Bistro on Main, a casual gourmet French restaurant run by the Manchester Area Conference on Churches as part of its culinary jobs training program, will close, according to an email sent to its mailing list on Tuesday.
“The objective of the business was to train people within the food industry to get them back to work. We are blessed to say we met our objective, as many of our students are gainfully employed and well providing for themselves,” the letter read. “With that said, it has been a challenging venture, especially with the economic challenges COVID presented to the business community.”
MACC opened Bistro on Main in November 2017. The restaurant’s mission was to break the cycle of poverty for its employees, who had barriers to stable employmentlike homelessness, domestic abuse, disabilities and inolvement with the criminal justice system.
Employees first had to complete MACC’s 24-week culinary training program. At first MACC just ran a catering operation, but later realized that the program’s graduates needed experience at a restaurant — preferably a restaurant known for its quality — to be employable in the future.
Joshua Barber, who deals with a lifelong seizure disorder, was a standout student in the Manchester Community College culinary program. He said working at Bistro on Main taught him things he didn’t learn in class.
“I never had real in the restaurant cooking experience, line cooking. It kind of got my skills in a better place, what to expect in a restaurant,” Barber said. “You learn how to be more productive, quicker, more organized. … In the classroom you have five hours to make a pot of soup and a salad. In a restaurant you don’t have that kind of time. It taught me valuable time management and how to plan, organize and execute.”
He has since worked for DORO catering and a catering company in Stonington.
In addition to providing training, the restaurant’s revenues raised money for MACC.
MACC will still run the the MACC Charities Community Kitchen, which will launch pop-up dining events.
MACC is looking for a new tenant for the restaurant. “We are confident that a new venture awaits 867 Main Street, as it is housed in a popular block for business on Main Street, has a great landlord and is at the starting line for the Manchester Road Race,” the letter continued.
Those interested in the space can call 860-647-0440.
Susan Dunne can be reached at sdunne@courant.com.
