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Business briefs

Tulip Café moves to Main Street

BRATTLEBORO— Tulip Café is moving in April, from its old location on Elliot St. to the Brooks House at 126 Main St.

Hale Kiziltan, who co-owns the cafe with her father, Michael, said of the transition, “Why wouldn’t I move? It’s on Main Street.”

A further advantage of the move is a larger kitchen, shared with adjacent Turquoise Grille, which is also owned by the family.

Having the two locations in one spot also eliminates the need for Kiziltan to run to and fro across the Harmony parking lot during the two businesses’ overlapping hours.

The Lounge opens

BRATTLEBORO—The Lounge opened on 4 High St. on March 11, operated by Stephanie Bonin as a more casual alternative to the adjoining Duo, which she also co-owns.

“We really see it as a community spot,” Bonin says, where you could come for dinner, cocktails, or drop by after an evening at the movies for coffee and dessert, chatting up others in a comfortable lounge.

Additionally, in search of live “music that is great music,” Bonin says, the Lounge has teamed up with Eugene Uman of the Vermont Jazz Center to book jazz acts every Friday night. On Saturday nights, resident DJ Selector Singh performs.

Maple Leaf Music to move

BRATTLEBORO— Maple Leaf Music Co., located on Elliot St. for 30 years, is seeking a new location and is preparing for a big move.

Store owner Christian Glines hopes to find 1,000 square feet of retail space in Brattleboro.

NH store plans Brattleboro location

BRATTLEBORO — Ruggles & Hunt is opening on Main St., an expansion of a store of the same name that has operated in Walpole, N.H. for 13 years.

Owner Vicki Gohl sees her focus as “practical goods with attitude,” and offers a mix of women’s and men’s clothing, home furnishings, toys, and stationery.

Gohl loves selling local goods, and in Brattleboro, local ceramicist Laura Zindel’s works will be prominently featured.

Particularly with the departure of Dragonfly, At the Oasis, and Verde, Gohl hopes “to offer something on Main Street that isn’t there,” and “have something for everybody, at every price point.”

She hopes to open her new store by late April.

TD Bank promotes Hackett

BELLOWS FALLS — TD Bank has promoted Christopher J. Hackett to senior relationship manager in its commercial banking division, based in Bellows Falls.

Hackett, who has 29 years of banking experience, is responsible for developing new client relationships and managing existing commercial relationships, serving businesses in Rutland and across southeastern Vermont.

A Westminster, Vt., resident, Hackett serves as trustee with Kurn Hattin Homes, chairs the Westminster Fire District, and is acting president of the Bellows Falls Area Development Corporation. He is a graduate of Saint Michaels College (1984) and Champlain College (1982) as well as Mount Saint Joseph Academy in Rutland.

Scholarship funding available for child care centers

MONTPELIER— Funding is now available for Vermont child care centers to support children of preschool age (3-4 years) in need of assistance through the Edwards Child Care Scholarship Fund at the Vermont Community Foundation.

Any nonprofit child care center in Vermont with a demonstrated capability of serving children aged 3-4 from economically stressed families is eligible to apply. Grants up to $2,000 are awarded.

The board of directors of the O.P. and W.E. Edwards Foundation established this grant program at the Vermont Community Foundation to help nonprofit child care providers serve their most at-risk preschool aged children whose families need extra support.

These families struggle with geographic and economic barriers and/or need additional services around developmental challenges. The officers of the Edwards Foundation hope that, with this support, more children will be ready to learn when they enter kindergarten.

Applications will be accepted through 5 p.m. on May 5. Visit vermontcf.org/availablegrants to learn more.

Training in council facilitation offered in Brattleboro

BRATTLEBORO— The Marlboro College Center for New Leadership is offering a two-day training in the practice of council facilitation on May 7 and May 21.

The course, taught by Paul LaVasseur and Kirstin Edelglass, is recommended to anyone in the community who facilitates groups.

According to information from Marlboro, “Council is a dialogic process that stimulates compassionate understanding, deeper self-awareness, community building, collective decision-making, conflict transformation, and shared leadership used worldwide in a variety of contexts including public schools, universities, prisons, social service agencies, faith-based communities, families, wilderness programs, non-profit organizations, and businesses.”

The two Saturday workshops are spaced two weeks apart. Tuition for the course is $215; scholarships are available. To register, go to: eventbrite.com/e/way-of-council-training-tickets-22458867076 or contact Kirstin Edelglass at [email protected].

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