| Danielle Eaton
deaton@thereminder.com
Category:
HOLYOKE – City residents now have a new option when choosing where to eat dinner in Holyoke.
Andrew Garlo, who grew up in Westfield and currently lives in Sunderland, said he opened the Paper City Bar and Grill after about 15 years of experience in the culinary industry. He said he began his career as a waiter at the Tekoa Country Club in Westfield. “I realized I really don’t like serving people, so I asked to get a job in the back. I started as a dishwasher and just kept on doing that,” he said.
That, he said, was when his career took off. From there, he went to Rhode Island to intern with Blackstone Catering, and then came back to Western Massachusetts to work at Tuckers in Southwick. After leaving Tucker’s, he went on to become the sous chef at the Armbrook Village retirement home and eventually helped open The Cove in Southwick.
Garlo said The Cove closed down after a year, after finding out they needed to install a new sprinkler system, which he said was too expensive. After a couple of other jobs, including teaching at the Bradford Hall Career Institute in Springfield until they closed and assisting in the opening of The Courtyard in West Springfield, Garlo said he came across the building in Holyoke that was formerly home to an Applebee’s restaurant.
“I saw this place opening up and I was talking to the building owners about a great idea for Holyoke. They were super interested, so I said ‘Can I open up in this space?’ And they said ‘Of course,’” he explained.
Despite opening in September, Garlo said they were working out some kinks, including staffing and equipment issues. “Staffing has been one of the biggest issues, just trying to get staff in and keep them. I have a good core of staff now, just not enough, so we’re kind of doing bare-bones,” he said. “We’ve had some equipment malfunctions and some stuff randomly going off in the kitchen so that’s been holding us back. I’m just trying to make sure we’re set, trying to figure out what sells better, what sells more.”
On this mission to perfect every aspect of his restaurant, he said he was determined to source his ingredients and drinks. “That’s my big thing, use as much local as possible and as much fresh stuff as possible. So our freezer doesn’t have much in it, there’s breads just to kind of hold onto, but other than that, there’s not pre-made things in there,” he said. “That’s the way I always learned, use fresh, as fresh as possible.”
Garlo gave an example of fresh ingredients used by the restaurant from local resources. “We do our own hand-cut French fries, so they’re cut in the kitchen, we soak them and then we salt the water and stuff like that, then cook them off. I used to use Maine potatoes for it, but actually, I’m starting now to use Swaz potatoes up in Hatfield,” he said. “Their potato just comes out much better as a French fry.”
This philosophy, he said, carries over to the drinks he carries in his restaurant as well. He said of the 12 taps he has for beer, only three are non-local brands. “So I’ve got White Lion, who’s from Springfield, Progressions in Northampton, Loophole’s in Chicopee, Iron Duke’s in Ludlow, Abandoned Buildings in Easthampton, Arc Point – which is in Belchertown, then Stella Artois, and then I’ve got Vanished Valley in Ludlow, Timberyard which is in Brookfield, Sierra Nevada which is from Nevada and then Holyoke Craft [Beer] and Bud Light,” he said.
Despite plans to have a rotating offering of craft beers, he said one beer will always be on tap. “Holyoke Craft [Beer] will always be on [tap], that’s the Holyoke beer,” he said.
In addition to a variety of beers on tap, he said there would also be “as many craft cans and bottles as I can get,” and craft cocktails. “Everybody likes a good variety of stuff, and there’s so many great brewers around here that there’s no need to buy out of New England,” he said, adding that he wanted to be “supporting as much people around here as possible, and get their name out, too.”
He continued, “That was my thought, there is so much good beer here, there should be one spot we can get it all – or as much as possible.” Garlo added that he also carries Hidden Tradition Distilling’s hibiscus gin and vodka, which are made locally in Holyoke, and a nonalcoholic India pale ale (IPA) style beer.
“I kind of scoured Holyoke to find as much local stuff as I can to just really help local people out,” he said.
Garlo said while he’s “not a wine guy,” he worked with his wine representative to compile a list of wines he felt would be both delicious and eye-catching. “We went through to figure out the best ones that would fit here, and for me, it’s always what catches the eyes. So I try to find the coolest labels to go with the best wine, so that it kind of catches your attention a little bit,” he said. “Our rosé [wine] is called The Pale. When we first opened or were opening, they’d only been in the U.S. for like a week. You could only get it here and one other spot.”
He expanded on their menu offerings and said while it would be changing seasonally, he hoped to maintain an atmosphere of fun both in the restaurant and in their food. He said this could be seen in their nachos, which are built in a can and allows the cheese to pour over the chips when taken out of the can. “My thought was that stuff’s all out in eastern Mass. I was like, how come there can’t be a fun restaurant out here,” he questioned.
Also lacking in the Western Massachusetts area, he said, were places for people to eat brunch. “I have four Bloody Marys and four different mimosas. There’s going to be flights down the road of beer, but also Bloody Mary’s and mimosas,” he said.
He said between finding local resources and businesses to highlight, and emphasizing Holyoke’s history through decor donated by organizations such as the police and fire departments, he wants to showcase Holyoke. “What I’m about is having a place that shines and brings people to Holyoke. There’s no Holyoke bar that everybody goes to and they can hang out and relax, just enjoy,” he said. “Northampton had their uprising of being like that cool city, then Easthampton had it. I was like, you know what, I think it’s Holyoke’s time to really shine and show off.”
The Paper City Bar and Grill is located at 241 Whiting Farms Rd. and is open from 3 p.m. to 12 a.m. Monday through Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 12 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday. For updates about their menu and drink offerings, as well as additional information about the restaurant, visit the Paper City Bar and Grill Facebook page, their Instagram(@papercitybargrill) and their website, papercitybarandgrill.com.