COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT BY PAM HUNT PHOTOS COURTESY OF SWEETWATERS
FRESH AND LOCAL FARE IN A HISTORIC BUILDING
Sweetwaters Committed to the Community
For nearly 40 years, Sweetwaters American Bistro has been a mainstay on Church Street. The building itself has played a role in Burlington’s marketplace since the 1880s. Starting its life as the Burlington Trust Company, it became a men’s clothing shop and a woodworking studio over the years before opening as an eatery in 1981. The original owners, Tony Perry and the Perry Restaurant Group, renovated the building to bring it back to the former glory of its heyday. Current owners David and Terri Melincoff took over the gastronomic landmark in 28 | www.bestofburlingtonvt.com
2002. Since then, the pair have continued Perry’s commitment to good food and good deeds, while also making changes to reflect their vision. KEEPING THINGS FRESH The Melincoffs tweak Sweetwaters’ menu regularly, both to satisfy diners’ changing preferences and to reflect the evolving food scene in Vermont. “We’ve tried to go more local, like a lot of other restaurants,” Terri says. “It’s valued in this community.” She cites the ever-popular