Michael Drake, a longtime Vermont restaurant owner and property manager, has purchased the building at 3 Elm Street in Woodstock Village, with plans to revitalize the space.
The first-floor restaurant, formerly Dr. Coburn’s Tonic – and before that, Bentleys – will open this month as Positive Pie. The plan is to serve up traditional New York-style pizza and drinks. Drake told the Standard that they have three other Positive Pie locations across the state. He said the first shop opened in 1999 in Plainfield, the second in Montpelier in 2004, and the third in Hardwick in 2012. Now he’s aiming to open the fourth location in Woodstock Village on October 16.
Positive Pie will serve alcoholic drinks once its liquor license is obtained, and will be open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., with extended hours on Fridays and Saturdays until 11 p.m.
In addition to the restaurant opening, Drake has plans for the entire 3 Elm Building, which has been on the market for over a year. The sale is expected to close this December. The building, comprising 14,000 square feet, consists of 11 units, including second-floor law offices, real estate offices, and offices for the restaurant located below. These spaces are expected to become updated apartment units, as Drake hopes to counteract some of the housing crisis experienced in Woodstock Village. He told the Standard, “Subject to town approval and permitting, we are hoping that into next year the entire façade of the building will be updated, beautifying the exterior with new paint and other aesthetic changes. The plan ultimately will be to put in some residential apartments on the second and third floors.”
For more on this, please see our October 9 edition of the Vermont Standard.
