Jill Fishman and her wife Adrixn Catao behind the bar at Dreamhouse Restaurant
“Boozy Brunches” with a values-forward mission
Jill Fishman, owner of Turners Falls brunch spot Dreamhouse, has made her peace with taking risks. In June, she opened a restaurant whose business structure includes providing living wages for all staff members. The business also proudly celebrates her identity as a queer woman.
“My wife and I, as we were conceptualizing this business, knew we wanted to be values-forward,” Jill said. “That felt really important. And taking the risk to do this wasn’t worth it if we weren’t like—just take all the risks at once. If we’re not just going to just lead with who we are and be the business that we want, it didn’t feel worth it.”
Did the risk pay off? “The community showed up for us hard,” she replied with a smile.
And can you blame them? Walking into the exposed-brick-and-teal walled space on a recent Thursday, the aroma of citrus was enticing. The friendly staff was squeezing oranges, grapefruits, lemons, and limes. The drinks menu includes fresh juices, creative cocktails, and strong coffees, with zhuzhed up breakfast and lunch dishes taking center stage. The specials of the day allow Chef Jill to stretch her culinary chops. “I like doing deep dives into different cooking equipment, or like, an ingredient, and just playing with that.” Her latest acquisition is a carbon steel wok.
Jill is a lending client of the Franklin County CDC. “It’s nice to be able to work with a lender that’s not a bank,” she said. “No shade on Greenfield Savings Bank. We love them and we also have a loan from them. So that was really convenient too, honestly.”
Dreamhouse’s doors are open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day but Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and Jill has no interest in opening for dinners, except for special events. The space recently hosted a rehearsal dinner and an alumni event for a local independent school, as well as live music during Turners Falls’ It’s a Wonderful Night holiday event. She hopes to do more of that in the next six months. Ramping up evening events “feels exciting,” Jill said.
You can stop by Dreamhouse for brunch and keep an eye out for their evening events. Also, restaurant workers especially are welcome to come by on "Industry Mondays." Fridays are "Work from Dreamhouse” days where folks are welcome to set up their laptops, sip coffee, and enjoy the scene!
