Cultivating the ‘third place’: Bear’s Den Bar brings neighborhood vibe back to former Seymour space in Greenfield

Adam and Kimberly Gleason are betting that Greenfield could use another place between work and home — a “third place” where people can grab a drink, meet friends and build community. That’s the idea behind the newly opened Bear’s Den Bar.

“You have work, and you have home, and normally for people, you need one other place,” Adam Gleason said. “This is the third place.”

After more than a year of dreaming, building and filing paperwork, the couple finally opened the bar earlier this month.

The roughly 1,200-square-foot space at 5 Bank Row had been vacant since 2020, when the Seymour Bar closed following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Adam Gleason said that neither he nor Kimberly has bar experience. He had originally reached out to the property manager to see if it would be possible to showcase some of his woodworking on the premises, but when the opportunity became available to take over the bar, the couple decided to go for it.

They started by imagining what they would like the bar to look like. Adam said they began by putting pictures of the bar into an artificial intelligence tool to imagine what the space could look like, adding that they wanted to keep the old bar and as much wood as possible, and were inspired by nature in the design.

“The first few months were exciting and fun. We were building and painting and then it was about eight months of licensing,” Adam Gleason said. “The town has been great. They’ve been super supportive and always trying to work things out.”

The Bear’s Den Bar was able to secure a seasonal liquor license, allowing them to operate until Jan. 15, 2027, and is currently petitioning for an annual license.

During last month’s City Council meeting, the Greenfield City Council voted to petition the state for a new annual on-premises-all-alcohol license above Greenfield’s quota. The vote came at the recommendation of the Board of License Commissioners and Economic Development Committee after being told by Director of Economic Development Amy Cahillane that the city is currently at its quota for liquor licenses, as the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC) regulates how many licenses a town can have based on its population. The former Seymour Bar was one over Greenfield’s quota, and when the bar closed, that license was nontransferable and was returned to the state.

According to ABCC data, there are currently 44 active retail liquor licenses issued in Greenfield, with 36 of those being for on-premises consumption across the city’s bars and restaurants.

“It honestly is good that this is not our day job, because all this licensing stuff would have drove me nuts,” Adam Gleason joked. “Because we already had an income for our family and those things in place it didn’t feel like every time there was a setback it was the end.

Both Adam and Kimberly work full time for Second Wind Consultants, a consulting firm that helps businesses manage debt without filing bankruptcy.

The couple said that over this past year they have been learning from other local bars, breweries and restaurants and that they were incredibly grateful to the community members who have helped them get started.

“The community has been great,” Kimberly Gleason said.

“It seems everybody knows everybody and everybody has respect and knowledge of each other,” Adam Gleason said.

In addition to Kimberly and Adam, the Bear’s Den team includes six part-time bartenders.

The Bear’s Den will serve beer and wine, as well as a few chips and snack options. Adam Gleason said the bar currently has 12 taps with locally brewed craft beers available, and plans to rotate options, with a preference for local beers in the future.

Currently on tap are beers from Incandescent Brewing, Exhibit A, the People’s Pint, Jack’s Abby, BBC, Allagash and Lefty’s.

The couple added that cocktails, mocktails and soda will be available as well, with the bar’s signature drink being the “Twilight Mojito.” The Bear’s Den take on the mojito adds butterfly pea flower concentrate to the classic rum, lime juice, mint and club soda drink. It costs $15.

On opening day, the bar saw a steady stream of patrons who said the bar is already living up to expectations as a community hangout spot. Lynn Tryba and her husband, Thomas Wansleben, said the Seymour Bar had been one of their favorite spots in town, and they had been excitedly counting down the days until they could check out the Bear’s Den.

“I was thrilled when it was opening because it seemed like it was closed for a long time,” Tryba said. “There’s more people here than there ever was with the Seymour, but it always had this cool neighborhood vibe to it. Like, people would get their pizzas from Magpie and bring them in, and people would be playing games … it was a neighborhood pub.”

“I like that they put in some nice things, but they didn’t completely change it,” Wansleben said.

Wansleben added that, in addition to sprucing up the interior of the bar, he appreciates that the Gleasons spruced up the menu and added more mixed drinks. During opening day, he tried the “Timber and Tonic,” which he called “the perfect summer drink.”

The drink is the Bear’s Den’s take on the classic gin and tonic, with added honey syrup and cucumber slices.

Todd and Staci Lescarbeau said they were incredibly excited to see the bar open, but noted they may be a tad biased, as Todd was hired to be one of the six bartenders, and Stacy is Kimberly’s cousin.

Todd Lescarbeau said the Bear’s Den has captured a similar community-oriented feeling to that of Seymour, but has some differences. He said Seymour was more of a bourbon and wine bar, whereas the Bear’s Den has more beers. He hopes the Gleasons will incorporate more mixed drinks, particularly specialty martinis, into the menu in the future, as well as potentially add entertainment options such as acoustic musicians.

He added that Adam and Kimberly have been incredibly receptive to the advice and suggestions friends and community members have made as they work to make the spot a friendly, welcoming space where people can just hang out.

“They’re local people,” Staci Lescarbeau said. “They just want a place that everybody can just come in and everybody knows your name … They want to create a vibe where people are welcomed, and I just feel comfortable coming in, it’s an adorable place.”

The Bear’s Den Bar is open Tuesday, 5 to 10 p.m.; Wednesday and Thursday, 4 to 11 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. to 1 a.m.; and Sunday, noon to 9 p.m. For more information about their menu, call 413-512-7213 or visit facebook.com/p/The-Bears-Den-Bar-61582919727123.