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Wells Corner Store on Main Street in Charlemont was dark for as long as I can remember. It might have been dark when John A. Wells started selling dry goods in the building in 1877. Today the new Wells Provisions is full of light, thanks to the hard work of its new owners and their friends and colleagues.
The walls are bright, the space is open, and the storefront is large and inviting. It was recently restored by Greenfield Glass to look like it was in the 1930s.
Wesley Janssen grew up in Northfield but worked for many years in Louisiana, where she met her husband Levi and their boss, James “Sid” Cavallo. The Janssens were visiting family in our area last year when they noticed the store was for sale.
They were then employed by a large catering company in New Orleans. Levi Janssen was managing director and his wife worked in marketing. The pandemic has made their job more difficult.
“Our company fired almost everyone. Our jobs have changed dramatically, â€Wesley Janssen said in a recent interview. “We thought, ‘Maybe now is the time to do something very different. It was our opportunity to do our own thing.
They bought the building and started planning to bring a taste of New Orleans to Charlemont. When Wesley Janssen mentioned the upcoming move on Facebook, she got a call from Sid Cavallo, who grew up in Springfield.
“My wife and I had already decided to come back here,†Cavallo added. “I kind of jumped with them.”
He first worked with Levi Janssen in 1999 in New Orleans. Cavallo’s long history with the couple came in handy when the three began renovating the building and starting their new business, which is part a restaurant, part an ice cream stand, part a top cafe. range and partly a food and liquor store. .
“We are a total team,†said Wesley Janssen.
In the past, each had a designated role in a large organization. At Wells Provisions, she noted, “We are all departments, from maintenance to HR. Cavallo is officially the leader, but that hasn’t stopped him from helping rehabilitate the floors when the Janssens needed extra hands.
The day before their official opening in mid-July, the three spent a sleepless night preparing the place. When I told them I couldn’t stay awake this late, they laughed. “Neither do we,” Cavallo informed me with a wry smile.
The three were supported by their families. The Janssens called their three young children “super herders”, adding that it helps the youngsters to have an ice cream display at their disposal.
They are also delighted with the support they have received from the community. Northfield Creamie helped them set up their ice cream parlor. “They gave us everything,†said Levi Janssen.
Neighboring farmers offered to provide food for both the restaurant (which serves breakfast and lunch) and the market. People were constantly stopping as the Janssens renovated the building to express their goodwill and ask when they would open.
Now that Wells Provisions is operational, it receives a lot of tourists. It also attracts repeated visits from locals. Levi Janssen said, “They come for coffee, and they come for lunch, and they come for ice cream.”
The menu reflects the flavors of New Orleans with which the three are familiar. Photographer Paul Franz and I visited on a Monday, the traditional red bean cooking day in Louisiana. Therefore, we were served red beans and rice with the barbecue shrimp recipe that we watched Sid Cavallo cook.
In addition to breakfast, lunch, and ice cream, the shop sells natural wines, craft beers, frozen ready meals, alcohol, bitters, and other gourmet items. It also offers catering.
Wells Provisions is currently open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday through Monday. I found the Janssens and Cavallo welcoming and fun. Wesley Janssen told me that they wanted Wells Provisions to be a “third place,†a term used in sociology to refer to a gathering place that is neither home nor work.
“We really want this to be accessible to everyone in the community,†she said with a smile.
“Not what you would expect from a barbecue sauce, New Orleans barbecue sauce is a buttery, garlic, and delicious sauce that pairs beautifully with shrimp. At Wells Provisions, we have our own riff on what has become the traditional NOLA barbecue sauce, â€said Wesley Janssen.
It seemed to me that Cavallo put more than 2 tablespoons of butter in the shrimp; I would call its measurement a big blob. This is the official version of the recipe, however.
Ingredients:
For the sauce:
1 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup Crystal hot sauce (or Buffalo-style hot sauce)
1 teaspoon of fresh rosemary, chopped
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
juice of half a lemon
6 ounces of beer, preferably an amber lager
1/2 cup heavy cream
for the shrimps:
1 tbsp diced onion
a pinch of salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
2 teaspoons of chopped garlic
1 pound of wild Gulf shrimp, peeled
a pinch of pepper
Instructions:
First, prepare the sauce. Combine the Worcestershire, hot sauce, rosemary, pepper and lemon juice in a heavy-based saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and let the liquid simmer by half.
Add the beer and reduce by half again; then add the cream and reduce until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and pass through a mesh strainer. Set the sauce aside while you prepare the shrimp. You will get about 1-1 / 2 cups. Leftover sauce can be refrigerated until needed.
Switch to the shrimp. Over medium heat, sweat the onion pieces with a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of butter until translucent. Once they have softened, add the garlic. Cook until fragrant, then add the shrimp and pepper.
When the shrimp are partially cooked, add 1/2 cup barbecue sauce and cook until the shrimp are cooked through (just a few minutes). Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining butter until completely incorporated.
Serve over oatmeal, polenta or mashed potatoes – or in a bowl with French bread. Serves 2. This recipe can be doubled.
Tinky Weisblat is the award-winning author of “The Pudding Hollow Cookbook”, “Pulling Taffy” and “Love, Laughter, and Rhubarb”. Visit her website, TinkyCooks.com.
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