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Orthodontists buy village landmark MARCH 17, 2022
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BY JASON STARR Observer staff It’s the marriage of a 60-yearold orthodontics practice and a 180-year-old village landmark. Associates in Orthodontics, with existing offices in Essex, South Burlington, Middlebury and Newport, plans to finalize on Monday a $625,000 purchase of the brick home that was once the Old Brick Café and more recently the home of longtime Williston resident David Herskowitz. In recent years, Herskowitz has split his time between Williston and Florida. He is returning to town this weekend to close on the sale, then plans to move full-time to South Florida. The house at 7921 Williston Rd. was built in 1842. It is situated next to the Old Brick Church and across from Town Hall. The back entrance abuts Williston Central School’s parking lot, which was the biggest attraction for the orthodontists. There is a similar proximity to middle schools at their South Burlington and Middlebury offices. “(Patients) can walk right over from middle school and have their monthly adjustment done, then go back to school. They don’t need to have their parents take time off of
The site of the Old Brick Café in Williston Village will be converted into an orthodontist office with a planned October opening. OBSERVER PHOTO BY AL FREY
work,” explained orthodontist Jeff Blasius. “It’s a wonderful service for our patients and their parents. It’s kind of a lesson in adulting as well — sixth- and seventh-graders taking care of their own appointments.” Blasius hopes the office will be open by October and described it as a satellite location with limited hours.
“It will be at least one day a week and we’ll see what the need is based on the number of patients per day,” he said. “We’ll modify the schedule based on how busy it gets.” The practice, which opened in 1964, has three doctors who will rotate between the five locations. In a “change-of-use” permit application with the Williston
Planning and Zoning Department, the business presents plans to remove a non-working chimney, replace the sagging slate roof and replace windows. There will also be extensive interior remodeling — including the removal of walls, the replacement of floors and the addition of bathrooms and sinks — to convert the home into an orthodontist office. The front porch
and front door may also need rehabilitating. The orthodontists plan to convert a bedroom in the back of the building into “an affordable housing efficiency apartment,” their application states. They have had an initial meeting with the town’s Historical and Architectural Advisory Committee and plan to work with the committee as they finalize renovation plans. “The outside will be essentially the same,” Blasius said. “The intent is not to make any major alterations, preserving the character of the property.” Herskowitz still owns an office building on the corner of Route 2 and Talcott Road. Eight years ago, he sold 39 acres to the town with the help of the Vermont Land Trust that doubled the size of Mud Pond Country Park. The restaurant in the village had about a nine-year run, closing in 2014. Herskowitz then converted the building back into a house with a separate two-bedroom apartment. He has been living there part-time for the past three years. “I put a lot into it over the years,” he said. “I just hope that they add to the town and have a nice business and keep the building looking nice.”
Chef’s Corner celebrates silver anniversary BY JASON STARR Observer staff
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The 25th anniversary of Chef’s Corner will coincide with the retirement year of founder Jozef Harrewyn. Harrewyn left a teaching position at the New England Culinary Institute in Essex in 1997 to open the Euro-style café in its original
location on Route 2A. This spring, the restaurant will celebrate 25 years in business from its current location in the shopping plaza on Cornerstone Drive. By the end of the year, Harrewyn will begin stepping away from daily operations and hand the reigns to his partners Scott Sorrell and Jeff Moisan. “I never thought I’d be in busi-
ness 25 years in Williston, Vermont,” said Harrewyn, a pastry chef by trade who was born in Belgium and grew up in South Africa. “It’s been a journey.” Harrewyn was vacationing last week in Colorado, something he couldn’t have imagined doing during the early years of Chef’s see CHEF’S CORNER page 8
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