Williston
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Permit #15 Williston,VT 05495 POSTAL CUSTOMER
JUNE 30, 2022
WILLISTON’S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1985
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Williston Community Theatre premiers BY ERIN ZUBARIK Special to the Observer
From left to right: Abby Lord, Colleen Christman, Mary-Kate Clark, Justin Bouvier, Sean Reeks and Gloria Kamencik form the ensemble that performed “Tales and Things,” the first production of the Williston Community Theatre. The musical play was staged June 23-25 as part of the First: Earth series at Isham Family Farm. PHOTO BY LESLEY MURRAY
So long old Friend
Once a Taft Corners hotspot, Friendly’s finally picks up stakes BY JASON STARR Observer staff
Friendly’s Restaurant was a Taft Corners pioneer, among the first out-of-state businesses to invest in Williston with a location that opened in the mid-1980s. With its diner-style family fare and ice cream treats, it became a community gathering spot. “It was very popular when it first went in. The parking lot was packed all the time,” Town Clerk and native Willistonian Sarah Mason recalled. But this summer, the iconic cursive Friendly’s sign has vanished, the parking lot is barren and the restaurant building is empty. It appears the business has closed for good, leaving a void at the southeast corner of the central Taft Corners intersection, where Routes 2 and 2A come together. Representatives from the Friendly’s corporate office did not return calls seeking confirmation. Friendly’s filed for bankruptcy in 2020 and was acquired by a group of investors by the name of Amici Partners, which is affiliated with Brix Holdings out of Dallas, ac-
cording to news releases on the company’s website. Friendly’s leased the one-acre parcel and building from the Ronald D. and Louse C. Mussen Revocable Trust. The property was placed in the trust in 1993 by Ronald and Louise Mussen, an Essex couple. Ronald passed away in 2018, and Louise is in her 90s, according to Williston Assistant Assessor Dick Ransom, who knew the couple personally. The Mussen trust is based in Boca Raton, Fla., according to the most recent tax bill for the property, which the town values at $620,610. When asked about the redevelopment potential for the parcel, Williston Planning and Zoning Director Matt Boulanger said, “First, I feel a little nostalgia as I’m sure many Willistonians do, given the long tenure of Friendly’s in that location.” Williston native and nearby property owner Alex Judge agreed: “It’s such a great location, and I remember going there for ice cream as a little kid.” Town planners have recently written an entirely new set of land use regulations for Taft Corners, which would govern any redevelopment of the parcel. The new regulations are currently under consideration for adoption by the
The Williston Community Theatre has successfully completed its first season. After a year of organizing, and many months of rehearsing, a team of local thespians performed the show “Tales and Things” at Isham Family Farm last weekend. In the fall of 2021, Isham Farm co-owner Helen Weston decided that she wanted to start a community theater in Williston. Weston has always been involved with the arts, and she wanted to create a local theater group to bring the town closer together. “The thing about community theater is you reach out to people, and you hang out with them, but you are not discussing ‘are we going to put in a new traffic light, new sidewalks, or are we going to develop this land.’ We come to-
The recently vacated Friendly’s Restaurant in Taft Corners.
Williston Selectboard. The primary landowners in Taft Corners participated in the drafting of the new regulations, but planners have had no contact with the owners of the Friendly’s parcel. “I’d be very interested to see an application for redevelopment on that site,” said Boulanger. The new regulations would allow residential buildings or a mix of commercial, office and residen-
tial space on the site. The buildings would be allowed to be up to six stories tall. “Elements of (the new regulations) ensure a building that will become part of Taft Corners, with a strong relationship to the streets it is located on, where utilitarian functions like parking, trash-handling, driveways and loading are de-emphasized and kept behind the building, while it
gether from all walks of life and we do something fun.” Weston was determined to start the theater group, but she knew she needed help, so she reached out to Justin Bouvier, an assistant principal and theater director at Mt. Abraham Union Middle and High School. While Bouvier was keeping score for a field hockey game, Weston approached him and said: “I want to talk to you about starting a theater company in Williston … Well, I’m going to do it, but I want you on board.” After the field hockey game, Weston and Bouvier began to plan more seriously. They chose a show, scavenged for props and found a cast. After casual auditions, the cast began rehearsals in January. Last weekend, the group’s hard see THEATRE page 24
OBSERVER PHOTO BY JASON STARR
puts its best foot forward on the street,” Boulanger said. “While I haven’t made an in-depth analysis of what sorts of designs would fit this particular site, the most fun and rewarding aspect of working on the (new regulations) has been meeting with landowners, engineers and architects to look at developing or redeveloping small and interesting sites like this one.”