By Alex Sharp
The food scene in downtown South Deerfield is currently undergoing a transformation. After over 26 years of owning and operating Jerry’s Place, Jerry and Pat Degrosa decided to retire. Business partners Justin Killeen and Jason Kicza recently purchased the building Jerry’s Place inhabited which is located on 55 North Main Street in South Deerfield. Killeen and Kicza have renovated the property and brought in two new restaurants.
One of the new restaurant is called Leo’s Table and is set to open this June. Jennifer Howard, a Sunderland resident, is the owner and told the Greenfield Recorder “South Deerfield definitely needs a solid breakfast and lunch joint, and we’re happy to bring that to them.” Howard named the restaurant after her late grandfather who owned a breakfast and lunch place in Fitchburg before serving in World War II.
According to the restaurant’s Facebook page menu items will include homemade english muffins, breakfast and lunch sandwiches, salads, local coffee & espresso drinks, desserts, and daily specials. Howard’s prepared meal delivery service Food for Strength will also be ran out of the 55 North Main Street location.
The other restaurant coming to town is Bueno Y Sano, a well known restaurant chain in Western MA with locations in Northampton, Amherst, Springfield, and West Springfield.
Justin Killeen said the process of bringing Bueno Y Sano to South Deerfield began with a survey on a community Facebook group called “Deerfield Now.” The survey asked Deerfield residents what food options they would like to see in town. Killeen said that many community members voiced their desire for more culinary diversity in South Deerfield and referenced the abundance of Italian food shops (Holiday Pizza, Primos, Wolfies etc). Several people mentioned a desire for Mexican food so Killeen reached out to Bob Lowry, the owner and founder of Bueno Y Sano.
“He (Lowry) agreed to sit down and talk and it went from there. It’s a hard balance because we’re trying to sell him on something but we honestly believe in the concept too. It wasn’t like we were trying to oversell. We think it’ll be very successful” said Killeen.
Bueno Y Sano will be in the old Subway location and is set to open sometime this Summer. Their menu is full of authentic Mexican food with a wide variety of burritos, tacos, quesadillas, and much more.
Carsten Carey, a senior at Frontier who worked at Bueno Y Sano in Northampton, expects the restaurant to be warmly received in part due to its dedicated employees.
“Bueno Y Sano will bring really kind and dedicated workers that will do the most for everyone that walks through their doors” said Carey.
As a result of two new restaurants opening up minutes away from Frontier, seniors who choose to go out to lunch and students who need a bite to eat after school will have a difficult decision on their hands.