The Kitchen serves satisfaction in Stowe

The Handwergers have run Café on Main for six years, after taking it over in 2011 from Jamie Persky and Mark Rosman, who went on to open Plate across Main Street.

Neil, who’s worked as a chef in restaurants across the country, jumped at the chance to move back to Stowe and take on a new challenge during daylight hours.

“That kind of lifestyle got to be too much after a certain amount of years,” Neil said, “but there’s a life that’s beyond fine dining. I like to think we put the same amount of care into our product that four-star chefs do.”

Neil’s also a high school coach, and is very involved with Stowe Youth Lacrosse. His team-building spirit extends to his kitchen crews, too.

“You can cook great food, but if you don’t have those friendly faces that really care about it, you’re going to fail,” Neil said.

“It’s about believing in others, because that’s how you grow,” he said. “People who have been (with me) for more than four years, they’re walking a lot taller with more experience.”

Another of Alan’s sons (they’ve got three: Eric, Neil and Ben, and a daughter, Katie) runs two lunch spots in Providence, R.I., and Neil was interested in picking up another one.

“I wanted a new bike for Christmas too,” he joked.

Alan said in both cases he worked on designs with his sons, then with local contractors and builders, before handing over the reins.

After a busy summer in the village at Café on Main, The Kitchen, which has been up and running for barely a month, “opened in one of the busiest 10-day blocks of his (Neil’s) life,” Alan said.

“Now that it’s built, I can bow out,” he said. “I like the bowing out part.”

Kitchen confidential

The Kitchen moved into the space in the Gale Farm Center at 1880 Mountain Road previously occupied by Bender’s Burritos, which wrapped up business late last year.

The cozy, 16-seat spot, abutting PK Coffee, will feature a rotating display of local artwork; currently, a photography series featuring Italian street scenes by Marcie Scudder draws the eye to the cheery yellow walls.

“We still have the friendly staff that everyone’s gotten used to at Café on Main, but we’re doing things a little differently,” Neil said. “Our equipment allows us to venture into some different food, some better food.”

Diners will find an array of soups, salads and sandwiches, as well as a changing selection of entrées and sides that can be ordered on the spot or ahead of time, in any combination.

“We’ll get a call — usually dad wants a sandwich, the kid wants barbecue country pork ribs, mom wants a large salad with a piece of chicken on it, someone else wants soup. It’s not like you have to order a turkey dinner for four,” Alan said.

Handwritten boards display five to eight daily entrées that change with “what’s available not only at the market, so to speak, but also what’s in our hearts and thoughts.”

Alan recently cranked out several pans of Greek lasagna, an old Olive’s Bistro favorite, and has threatened to bring back his classic shrimp Med if customers are interested.

With 48 to 72 hours notice, Alan said, The Kitchen can also whip up enough food to feed a crowd of any size.

A recent visit yielded a tender, flavorful brisket sandwich with crunchy coleslaw, two perfect slices of meatloaf on a soft bun, and a robust kale Caesar salad served in a glass pie dish, eaten messily (and happily) and washed down with cans of 14th Star Brewing’s Tribute IPA. At a nearby table, an elegantly après-ski-attired couple clinked glasses of wine and shared a beautifully plated pork loin entrée with sweet potato puree and cider reduction — and wiped the plate clean.

“We’re creating this thing, but we’re also letting it evolve, and we’re listening,” Neil said.

Now, the menu is focused on “easy comfort food for winter,” Alan said — roasted root vegetables, brisket, pork ribs, things like that.

When the season changes, looks for “probably more fish, lighter fare,” Neil said.

“As a cook, you naturally cook like that,” he said.

Café on Main is pretty focused on the soup-salad-sandwich model, Neil said, so for The Kitchen he’s enjoyed reaching out to new purveyors, such as Sandiwood Farm in Wolcott (where his younger brother, Ben, was married last summer).

“We’re always trying to think local, sustainable, when it makes sense,” Neil said. “Everybody likes to talk about that, but the reality is you do it whenever possible.

“We choose quality, and then we choose local. We look for the best,” he said.

Most items on the menu are under $15, and all are under $20.

“We’re conscious about price” and want to keep it accessible for all, Neil said.

“It’s really important to have these locals, which are friends, really,” he said.

The skiers, the tourists — “that’s the gravy,” Alan said.

Spillover business from the Café is happening too, but not as much as Neil might have expected.

“It sounds silly in a village of 4,600, but this is a different neighborhood,” Neil said. “As many faces as I see that I know from Café, there’s as many that I don’t.”

New neighbors, like employees and clients of Seldom Scene Interiors, The Alchemist and Stowe Beverage, have been supportive as well.

“Part of the reason we got this space is because we believe in this area. It’s thriving right now,” Neil said.

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The Kitchen is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. See the daily menu at thekitchenvt.com, and specials and more info at fb.com/thekitchenvt.