bathroom. After the girls admitted that they had been drinking at Eclipse, the adviser notified police.

According to police reports, officers arrived at Eclipse shortly before 10 p.m. to find Gorham naked and in the company of a partially clad woman. Gorham told the officers he had thrown a Halloween party for friends, cooking food that would otherwise have gone bad because of the power outage.

I thought it was a fun place and was sorry to see it close. 

Anyway, the word on the street is that Tunic is evolving into the new Haymarket. In fact you can see the abandoned Haymarket through their front window. 

 

Eclipse had a beautiful wooden circle inlaid in the floor. 

 

 

It is the only remnant of Eclipse remaining, although it is now partially concealed by the coffee counter.  

Tunic is a cozy place with a back room with a big mirror and a view out the window where you can watch people going in and out of Herrell's Ice Cream. 

Make a plan to stop by soon and check it out for yourself. 

I took this picture at Smith College. I saw no drunken girls.

 

 

 Big Green looking chilly at Amherst College. 

A baby snowman at UMass.

Mary Carey took this pic on Huntington Road in Hadley. The weird red lighting is from a nearby greenhouse.

1/1/2025 Sacred Heart Church in Springfield by b.t. kiddy

 

 

Massachusetts House Speaker Tom McGee with President Jimmy Carter, Massachusetts Senator Paul Tsongas, and Massachusetts Governor Ed King with Springfield entrepreneur Tony Ravosa in 1978. 

 

Rare photo of a smiling Calvin Coolidge in the Forbes Library, where his historic chair is on display.

 

2025

 

As the sci-fi date of 2025 unfolded, I was in downtown Northampton, where Silent Cal sat at the center of a pulsating psychedelic light show.

 

 

The streets were packed, but strangely enough no non-alcoholic places were open (lots of families and you can't take kids in a bar) or vendors on site to cash in on the crowds except this one pizza joint on Main Street that looked like it was making a fortune.

 

As midnight approached, people began pouring out of the downtown bars and the street was soon filled with revelers as far as the eye could see. 

 

 

A hush descended on the crowd as the ball atop the Hotel Northampton ascended during the final seconds of the countdown.

 

 

At the stroke of midnight the crowd exploded into a madcap scene of bedlam with clapping, shouting, laughing and dancing.

 

 

 A good time was had by all. 

 

Yuletide

 

This is Park Square in Westfield. 

 

 

It's nice, but I liked it better before they cut down all the trees. 

 

Directly across the street is the former Westfield Post Office, now a restaurant called the Tavern, which was previously located in Springfield.

 

 

The historic features and old marble of the former post office have been preserved. 

 

 

The elaborate Christmas decorations really enhance the ambience of the joint.

 

Why will there never be restaurants on the moon? 

It has no atmosphere.

 

The alleyway next to the Tavern is named after a guy named John who founded the dining establishment. 

 Most people who go to the Tavern know my sister Beverly. 

 

 

Here are the recent lunch specials. 

The fish and chips were awesome. I was skeptical of the chicken macaroni and cheese soup, but it was strangely delicious. Why don't you check it out for yourself by stopping by the Westfield Tavern this holiday season?

 

A Pine Point Christmas from 1988. 

 

 

Here is what the people of Massachusetts would like for Christmas. 

The largest Christmas tree in New England is in Boston. 

 

 The much more modest UMass Christmas tree.