Waitsfield’s Mad River Green Shops got a new spot for seasonal food and drink the week before Christmas. Joy Bar and Restaurant now offers a casual, Mediterranean-inspired menu and classic cocktails for dinner and Sunday lunch — plus live music and other events — at 172 Mad River Green. It ’s the first restaurant for owner Emma Delphin, 40, who has worked in the industry for more than 20 years. She was bartending at Stark’s Pub at Mad River Glen when Ryan McGuane and Lindsay Jarvis, who have owned the Mad River Green Shops plaza since last summer, asked if she might know anyone who wanted to take over the former Collaborative Brewing location. Emma Delphin Credit: Courtesy “I said, ‘Yeah, why don’t I give you my phone number?’” Delphin recalled with a laugh. The next day, she brought her husband — a carpenter — to see the space. The couple installed all new kitchen equipment and bumped out a few walls to revamp the former brewery, which had been vacant for several years. They extended the 12-seat bar and wrapped it in copper, Delphin said. The cozy restaurant’s total capacity is 49, including a standing drink rail. “The small businesses that are here are owned by lovely people, and they’re such neat little stores,” Delphin said of the plaza. “It feels really nice to have landed here and be in the mix of all these established places.” Joy Bar and Restaurant takes a seasonal approach, Delphin said. Right now, she’s sourcing local and organic produce such as beets, squash, potatoes, watermelon radishes and carrots from Huntington’s Burnt Rock Farm. Meats come from 5th Quarter, conveniently located on the other side of the shopping plaza. So far, popular items include a falafel plate made with chickpeas from Vermont Bean Crafters and a slow-roasted chicken shawarma wrap served with tahini, labneh, tzatziki and pickled cabbage. Small plates such as fingerling potatoes with housemade lemon-mayonnaise sauce are meant for sharing. On the drinks side, almost all of the restaurant’s wines are organic or made using sustainable practices at small, family-owned vineyards, Delphin said. Cocktails such as Manhattans, Sazeracs and martinis — Delphin’s favorite — will shift seasonally along with the food menu. Mocktails feature local maple syrup and honey. Reservations are encouraged; make them by calling 802-496-4045. Takeout and expanded lunch hours are planned for the future. The post Joy Bar and Restaurant Opens in Waitsfield’s Mad River Green Shops appeared first on Seven Days. ...read more read less