GREENFIELD, MA (FRANKLIN COUNTY NOW) — A Greenfield restaurant of over 22 years, Mesa Verde, will be making major changes this year.
Owner Amy McMahan announced Thursday via Facebook that Mesa Verde is teaming up with Black Joy Food Restaurant and this year Mesa will be changing over to Black Verde Food Lab, which McMahan says will be “an experimental space to incubate and nurture Queer/BIPOC chefs and under-represented cuisine.”
In awareness and response to changing community-food dynamics, McMahan said the ” labor market, food supply, and customer expectations are vastly different from when we opened our doors” in 2003.
McMahan outlines plans for herself and the future of Mesa: “This Summer, Black Joy Kitchen will open its doors as the first Black owned fine dining restaurant in Oak Bluffs, Martha’s Vineyard, and I will be the Chef De Cuisine and a partner. Mesa Verde will become Black Verde Food Lab, an experimental space to incubate and nurture Queer/BIPOC chefs and under-represented cuisine. This Summer, Chef Ashley Arthur of the Five Eyed Fox will be in residency as an extended Pop-Up. In the Fall, Chef Ting, Executive Chef/Founder and I will be back with new recipes and concepts. We will host food journeys, leaning heavily on the insights of Dr. Jessica B. Harris (author of “High on the Hog” and an Oak Bluffs resident) to highlight the culinary contributions of melanated people to American and World cuisine.”
After 22 and 1/2 years, McMahan said the community that has formed around Mesa “has meant the world” to her and customers can continue to enjoy food from Mesa Verde through the end of next week.