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Dining Intelligence
Gypsy Joynt: A Boho Family Restaurant in Great Barrington
Fiona Breslin, a student at the New School University, reports from Great Barrington:
“We’re not gypsies,” says Caitlyn Stafford, 24, whose family owns the six-month-old Gypsy Joynt on Route 7. “We’re here to stay.” The name Gypsy Joynt was inspired by her family’s move last fall from Goldsboro, North Carolina, to the Berkshires, when Keith and Lori Weller and their five children—Caitlyn, Merry Milling, 22, Jordan, 20, Haley, 17, and Braedan, 14—their two grandchildren, two sons-in-law, and a sister-in-law decided to relocate their established restaurant, Ya’lls Joynt. Caitlyn chose the Berkshires, where the family had come on vacations. “Mom said to everybody, if one person doesn’t want to move than we don’t,” recalls Haley. “In November, we packed up and pulled up here.” In January they opened Gypsy Joynt.
The family works as a team, managing the restaurant side-by-side. “Some people don’t understand family working together,” says Caitlyn. “For us, it’s not just a job— it’s a way of life.” Decorated with collaged rock and roll posters, Christmas lights, piñatas, a sticker advocating nude beaches, a mural portrait resembling Keith, a pirate flag, and an American flag, Gypsy Joynt has humor and individuality. To the left of the entrance, there’s a large, elevated, stage for music. To the right, family photos hang on a purple wall. It’s reminiscent of a long ago time in the Berkshires, evoking the spirit of flower power. But “this idea didn’t suit Goldsboro,” says Merry, who, like her parents and siblings, speaks tersely. “It was good timing for a change,” says Lori.
Most every dish served is organic, prepared from scratch, and dreamt up in the Gypsy kitchen, where only four people can work together at a time. The delectable menu includes oven-baked pizzas on fresh dough, rich pastas like ziti or lasagna with homemade sauce, salads with grilled vegetables and homemade dressings like a raspberry vinaigrette. There’s an oven-baked burger (named the Mort Rainey, after a Johnny Depp character), with mushroom, melted provolone, and homemade pesto that is highly recommended. “We don’t get complaints often,” says Haley with humility and honesty.
Lori Weller sets the pace for the family. “My wife is a tremendous cook, always has been,” says Keith. “She’s Gypsy Joynt.” Lori grew up in Galveston Island, Texas, and learned to cook from her own mother and grandmother who also ran restaurants. She taught her children to cook, passing the proficiency on to them. “So we would all be able to eat well outside the house,” says Haley. Still, the children have chosen to remain together. “She’s the creativity,” says Keith. And then Laurie adds: “The children expound on it.”
Haley describes the bond among her family to be like that of a pack of wolves. And like a tribe, they are all tattooed. The word “family” is inked on their forearms in Hebrew, French, English, and Hawaiian. Each member of the family has it in a different language. Braedan will have “family” tattooed in Gaelic when he gets a little older. “Ink in and blood out,” they say.
And music is as integral to Gypsy Joynt as food. Jordan, a musician and composer, books the Wednesday Open Mic Night and Friday night performances. “We have some pretty big acts coming in,” he says, citing groups like Tao Seegar Band, Guy Davis, and The SweetBack Sisters. In July, they will start having Saturday night shows, too. My brother picks who’s good,” says Haley, with an unalterable trust in him. “He’s the music man.”
On a recent Saturday afternoon, the restaurant was alive: a young woman sat having lunch with her daughter, two women met for a midday bite, and a party of four conversed in the corner. People rotated in and out, picking up pizzas to go. “We’re much more received here,” says Merry. While tourist season has been good for business, relationships with locals and regulars are “first and foremost,” says Keith. For care of the community and of each other, they put love and passion into their cooking, “We eat here,” he says.
Gypsy Joynt
398 Stockbridge Road, Great Barrington; 413.664.8811
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