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Gustavo Cruz and Yuridiana Zaragoza with a tray of her tamales.

Yury's Kitchen Brings Traditional Oaxacan Food to Pittsfield

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Yury's Kitchen, located at 496 Tyler St., opened on Feb. 18 and began selling traditional Mexican dishes from Oaxaca as well as some American cuisine.
 
The owners, Yuridiana Zaragoza and Gustavo Cruz, are originally from Oaxaca and wanted to bring the culture and tradition to Berkshire County. 
 
Cruz's sister, Sheyla Cruz, who also works at the restaurant helped translate for this article.
 
"They wanted to share what is the tradition because it's not just food, it's a whole tradition so they wanted to share that with Berkshire County people so they can try technically how Oaxaca tastes," said Cruz.
 
Zaragoza moved to Berkshire County five years ago and started selling tamales from her house, hoping to one day open her own restaurant like her mom and grandmother before her. 
 
"They've been dedicated to the kitchen for a long time so it was a dream to open up their own," Gustavo Cruz said. 
 
Zaragoza said her customers wanted to have a place to go to enjoy more of her food. 
 
"When they started they only did delivery so a lot of other customers asked for a place and a place for them to come and have dinner and breakfast and so now that they have it they feel really happy and being here they say it makes them feel at home," Zaragoza said.
 
 Zaragoza said she is the third generation in her family to have a restaurant. 
 
"She especially feels really happy and proud of herself to have a restaurant here in the United States and her mom also has a restaurant in Oaxaca, Mexico," Zaragoza said. 
 
Yury's Kitchen not only has Mexican dishes but also some American favorites, as they wanted to make sure anyone could come to Yury's Kitchen and have options to enjoy.
 
"For their own experience when they go to a restaurant from their own experience one might want to have American food and the other one probably wants to have Mexican food so they said once they opened their restaurant they then will think about their customers and for them to have options," Cruz said. 
 
Yuridiana Zaragoza and Gustavo Cruz, who are married and have two kids, said their 9-year-old son said he feels famous now that the restaurant is up and running. 
 
"He's like really happy because a lot of people post them on social media and now he says that he's famous," Cruz said.
 
In the future they want to be able to open another restaurant that's bigger and where they can have social events. For this year they hope to win Best of the Berkshires for Mexican food. 
 
Yury's Kitchen is closed on Wednesdays but open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. closing at 7 p.m. on Sundays. They serve American breakfast from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Mexican dishes noon to 8 p.m. Find the menu and more information on their Facebook page. 

Tags: new business,   mexican food,   restaurants,   

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Trial Scheduled for North Adams Woman Accused of Killing Grandmother

Staff reportsiBerkshires

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A 2027 trial date is scheduled for a woman accused of killing her grandmother in North Adams four years ago. 

A jury trial for Kelsie Cote is set for May 24, 2027, in Berkshire Superior Court. 

Cote, 30, is alleged to have killed 74-year-old Doris A. Cote, who was found dead with sharp and blunt force injuries in her Church Street, North Adams, home on Nov. 1, 2022. 

Cote has pleaded not guilty to five felony charges: murder, armed assault to murder a person age 60 or older, two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon of a person age 60 or older, and one count of withholding evidence from official proceedings.

Hearings for evidence suppression will be held on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. 

A conference to review the case's status was held on Sept. 28. Assistant District Attorney Marianne Shelvey, representing the Berkshire County District Attorney's Office, filed a motion to impound certain documents, which was allowed by Judge Maureen Hogan. 

Cote is represented by attorney Kevin Joseph Reddington, who is also the defense lawyer for Lindsay Clancy, a Duxbury woman accused of killing her three children in 2023. Cote's case has reportedly been delayed because of the seven-week Clancy trial in Plymouth County, which ended in a mistrial on Sept. 4.

The Berkshire Eagle reported that Reddington told the court he seeks to suppress Cote's statements because he argues she was not read her Miranda rights, and that he will file motions to suppress evidence found during the execution of a search warrant, arguing that the police did not have probable cause. 

Allegations include: 

  • On or about Oct. 26 and on Nov. 1, Cote allegedly altered, destroyed, mutilated, or concealed a record, document, or other object or attempted to do so to impair the record, document, or object's integrity for use in an official proceeding. 
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