The Bistro:
Brown’s Market Bistro sits on the north bank of the Wells River, at the foot of Groton Forest and in the heart of beautiful Groton, Vermont.  We are on Route 302, in the Village, between the Groton Garage (Tim can fix anything) and the beautifully renovated Groton Free Public Library and across from the bank and post office. The Bistro’s name is a tribute to Brown’s Market which faithfully served Groton’s marketing needs for so many years. Today, the Bistro uses the same historic space with the old market’s shelves still intact and the beautiful wood floors and building charm brought back to life by our friends Patrick and Tamara Shattuck.

The Food:
It’s traditional Bistro fare with just a hint of attitude.  We love mussel, crab, local cheese and off-beat portabella appetizers.   At the Bistro you can enjoy thick cut steak au pauvre or seafood over pasta in a light garlic sauce. We like mashed potatoes,  maple glazed salmon, fresh tuna and wassabi, sautéed mussels, hearty meatloaf and local vegetables over rice, rolled in light pastry or just on the side.  We support local agriculture through our CSA partners including the Shaw Farm in Peacham and Spring Chicken Farm in Corinth Vermont and as a supporting restaurant member of the Vermont Fresh Network. We make every effort to keep it local and let the available fresh products dictate what we serve. How we serve it is where the fun comes in.  We think our meatloaf platter should be as much fun as the Rosemary Crusted Duck or Lamb Souvlaki”. Our deserts are all home made featuring, Cheese Cakes, the Bistro’s famous Carrot Cake, Crème Brulee and Coconut Cream pie and home made ice cream and sorbet.  Val’s Chocolate Tort is the closest thing to a life altering experience that you can comfortably enjoy in a public place.  Don’t leave without one of her chocolate chunk cookies either.

The Music:
We hope you agree that music is the perfect complement to a good meal with friends. Our talented neighbors stop by and play whatever suits the evening. One night it’s a foot tapping feast on guitar and fiddle and another night it’s all Gershwin. You never know. But it’s always fun and live and wonderful.  

Our music coordinator Frank Miller grew up milking cows just up the road from the Bistro.  He has spent most of his adult career thinking about geology and looking for oil in places most folks have never heard of let alone visited. But, his real passion is music and he has made it his mission to bring it to the Bistro.  Jean Anderson, Kate Abrams, Ron Langley, Allen Greenleaf, Brenda Bandy, Jonathan Kaplan and Mary Holly, Pat Gahagan, other great and generous musicians and even Frank himself are regular and scheduled artists providing the perfect musical compliment to a night out in Groton.

The Wine and Beer: (Its bring your own!)
At the Bistro we always have exactly the wine you want…because you get to bring your own. 

We are continuing the tradition of BYO wine and beer at the Bistro because it’s fun, it’s different and it makes eating out affordable. Our customers love it. Should customers arrive without the beverage of their choice, our good neighbors Alley’s Market (a mile east of us) and the Upper Valley Grill and General Store (a mile west of us) stock a wide selection of wine and beer. We can fire up the appetizers while you run over to the neighbors for the perfect (and very reasonably priced) bottle of wine.

The Executive Chef:
Chef Rick Trexel is the madness behind the culinary method at the Bistro.  (We mean this in the best possible way.) Consistent with the Bistro’s theme of keeping things local, Rick got his early food service chops studying under local culinary mentors and accomplished Executive Chefs Jim Libby and Gerald Prevost at St. Johnsbury Academy.  Rick’s passion for cooking has family and likely genetic roots as his dad loved to cook and dabbled in the restaurant business and his mom loved to watch her boy eat.  Rick’s brother Charlie, like Rick, is an Academy Culinary Arts Program alum and a chef at the Mt Washington Inn. After graduating from the Academy, Rick studied and apprenticed at restaurants in Georgia while his fiancée Jenna worked toward a BS in Business Administration. The Couple returned to the Northeast Kingdom looking to marry Rick’s culinary arts focus with Jenna’s business interests.  The first product of this marriage was their daughter Avery who arrived just in time for the second product, the Bistro which opened a week later. Timing, planning and organization are the keys to our success. Or so we like to think.

The Sous Chef and Bistro Crew:
Melissa Kennedy continues her studies at the New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier while bringing her own ideas, culinary smarts and organic magic to the Bistro’s kitchen.  More than anything else, the Bistro is a group effort. The crew includes Chuck Gallagher (co-owner with Rick and Jenna), Henry Gallagher, Rick Sr. and Laurie Trexel, Emily Puffer, Kathy Vallieres, Frank Miller, the Culinary Arts and Events Committee and our good friends Tyler, Zack, Rose and Annie.

The Art:
Presently we are featuring Peacham Artist Muffin Ray and Photographer Ron Vallario. We are so very grateful to them for the generous loan of their fun, beautiful, intelligent and provocative work.  

Beautiful Groton Vermont:
We owe a debt of gratitude to the Town of Groton for welcoming us into this beautiful community. We so appreciate all of our neighbors who have worked so very hard on revitalizing the Village center and bringing Groton’s beautiful old buildings back to life. We also are grateful to our friends in the town hall and post office, our fellow Groton business owners, our loyal neighbors, our very cool bankers and our blessed regular customers who make what we do feel important, meaningful, fun and so very rewarding. We love Groton.