The Tavern on the Hill — located at 100 Mountain Road — is up for sale, but owners say the business will stay open in the meantime.
Reminder Publishing photo by Trent Levakis
EASTHAMPTON — While Tavern on the Hill was listed on the market this past fall, owners Amy and Larry Guyette want the public to know they are still open and operating as usual.
“So the word is out, yes, after 21 years, Larry and Amy have made the difficult decision to place the Tavern on the market. This does not mean we are closed,” the restaurant announced via its Facebook page on Jan. 21.
“We are still here, we are still open, and we will continue to be open until a new owner is found and a deal is made,” . “We are so very grateful for the continued support from our community. One of the best ways you can help us is by stopping in for dinner, or grabbing takeout from us.”
Purchased by the Guyette’s in 2005, Larry has led the restaurant as the chef. He has been in the restaurant industry since he was 15 and started cooking at 17. Now coming up on 21 years of ownership, Amy explained to Reminder Publishing that Larry has been dealing with severe osteoporosis, causing him much pain. This has led to the decision to sell.
“He’s not able to stand really long or really do what he has always done in the past, and we just decided it was time for us to pass the torch on to somebody else,” said Amy. “It’s a gorgeous location. We have thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of owning the restaurant. I work out front, so I’ve gotten to know people, and I know their families and I’ve seen them come in dating, then married, then with kids — 20 years is a long time. The decision was essentially just, we’ve kind of aged out of it. It’s a young man’s job, and it’s not something that we’re really able to give as much as the restaurant deserves.”
The Tavern is currently listed on the market with a $975,000 asking price. Amy said she hopes whoever ends up purchasing the restaurant will have a similar use in mind. She added they have a photo of the property from 1927, before it was a restaurant. At that time, it was a sandwich shop where people would stop in and grab something on their way up the mountain. According to Amy, the photo showcases the property’s long legacy in the community.
“It’s set up as a restaurant. I guess somebody could come in and change it up, but ideally, we would love somebody to just come in and take over as Tavern on the Hill, but I don’t know that that will happen,” said Amy. “The location’s always been sort of a spot to stop and enjoy the view and such. So, we’d love to see hopefully somebody continue that tradition.”
In reflecting on the legacy of their ownership, Amy said it has been a whole family affair. From the time her father served as an initial partner when she and Larry purchased the Tavern, to her son and nephew growing up around it and working in the restaurant still to this day, to even seeing local families grow over the years, the Guyette’s said they are thankful to be a part of the local community.
Amy and Larry grew up in Southampton and Easthampton, respectively, and as a high schooler, Amy worked at Harvest Valley, the previous name of the Tavern on the Hill. The day Amy and Larry got married, Larry and his wedding party marched up the mountain for lunch at Harvest Valley.
“That location’s just always been part of our DNA. We’ve just always known about it. It was funny, years ago before we bought it, he [Larry] said, ‘If I ever struck out on my own, the only place I’d want to own is Harvest Valley,’ and now we do,” Amy said. “I’m a strong believer in, our community supports us, so we need to support our community. We have sponsored Little League teams, I was the president of youth football in Easthampton for 12 years, and we supported them in any way that we possibly could. Whatever we could do to support our community, we did. We just felt very strongly in that connection, having grown up here. These are our people. This is where we grew up, so that’s always been nice.”
Amy reiterated that while they are looking to sell Tavern on the Hill, they are still open for business and encourage those who share the mutual love for the restaurant to still come in and grab a meal in what will be the home stretch of this ownership’s run.
“We’re not sold. We’re not closed. We have seen a dip in business a little bit this winter. I don’t know if there’s correlation to that. I think the economy is kind of in the toilet. Our world is sort of bonkers right now. I think people are sort of hunkering down,” Amy said. “But we wanted to get the word out there that ‘hey, we’re still here. We still need your support. We still have bills to pay. We still have staff that we need to pay.’ So, we just wanted people to know that we’re still here. It’s a family-run business, and we tend to be very community-driven.”
