Zenbarn

Pull off Route 100 just north of Waterbury. Walk inside the red barn, find a stool at the bar, and peruse the menu. A few minutes later, you’re noshing on Vermont pork bánh mì and sipping a Gin and Chronic. Wait—what? This CBD-infused cocktail tastes like the best zippy lemonade… ever. Settle back and take in your surroundings.

A converted dairy barn with low ceiling and rough-hewn beams. Whimsical portraits of livestock. Salvaged barn doors; lights dangling from block and tackle pulleys. Stage floor covered in a Holstein-colored carpet. Amusing, not cloying. Behind the bar, a phalanx of bottles repping every Vermont distiller. The beer list—a Green Mountains Who’s Who, from revered names to a guy who produces one funky keg at a time.

“We’re committed to independent, smaller-scale producers,” coowner Ari Fishman explains. “If someone comes in and asks for a Bombay, we say, ‘Try Barr Hill.’ Our hyper-Vermont approach gets people’s attention and encourages them to try something new. There’s a good chance the person who made that beer or this spirit will come in for dinner or a show some night and support us in return.”

Ari had dreamed of opening a neighborhood bar. He still has the essay he wrote in middle school depicting himself like Sam of Cheers. After teaching out West, Ari moved back to Waterbury in 2012. At 35, he immersed himself in the Stowe food and drink world, working from barback to bartender, seeing firsthand the successes, missteps and all the craziness in between. “I worked my butt off, paid attention, listened and learned.” He and a buddy met landlords, considered leases, talked with investors. “We came pretty close and had some near misses. Then this place, which had been the Golden Horn East and Tanglewoods, came on the market in 2015, and we landed it.”

Enter Team Fishman

Ari’s parents, Susan and Stephen Fishman, own Stowe Craft Design and offered aesthetic guidance. “I was the general contractor while Mom obsessed over every design detail,” Ari says. “My brother, Noah, and Dad worked on the vision. We took the structure down to bare bones and Mom transformed it into a barn again.” Renovations took a full year, and to show their gratitude, the Fishmans had the names of all 65 contractors carved into the artisan barstools where patrons now sip drinks and contemplate the world.

Everything evolved serendipitously. Almost… Zen-like. Though Noah was finishing his MBA, the project’s scope and energy drew him in. “Ari was deep into the renovation, so I began to help with the business planning. We actually tried to avoid starting a restaurant. We put together a cohesive vision based on where we all were personally. Ari’s a very social guy and wanted a neighborhood bar. My work has always revolved around community development, sustainability and local food. My wife, Marlena, proposed the yoga center. And we all love music. It’s pretty fun for our parents to see us all pull this together.” Ari manages the facility and bartends when he can; Noah serves as general manager; Marlena coordinates the wellness studio and helps run the floor on weekends.