Paintings, Poetry and Pastries at 70 Main Street

Even when they had to endure frigid weather, icy roads and catacombs of paths through mounds of snow, people came to the poetry jam at 70 Main Street in East Hampton. It was standing room only with the overflow in the gallery.

 A poetry jam puts poets and musicians together. It is in an open mic format so the performers are constantly changing. Erica Andrews was the host and first poet to perform. She was accompanied by Jeff Perkins.

 “Friday nights will be open mic nights,” said Kim Page, one of the partners for this new establishment with her husband Chris, Melissa Briere and Mindy Maynard. Kim manages the coffee shop and events like the poetry jam.

 Seventy Main Street is a coffee shop/restaurant, art gallery and community gathering place. The location offers the opportunity for diverse events from gallery openings, wine tastings, private parties or just coming in for a coffee and food. With all the different aspects of the business, the partners have loosely divided the responsibilities but everyone can do everything.

 “I work 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the gallery and the restaurant. I love doing the windows. The windows are one of the things that drew us to this building. Kim Page works weekends and does the bookwork for the company, Briere bakes the pastries that customers are raving about and Chris is everywhere,” said Maynard.

 Chris Page said: “This whole thing was an experiment in fun. I have the most experience behind the counter because I have worked in a lot of restaurants. I used to run a number of stores in Boston.”

Their menu includes bagels with different toppings, wraps or sandwiches on the bread of the day and several salads. Each item on the menu has been named to represent a person or place of East Hampton. For example, the Princess Pocotopaug is tuna tossed with a lemon thyme mayo, celery and cracked pepper, lettuce, tomato and cheese.

 The gallery holds the art of a dozen artists. The team is always on the lookout for the art for the gallery.

“We [the partners] are all artists so we can exhibit our materials. As soon as we opened the doors, local artists starting coming in asking about exhibiting,” Maynard said.

 This is a dream come true for the partners who had been looking to do something like this together for years. When Maynard worked at The Red Door, she would look across the street at this spot and say that she wanted to open her own place there.

 “This is what I always wanted to do. The spot was just not right until we saw this one,” Kim Page said.

 The partners are already planning an expansion to the alleyway alongside the art gallery for a garden and an exhibit of junk art.

 “We [village merchants] all work together to bring back the community," Maynard said. "This is the biggest thing we want.”