The Wrentham Times

InTransition: Wrentham Band Playing Local Venues

By Jackie Gately

You just never know what might evolve from friendships in a small community like Wrentham. For four Wrentham men—Paul Arvidson, Tom Black, Jim McCue, and Dennis McHale—who met through various family activities and other interests in town, it turned into a local musical career. In 2007, they formed the band, “InTransition,” a local classic rock (and more) cover band that continues to refine and expand its musical repertoire and aims to fill the dance floors. The band is playing Thanksgiving Eve at The Tavern at Wrentham.

To read the full article visit our Food & Entertainment Section. 

James' Breakfast Featured by the Phantom Gourmet

 

James Arsenault stars in an upcoming segment of the Phantom Gourmet.

Wrentham's James' Breakfast and More will be featured on the Phantom Gourmet, Saturday at 11 a.m. on Channel 38. The Phantom Gourmet features local restaurants throughout New England and highlights their specialties and the personalities behind the food.

 

The newly opened James' Breakfast and More, owned by Coryn and James Arsenault, isn't that new. The restaurant is actually a return for the Arsenaults who once ran James' Roadside at the same location over five years ago. The idea to feature James' Breakfast and More came from Franklin resident, and Phantom Gourmet VP of Visual Media and Production, Sean Finley. A fan of the old James' Roadside Cafe, Finley stopped in and was impressed with the new place.

Eric Sherman, senior producer for the Phantom Gourmet, explained, "Finley use to go to James' Roadside and loved it. He was happy to see the same owners back."

Finley took some pictures of the the food and conducted a brief interview using his iPhone. He pitched the story at a production meetingvand the crew  decided to feature the Wrentham restaurant.

This particular Phantom Gourmet segment has Sherman excited because of how well the Arsenault family members are on camera, as well as the amazing food they create. "The food looks great and tastes even better," Sherman says. "James, his wife, and mother-in-law are great on camera. They're great people."

The episode will air Saturday morning at 11 a.m. James' Breakfast and More is located at 850 Franklin St., and is open from 7 a.m to 2 p.m. closed on Tuesdays.

Garden Needs Volunteers

The Harvest from the Heart Garden is well into its second year and its ground has already yielded organically grown lettuce, chard, onions, tomatoes and potatoes. The bounty is delivered to the Wrentham Food Pantry where residents in need are able to benefit from a healthy assortment of fresh vegetables. While the growing season is in full swing, the garden needs additional volunteers. Currently there are 15 to 20 volunteers that regularly tend to the chores of weeding and watering, as well as harvesting, cleaning and packing vegetables. The number of volunteers is lower than last year according to Ken Oles, coordinator for the project. In addition to having fewer hands, Oles says the garden's production is down a little in its second year. "We started later this spring due to weather and other factors."

Despite the lower production and fewer volunteers, the 9,000 square feet of land located on the Wrentham Developmental Center property will produce a slew of veggies for the Wrentham Food Pantry that includes tomatoes, cucumbers, summer squash, winter squash, onions, Swiss chard, lettuce, peppers, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, cabbage, beans, and kale. All are welcome to participate in the garden. To lend a hand to the project, contact Oles via email at wrenthamgarden@yahoo.com. Work days are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Food and Entertainment Section Launched

The Wrentham Times is excited to launch a new Food and Entertainment section listing live entertainment in the area at local restaurants within easy driving distance of Wrentham. If we missed a place known for regularly putting on bands, comedians, or holding shows, please let us know and we'll add them to the list. Take a look here, and send feedback to pat@wrenthamtimes.com.

Mr. Dooley’s to Open

The doors to Mr. Dooley’s Old Country Pub will officially open Monday, July 12 at 11:00 am. The new place has significantly changed in appearance from The Anvil Pub that used to occupy the 303 Shears Street location. The brightly lit restaurant has newly installed hardwood floors throughout, features a dining room with fireplace, and boasts a dark wood bar with plenty of room to watch a game on the new flat screen televisions. The entire pub decor harkens from the Emerald Isle. Even the outside of Mr. Dooley’s has an Irish country feel. 

The transformation from The Anvil to Mr. Dooley’s took longer than owner John Somers had hoped, but he was determined to make the place look good on both the inside and the outside. “I took my time,” Somers said. “I want to be part of the community, and I want the community to be proud of this place.”

Starting Wednesday live music will be featured with Mike Hoe playing around 7:00 pm. Thursday night will be country and western music night. Hoe returns Friday night, and Irish music will fill the air on Saturday and Sunday. The Sunday performance is billed as an informal Irish Session where anyone interested in playing is welcome to perform. “Just show up and bring your instrument,” Somers says. 

Also in the works is a John Brown night which will feature the long time Boston bartender, and Wrentham native, pouring the Guinness. Brown works for Somers at the Mr. Dooley’s in Boston. 

 
The pub will be managed by Somers’ son, Sean, and will be a family operation featuring local staff. To read more about what to expect at Mr. Dooley’s Old Country Pub read this March The Wrentham Times article. 

Bountiful Harvest Benefits Pantry

Saturday the Wrentham Food Pantry received its third delivery of fresh organically grown vegetables thanks to the efforts of the Harvest from the Heart Volunteers. Organized by Ken Oles, the garden has produced approximately 40 pounds of vegetables for the local food pantry. The deliveries are scheduled to keep coming as the garden on the Wrentham Development School property is turning out to be bountiful. “The garden is really prolific,” Oles says. “The plants are very healthy.”
 
The harvesting is on a regular schedule with volunteers spending about two hours every Friday morning gathering vegetables and herbs from the 9,000 square foot lot. The newly picked crops are cleaned right at thesite before it’s brought to St. Mary’s. In the late afternoon, another group of volunteers sorts through the various heads of lettuce, herbs, onions, broccoli and other vegetables, and gives them another wash if necessary. Everything isplaced in produce bags donated by the Plainville Stop & Shop.  (Pictured: A group of volunteers tend to the garden.)
 
Other crops gathered so far include Swiss chard, parsley,basil, oregano and a few zucchini. Oles hopes the tomatoes will be ready for picking by the 4th of July. The garden also has eggplants, peppers,bush beans, and some turnips. Soon, new crops will be planted as part of a succession plan. Root crops will be replaced with surface plants like beans.
 
Oles says there has been some insect pressure such as the arrival of the Colorado potato beetle, which they can just pick off the plants.“Right now we’re just monitoring it,” he says. “If it doesn’t get worse, we’ll leave it alone. “
 
The garden is being tended to by a core group of 50 volunteers. There are University of Rhode Island Master Gardeners helping with the project, and local businesses have chipped in too. White Barn Farm and Westin Nursery have donated valuable plants, Cataldo’s Hardware has provided equipment at cost, and Groundscape Express provided the compost system.
 
Roberta Oles, Ken’s wife, says the garden has received donations from people throughout Wrentham and says that anyone in the community is welcome to volunteer and work in the garden. The harvests will continue to be on Friday mornings at 9:30.
 
With the summer still young, the early results from the garden are very positive and Oles is already dreaming about expanding the garden next year. “I would like to expand it to an acre,” he says. He says the larger garden will require the use of machinery, but he’s ready for that.

Food Pantry Receives Boost from School

The Wrentham based Schools Serve, a national school food drive program based in Wrentham, teamed up with the town's elementary school to raise more than 6,000 pounds of food for the Wrentham Food Pantry. In its inaugural drive, the effort was reportedly the largest single donation received by the Wrentham pantry’s since its inception in 1987. The 6,000 pounds of food is the start of an effort that hopes to raise more than 5 million pounds of food for local food pantries throughout the upcoming school year. “What better way to celebrate the movement than to see our hometown students involved and giving back to the community,” says Tim Sullivan, founder of Schools Serve.“Hunger is such a key issue nationally, and schools and school families are so well positioned to play a big role as part of the solution.” 
 

Catherine Marcin, director of the Wrentham Pantry Board,already sees that inspiration taking shape in her town:  “It is wonderful to see the next generation so enthusiastic about helping those who are less fortunate. It is uplifting to have another generation to carry on the work that we are doing.”

Schools Serve's efforts to raise millions of pounds of food can be tracked on their web site, Facebook, and Twitter.

(Pictured left to right: Schools Serve Founder, Superintendant of Wrentham Public Schools, Dr. Jeffrey Marsden, and State Senator Richard Ross.)

 

Tomato Plants Still Available

This weekend is the last opportunity to pick up tomato plants from the White Barn Farm road stand. Located on 458 South Street, and open from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, tomato plants will be on sale for $2 each. They also have sweet peppers,  6-packs of flowers: cosmos, marigolds, globe amaranth, and annual black-eyed Susans on sale for for $3 per 6-pack. On the fresh vegetable front, kale, swiss chard, spinach, broccoli, lettuce, kohlrabi, garlic scapes, mint, marjoram, basil, cilantro, beets and maybe peas will be available. There is also honey from hives kept at the farm and eggs from farms in the area.

Tavern is Ready for Business

The paint is dry. The flat screen televisions have been positioned above the bar. The kitchen is fired up and ready to go. The Tavern at Wrentham, 263 Shear Street, is open for business starting Thursday.

Wednesday evening, new owner Doug Smith (pictured) packed the renovated Tavern with a private party in preparation for the official Thursday opening.

Tavern to Open Thursday

The wait is over.  The Tavern at Wrentham, 263 Shear Street, will resume business Thursday, May 20 for lunch and dinner. The new Tavern will feature much of the same menu known at Tom’s Tavern with an emphasis on seafood. Read more about the renovation efforts here.