Overview:
Molly Botnick and Tawni Benick, former New York City restaurant workers, have opened Common Variety Cafe in Montague, Massachusetts. The cafe, which offers a welcoming space for people to gather and break bread, features a menu inspired by the local agricultural community, including sourdough bread made in-house with whole-grain flour sourced from "Ground Up Grains" in Holyoke. The cafe also offers catering services, online ordering, and a rotating selection of sourdough bread. Botnick and Benick hope to use the cafe as a community and event space in the future.
MONTAGUE — Chefs Molly Botnick and Tawni Benick always envisioned owning a business together since their days working at restaurants in New York City. Now, their ideas are a brick-and-mortar reality at Common Variety Cafe & Market at 485 Federal Street.
The friends opened their first joint business on Oct. 30 after searching for commercial properties across the Pioneer Valley for two years. They came across this space just outside of Montague Center that was once the Montague Inn and the Red Fire North market.
Having previous experience with the food business in New York City since meeting in 2021, Benick shared how they had opened restaurants for other people in the past, and that this is “our first baby of our own” in reference to the cafe.
“It’s the same, but a little different when it’s actually yours,” she said.
Botnick and Benick were able to close on the property in April, and spent the next few months renovating the space with the help of contractors and family members. They redid the floors, installed new countertops and brought in equipment for the space.
“We were just willing to get creative for the right space for us, and when we found our current home, that was definitely the best option out of all of them based on what we wanted to do with our concept and what the structure had already,” Botnick said of the space.
The pair also launched a Kickstarter campaign before opening to help garner community support for their cafe, raising $17,880 out of their $15,000 goal.
They used the funds they collected to purchase the last few items for ingredients along with a refrigerator, and used the outreach to spread the word about their opening.
Botnick refers to the cafe’s concept as creating a “welcoming, open, comfortable space” for people to gather and break bread, especially in a rural area where options can be limited.
“It was really important to us to be a place that you could call your neighbor or your friend or whoever, and come, get a coffee, gab and hang out and get something really good to eat at the same time,” Botnick said about the vision for the cafe.
Inside the cafe, Botnick shared how they made the seating design to reflect the welcoming environment. As for the food, they take inspiration from the “rich, agricultural community” the cafe is centered in.
The sourdough bread Benick makes in-house has whole-grain flour sourced from “Ground Up Grains” in Holyoke, and they sell pantry and grocery items in-store from local producers. They also offer catering service and online ordering through their website, and sell a rotating selection of sourdough bread.
“We try to cook as much with the seasons, and with what people are providing to us, and that really dictates how it is that we’re cooking, and we change the menu according to how we’re feeling and what we can get access to,” Botnick explained.
So far, customers have grown to appreciate Benick’s scones and the smoked trout salad sandwich, Botnick said about favorite offerings customers have shared since opening.
The cafe has a full espresso bar, serving a variety of beverages that also has a seasonal flair. For the fall, the cafe has been serving a maple syrup latte and a ginger-lemon toddy, with plans to start offering a gingerbread latte for the winter coming soon.
As the cafe settles in, Botnick and Benick say they aim to start using the cafe for community and event space, with goals to allow people to book the space for birthdays or wedding parties.
With their experience in restaurants and catering in New York City, and now operating a small business in a rural community, Botnick reflects on how life’s most important moments happen around the table, and the goal for Common Variety is to offer that in Montague for years to come.
“Tawni and I both believe that some of life’s most important moments happen around a table, that is, whether you’re having coffee with a friend because you really need some support, or you’re taking a moment to take care of yourself,” Botnick said. “I just firmly believe in that ritual and that ceremony, and so to be able to offer somebody something delicious to gather around, it’s really a gift to be able to do that.”
Common Variety is open Wednesday through Sunday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. For online ordering and catering, people are encouraged to visit their website at Commonvarietyma.com.