Vermont restaurant closes day before Thanksgiving, 10 months after opening
A Milton restaurant that opened on Martin Luther King Jr. Day closed permanently 10 months later, the day before Thanksgiving.
Bri’s Fries began operation at the former Billy’s Diner along U.S. 7 in Milton on Jan. 18. The restaurant posted on social media in recent days about its planned closure.
“Wow! What an AMAZING week and a great way to end on a high note!” a Facebook post from the restaurant’s final day Wednesday reads. “Thank you all so very much for your kind words, your support, and for coming in to say goodbye to us this week! We appreciate each and everyone of you.”
The post praised the “few staff members who we were blessed to have came to work day in and out” and wished a happy Thanksgiving to customers.
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“Please say this isn’t happening:(” Facebook commenter Linda Smith Lander wrote in response to a Nov. 17 post about the impending closure, echoing dozens of customers upset to hear about the departure of Bri’s Fries. “We’re soo sad. Bri’s Fries is our favorite place to eat. Hope you are all ok and please let us know what the future might bring.”
In a response to one Facebook commenter, Bri’s Fries said “we are closing permanently at this location” but did not directly address whether the eatery will reopen elsewhere.
“Thank you for all your support,” reads another post by Bri’s Fries on Facebook, “you never know what the future brings.”
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Billings and his family ran the Bri’s Fries food truck for 12 years on Malletts Bay in Colchester before opening a brick-and-mortar spot in Milton this year. Along with fries, the eatery offered burgers, chicken tenders, Philly cheesesteak and what Billings called his specialty, Michigan sauce slathered on burgers and hot dogs.
The slogan at Bri’s Fries, as Billings pointed out to the Burlington Free Press in January, was “It’s not fast food, it’s good food.”
The 120-seat restaurant opened when COVID-19 restrictions on crowd sizes were still in place. Billings told the Free Press that he was only able to seat up to 48 customers at the time Bri’s Fries opened in Milton, though the eatery was also offering take-out meals. Billings said soon after opening that Bri’s Fries had to turn customers away because business was so strong.
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Contact Brent Hallenbeck at bhallenbeck@freepressmedia.com. Follow Brent on Twitter at www.twitter.com/BrentHallenbeck.
This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Milton Vermont restaurant closes 10 months after opening in 2021
