WOODSTOCK — When Amy Kaminski was working at Bentleys Restaurant at age 19, she would watch from across Elm Street as employees got out of their cars for their shifts at The Prince and the Pauper.
She imagined one day crossing the street to work by their side. To her, The Prince and the Pauper represented “the best fine dining in Vermont,” and she wanted to have a part in it.
Five jobs and about 20 years later, that dream came true. After working at The Prince and the Pauper for five years, she’s also part of the team that will see the restaurant into its final chapter, at least for now.
The red brick building that’s been the restaurant’s home for 51 years has been acquired by a new owner who will not be renewing The Prince and the Pauper’s lease come April.
“It’s pretty devastating,” Kaminski, of Plymouth, Vt., said while setting up for service on Thursday. “It’s huge.”
Founded in 1974 by Jim Reiman and Patty and Marc Milowsky, all long-time Upper Valley restaurateurs, The Prince and the Pauper has known many different owners over the years, but all of them have shared the same goal: to offer upscale yet unfussy cuisine in a historic New England bistro setting.
Maintaining that legacy is what inspired the restaurant’s current owners Liz and Spencer Schwenk to purchase the restaurant about seven years ago when the previous owners were looking to retire.
“We realized that, you know, if we didn’t buy it, somebody else might buy it and change it and that would be sad for us…,” Liz Schwenk, 36, of Pomfret, said.
Before they were married, she and her husband would come to The Prince and the Pauper to enjoy an evening together. Among Schwenk’s favorite dishes was the smoked salmon, which the restaurant’s chefs make in-house over the course of several days.
Most of The Prince and the Pauper’s dishes change daily depending on what fresh produce is available, but the smoked salmon always has a place on the menu, as does the Country Pâté.
Also made in-house, the dish includes a square of ground chicken and pork livers combined with pistachios and port-soaked dried cherries. On Wednesday, the pâté was served with lingonberry sauce, mustard, cornichons, pickled onions and small rounds of toasted bread.
The restaurant offers a three-course prix fixe menu for $84, or $75 if the entree is vegetarian, and all items can be ordered a la carte.
Like Schwenk and her husband, many customers patronize The Prince and the Pauper for a special occasion.
On Wednesday, two couples were there to celebrate two different birthdays.
“I feel like it’s one of the only places where you can get a good meal around here,” said Bob Edgerton, whose wife, Hannah Bright, was turning 38.
The two of them have been coming to The Prince and the Pauper for about six years, ever since their friends introduced them to the restaurant.
“It’s sad to hear it’s closing,” Bright, of Reading, Vt., said. “The food’s always awesome.”
Other customers, like Larry Zeitlin, are seasoned regulars.
Zeitlin, who lives a two-minute walk from the restaurant, has been stopping in for a drink at the bar or a meal since 2019.
“What I most love about it is the people. From Liz, the owner, to Clemens (Steinrisser) behind the bar, and all the wonderful staff. The atmosphere is charming and welcoming and the food is always enjoyable,” he said in an email.
The restaurant is a community gathering place, as much as it is a place to eat, Liz Steinrisser, a server from Hartland, said.
She and her husband Clemens Steinrisser have both worked at The Prince and the Pauper for 25 years. Throughout that time, they’ve become close with many of the restaurant’s regulars.
Before his death at age 94 in 2016, Woodstock resident John “Jack” Moore would often make a stop there while he was out on a walk. He’d order a drink and chat with the servers.
When Moore and his wife didn’t have plans for Christmas, the Steinrissers would invite the couple to their home, and when Hurricane Irene flooded the area in 2011, they supplied the Moores with water and food.
A plaque with a photo of John Moore hangs at the end of the bar.
The history of The Prince and the Pauper’s building at 24 Elm Street predates the birth of the restaurant by about 150 years, though part of it was rebuilt following a fire in 1971, and that history comes through in the restaurant’s decor.
Thick wooden beams run across the ceiling, antique booths form some of the seating and paintings of red barns and bulging tomatoes made by Upper Valley artist Kitty O’Hara decorate the walls.
The building had been in the Bourdon family since the 1940s, and was most recently owned by Woodstock resident Don Bourdon.
But, on Jan. 13, he sold the building to Zoe Zilian, owner of the Woodstock cocktail bar Au Comptoir and co-founder of the ceramics company Farmhouse Pottery, for $1.5 million.
Bourdon’s siblings no longer live in Woodstock, and at 78, he was ready to part with the responsibilities that come with owning the Elm Street building.
The building is also home to the law firm Davis Steadman Percy and Sluka, LLC.
“It’s sort of a bittersweet decision,” Bourdon said. “The cuisine was well-recognized, fine dining in Woodstock.”
Zilian did not respond to requests for comment so plans for the building’s future are unclear.
The acquisition comes on the heels of the shuttering of Melaza Bistro, a Caribbean restaurant on Central Street. Alfonse Sorrentino, a developer who owns the Woodstock construction service ACS Design/Build Inc., purchased the property for $670,000 late last year with plans to build two living units on the building’s second floor.
The first floor, meanwhile, could be used for a restaurant or retail space, but Sorrentino has “no solid plans” for one at the moment, he said.
He hopes to begin construction on the property in late spring.
While The Prince and the Pauper is open from 5 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday through Saturday, Melaza was one of the few restaurants in the village that served food on Mondays.
But in spite of two restaurants closing their doors, “We still have quite a few dining options in our area,” Jim Kelly, executive director of Woodstock’s chamber of commerce, said.
He pointed to The Red Rooster, the Woodstock Inn and Resort’s restaurant, and Positive Pie, a pizza joint that opened on Elm Street last fall.
Ranch Camp, a burrito spot and bike shop that serves food seven days a week, also opened last fall in Woodstock’s East End.
Many of the roughly 20 staff at The Prince and the Pauper, including Kaminski, haven’t started looking for new jobs yet, she said.
They’re still processing the shock of the closure and preparing to help the Schwenks, who are still deciding what the last day will be, finish up at the restaurant.
Liz Schwenk hopes to give The Prince and the Pauper a new life in another location, but for now the future remains uncertain.
Overall the restaurant was busy last year, but business never really returned to the way it was before the coronavirus pandemic and the summer season was a slow one, she said.
For now she’s trying to take it day by day, and be there for her employees and customers.
“I have so much gratitude for being part of the story,” she said.