By Danielle M. Crosier, Vermont Country Magazine.
BENNINGTON — Outside, the early spring weather of Southern Vermont is blustery and dreary. Dark clouds have been rolling across the Green Mountain Valley for most of the day – dropping occasional moisture in fits and starts. The sky sputters.
The fickle wind whips and cracks the flags of Bennington’s Elm Street Market (ESM), and then goes still. The sun peeks out – and then it is gone once again.
The dim of chatter and laughter fills the air as the door to the ESM opens and a customer exits. He grins as he descends the steps to the sidewalk and rounds the exterior corner. Tucked and cradled in the crook of one arm is his coveted prize – an ESM deli sandwich. In his hand is a drink. In the other, his car keys and a bag of chips.
The door opens and closes, as another group exits and someone enters. Rain spatters against the large windows of the establishment.
Inside, ESM employee, Jon Taylor, sandwich-maker extraordinaire, is giving someone a rundown of the menu.
“He is one of the rare folks who can do everything here at the Elm Street Market. He’s a barista, a sandwich maker, and – well, sometimes you’re lucky enough to have one of those valuable employees that can do everything. That’s him,” explains Elm Street Market owner Ted Cutsumpas, nodding over.
Pausing to take a phone order, hand hovering above the touch screen, Cutsumpas glances up to welcome a customer with a chin tilt and a grin. Elm Street Market is a welcome oasis – and it represents all that the Town of Bennington has to offer.
It is historic. It is iconic. It is quirky, and its staff is hard-working. It is stocked with a diverse assortment of Vermont-produced products and eclectic gourmet items from everywhere else. And, it is comfortable.
And for Cutsumpas, ESM is representative of the beating heart of the community.
“We’re the Number One Deli in Reader’s Choice for 11 years straight,” Cutsumpas said, grinning and spreading his arms out widely. That is a pretty incredible feat, considering that ESM has only been in business for a total of 15 years.
But Cutsumpas has been modest – ESM has actually been Bennington’s Reader’s Choice Number One Deli for 12 out of those 15 years. “Not consecutively for that twelfth year, though” Cutsumpas points out humbly, and laughs.
As many who live in Bennington are, Cutsumpas is a transplant.
“I’m from Danbury, Connecticut, and I married a gal from Bennington – my super talented and beautiful wife Alicia Holden – which brought me here,” informs Cutsumpas. “At first, my skills didn’t apply here, so I had to find a new niche. I have good customer service skills and I’m good talking to people and welcoming them. What I didn’t have was food skills, so I hired people who knew those things and I bought this building.”
“When Elm Street Market first opened, I tried to be more market than deli, but we quickly evolved into being known for our sandwiches – so we pivoted almost entirely to that,” explains Cutsumpas. “I mean, we still have market stuff, but people aren’t coming here to fill up their refrigerator. They’re coming here for lunch and, if they need a bottle of wine or a pre-prep dinner for the evening, there it is – or some beer, or some milk, or maybe bacon for the morning.”
“And, that’s the story,” says Cutsumpas, smiling. “A little bit of everything.”
The deli menu is just as diverse.
When asked which freshly-made deli item is his favorite, Cutsumpas throws back his head and laughs, “Well – I made them all up, so they’re all my favorites!”
The names of the menu items are a nod to a life well lived, descriptive of their intense flavor, and reflective of Cutsumpas’s deep understanding of community – they’re literally all talking points.
There’s the “Mayor Mark,” a former employer of Cutsumpas. The “Mayor Mark” offers a nostalgic nod to a longtime former mayor of Danbury Connecticut, with turkey, bacon, lacey Swiss, smashed avocado, lettuce, tomato, and mayo on toasted white.
“I was a political science major,” explains Cutsumpas of his past. “I ran for City Council in Danbury Connecticut, and won. I got to know the mayor and, based on his experience with me on the City Council, he said, ‘Ted, come and work for me.’ I went and worked for him, and we became friends. Before I left – he wasn’t happy that I was leaving – so, before I left, I told him that I’d name a sandwich after him. And, that’s it.”
There are other nods to references from Cutsumpas’s time in Connecticut, as well, like the “Wild Bill” – named after a favorite uncle – with Buffalo chicken, French-fried onions, shredded lettuce, jalapeno pepper sauce, and bleu cheese dressing.
Cutsumpas’s uncle, Bill Ratchford, was a Danbury native who served six terms in the Connecticut State Legislature and three terms in the United States Congress. The reason that he was called “Wild Bill,” explains Cutsumpas with a grin, “was because he was the opposite – he was calm and reserved, and just a great person.”
There are nods to Bennington’s historic past, as well, with the “Monumental,” a reference to the Bennington Monument, with roast beef, deluxe ham, green peppers, red onions, lettuce, tomato, deli dressing, and pickle chips.
And, then there’s the “Farmer Nick,” a chickpea salad with mixed greens and tomato on toasted multigrain; the “Mapleicious,” with maple honey ham, maple honey turkey, Vermont cheddar, apples, baby spinach, and maple sriracha mayo on a brioche roll; the “Catamount Melt,” with chunk light tuna and mayo, Vermont cheddar, and kalamata olives on multigrain; and the “Mount Antonio,” with fresh mozzarella, tomato, fresh basil, and balsamic vinaigrette on multigrain.
And then, just because, there’s a crossover between Danbury Connecticut and Bennington Vermont – the “Ethan Allen.”
“The Ethan Allen is a sort of duel sandwich,” laughs Cutsumpas, “because Ethan Allen, of course, with the Green Mountain Boys here in Bennington. But also, Ethan Allen Furniture headquarters are in Danbury.”
The “Ethan Allen” is mysterious for other reasons, customers claim, with a curry chicken breast sandwich with chevre goat cheese, baby spinach, and mayo all bundled up in a wrap.
“People will say, ‘Oh, where did you come up with that?’ I say, ‘That was his favorite sandwich,'” laughs Cutsumpas. “Not true. I have no idea.” He shrugs, grinning.
And, for those interested in even “more quirky,” ESM totally has it. A grilled peanut butter sandwich? Of course they’ve got it, with the “Forever Young” – peanut butter, Nutella, and Granny Smith apples, grilled between slices of multigrain. The “Mad Hatter?” Sure – similar to a traditional BLT, but on a pretzel roll. A “Southshire Shrimp?” Yup. You can expect whole shrimp tossed in cajun spiced olive oil, with chipotle aioli and lettuce on a pretzel roll – a bit of the Southern United States in the Southshire of Vermont.
And, of course, the “People’s Choice,” where if you can dream it, they can build it.
All of this is in addition to the traditional menu items like breakfast sandwiches and wraps, avocado toast, various salads and soups, the “ESM RB,” the “Classic Reuben,” the “Deluxe Italian,” and the “Ultimate Grilled Ham and Cheese.”
The whimsy extends well beyond the menu – silly stickers, framed quilled artwork on the walls, etched drinking glasses and tumblers that only look like they are made of glass, a full espresso and coffee bar, a selection of themed clothing and souvenirs, and a variety of inviting and well-marketed market goods.
“I like to have a lot of stuff that’s unique,” Cutsumpas said, waving a hand toward the market portion of the business. “Like, I have these Reisman’s bakery items shipped up – they’re a well-known bakery in Brooklyn. We’re a little eclectic, and try to have stuff that’s different.”
Cutsumpas clarifies, “We’re mostly a deli. People order their sandwiches and get a drink and a bag of chips, and that’s a good portion of what our sales are. And, we do a great amount of catering for many of the larger companies in the area like the hospital. We get a lot of tourists, as well, with the bus companies that come in for the [Bennington] Museum and the [Bennington] Monument, and we do deli platters and sandwich platters for catering.”
“We’re pretty well established,” he adds, “and we like to stick to what we’re good at. We have good product. We have good service. And, we want to be good productive members of this community because if this community is a success, we are a success.”
The last of the customers are leaving the establishment for the day, and Cutsumpas takes a moment to confer with and thank his crew.
“You guys rock,” Cutsumpas acknowledges, stepping through the daily procedurals. All have been completed. The shelves and coolers are stocked. The deli and kitchen and coffee areas are spotless and gleaming. Staffing and upcoming specials for the week have been discussed. “You guys are awesome,” Cutsumpas adds, bidding them farewell. “It was another busy day, thank you.”
Suddenly, the interior of the market is sadly empty. And, just as suddenly, it is lit with brilliant light, as the elusive afternoon sun winks through the cloudy spring sky.
Looking around the interior of the market, to the racks of locally sourced wine and ciders; cold beverages in the coolers; artfully-crafted grab-and-go prepared meals; a table of maple-themed food goods; and a fresh stock of cheeses, meats, vegetables, dairy products, and more, the overall theme seems to be Vermont, and then – boom – everything else.
Cutsumpas ambles out the door of the ESM, and around the corner to what could perhaps be the business’s most notorious feature – and what has become a true local landmark – the “From Here to There Mural.”
“Bennington is so fortunate. We’re right at that crossroads – right next to Massachusetts, right next to New York. And, we get a lot of travelers,” explains Cutsumpas, looking up at the compass-themed destination mural.
“When I was younger, my folks used to take the family and vacation on Nantucket – and on Nantucket is this compass rose mural with all these places, and I would always look at it and just be in wonder about these very cool places – Bermuda, Cape Town, Moscow – and the distance they were from Nantucket,” explains Cutsumpas, adding that he was walking by the side of the Elm Street Market building one day and he just new what it needed. “I had this big unappealing blank wall, and it popped into my head. I didn’t copy this, but I emulated it with love because it had always brought joy to me – and I know it brings joy to people that visit Nantucket. I wanted something similar for Bennington.”
Cutsumpas takes a step back and examines the “From Here to There Mural,” designed by his wife Alicia Holden, with its Bennington Monument, Bennington Flag, and the Vermont motto, “Freedom and Unity” at the center of it.
“People come in and ask about it all the time. I’ll tell that story, and people love looking at it. And I love when I see people taking pictures with it,” he says, “And, I love Bennington – one, because I live here and I chose to live here and I’ve raised my kids here; two, it’s historic; and three, it’s beautiful.”
“We have great leaders, an amazing newspaper, a lot of small businesses, the museum, the monument, the hospital – we have so many things going for us,” Cutsumpas moved his hand to indicate the center of the “From Here to There Mural,” with Bennington Vermont at its beating heart and with the worldly destinations radiating out from its center.
“Why live anywhere else?”
Danielle Crosier is a landlocked mermaid who found her way to Vermont by accident. She is a wife and mother, a former technical writer (10 years), former educator (19 years), and glass artisan with a background in marketing and strategic management. Her interests, though, lie mainly in studying and understanding systems and improving the lives of those around her. She also loves spending time with her precious children and their significant others, organizing, learning about social geography, creative endeavors, experimenting with various cuisines, and exploring the world around her.
