NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A Main Street eatery has reopened under new ownership after being closed for four months.
Angie Mazza the new owner of Ramunto's Pizza & Pub, but she's no stranger to Ramunto's. Mazza has been working at the restaurant for about five years in various positions.
"I originally started here approximately five years ago," she said. "My brother had owned the restaurant at the time, and I was in nursing school and COVID had just hit, so I started traveling from Springfield down here to help him out, and then after COVID, I kind of I moved to this area eventually, and then I ended up taking on a bigger role here."
Once her brother, T.J. Maroney, left to pursue other things she became the manager and eventually was asked earlier this year if she would like to take over the restaurant. She said she loves the restaurant and what it brings to the community.
"I have been managing it for a while now, and I really love the environment that this restaurant provides to the community. It's just a great place for people to gather, and we host a lot of sports teams and family events, and I think it's a huge part of the community."
Ramunto's Brick Oven Pizza is a local franchise chain with eight restaurants in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont, and in four Jiffy mart locations. The closest Ramunto's is in The Log on Spring Street in Williamstown. The chain was started by the Ramunto family in West Lebanon, N.H., 30 years ago. The restaurant opened in North Adams in 2016 and has had several owners since.
In May, the North Adams pizzeria posted on Facebook the news it would be closing and Mazza taking over, in a post that partly read:
"We're proud to share that Angie Mazza — a local resident, new mother of three, and someone you all know as the face of Ramunto’s for the past three years — will be taking over as owner-operator. Angie's dedication, warmth, and commitment to the community make her the perfect person to lead Ramunto's into its next chapter."
Ramunto's hosted an invitation only night on Tuesday and a grand opening that included raffles and prizes was on Wednesday.
Mazza said she and her crew have been working hard on renovations like replacing the HVAC system, redoing some of the floors, replacing chairs, renovating bathrooms, and more. The brown paper that covered the windows was removed on Tuesday.
"It was a lot of hard, physical work, and there's something to be said about all the work that we put in. My manager and I work here day in and day out, especially the last few weeks, working non-stop around the clock to get this place to look the way it does. And we did most of the work ourselves," she said.
She's also thankful for her family who came in and helped her throughout the summer as well. Mazza also mentioned that most of the staff are the same as before and is thankful for their help.
The menu hasn't changed but she plans to expand it and make a couple of changes. She also plans to bring back special nights and hopes to add trivia nights as well.
"For the next couple of weeks, there will be slight menu changes in the near future as we update our like physical copies of menus, and we'll be adding some new fun flavors to the menus," she said. "We're going to implement specials. So there's going to be daily specials and monthly specials. We're going to try to bring back our wing night and our pasta night, and we'll also have burger night, and then we also would like to implement trivia in the near future."
The current hours are 4 to 9 on Wednesday and Thursday, 11:30 to 10 on Friday and Saturday, and noon to 9 on Sunday.
Mazza said the once everything in settled in the hours will eventually go back to the way they were; check the Facebook page for updates.
(Note the new Facebook page is named Ramuntos Pizza and Pub North Adams, MA.)
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Clarksburg Students Write in Support of Rural School Aid
By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
Mason Langenback calculated that Clarksburg would get almost $1 million if the $60 million was allocated equally.
CLARKSBURG, Mass. — Eighth-graders at Clarksburg School took a lesson in civic advocacy this week, researching school funding and writing letters to Beacon Hill that call for fulling funding rural school aid.
The students focused on the hardships for small rural schools and their importance to the community — that they struggle with limited funding and teacher shortages, but offer safe and supportive spaces for learning and are a hub for community connections.
"They all address the main issue, the funding for rural schools, and how there's a gap, and there's the $4 million gap this year, and then it's about the $40 million next year, and that rural schools need that equitable funding," said social studies teacher Mark Karhan.
A rural schools report in 2022 found smaller school districts cost from nearly 17 percent to 23 percent more to operate, and recommended "at least" $60 million be appropriated annually for rural school aid.
Gov. Maura Healey has filed for more Chapter 70 school aid, but that often is little help to small rural schools with declining or static enrollment. For fiscal 2027, she's budgeted $20 million for rural schools, up from around $13 million this year but still far below the hoped for $60 million.
Karhan said the class was broken into four groups and the students were provided a submission letter from Rural Schools Advocacy. The students used the first paragraph, which laid out the funding facts, and then did research and wrote their own letters.
They will submit those with a school picture to the governor.
The students focused on the hardships for small rural schools and their importance to the community — that they struggle with limited funding and teacher shortages, but offer safe and supportive spaces for learning and are a hub for community connections.
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