OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NOUS

Just a few months into the new year, rumors began throughout town regarding the recent closure of Pie and Vine. Who did the Beams sell it to? What would take its place at 358 E. Main? Regardless of the circumstances, when any long-time Ashland staple closes, there is a definite hope that whatever comes next fills the proverbial shoes. 

Around 8:00 on a nippy Thursday night, I made my way around the side of 358 E. Main to the back alley where I waited for Molly Shaughnessy to arrive. Fresh from a slow night managing Larks, Molly opened the back door, shift-meal in hand, and welcomed me into the bones of a soon to be novel restaurant here in the valley. Inside I was introduced to her business partners who purchased the space with her—Charlie Hutchinson, the executive chef, and Julie VandenBerg, an artist and hospitality specialist. Molly is taking the reins as the beverage director. They greeted me with a bowl of fine cheeses and a glass of sustainable pinot noir.

Between the three of them, they share 50 years of industry experience and have worked alongside each other for several years. Julie and Molly both worked at Amuse but didn’t meet in person until years later. Molly left for Germany in 2013 right before Julie started, so the two connected via email to discuss social media for Amuse. When Molly returned in 2018, she met Charlie who started working with Julie at Amuse the same year, and the professional friendship among the three hit the ground running. 

“We knew we worked well together, so that was a key aspect in getting together and deciding to do this,” Molly said, referring to their experience at Amuse and the start of this new venture, NOUS (pronounced “new”). They settled on the name after hardly any deliberation. Charlie, who spent 18 months in France studying pastries and cuisine, and has what they call “the grand diploma,” said the word came to him in a flash. “In French, ‘nous’ is the first person plural, meaning ‘we’ or ‘us,’” Charlie said. “We were just going through a bunch of possible French and German, words, and I thought why don’t we call it Nous? I sat on it for a couple days, and the next time we met, I threw it out there.”

“We all said yeah!” Molly exclaimed. 

“It seemed really clear to us that it was the name; it also goes well with our entire vision,” Julie said.

Nous will really be novel to the valley, as true Alsatian restaurants are sparse even in the cities of the east coast. Alsace is a region in the eastern part of France that had gone back and forth between French and German occupation for centuries. Due to this volley between nations, Alsace adopted aspects of both cultures, especially cuisine. French dishes lean toward the more elevated, while German food is hearty and comes across more humble. Alsatian cuisine is the love child between two.

The trio expressed an appreciation and adoration for the region. Through the years of strife Alsace endured, eventually it emerged as its own region, with a unique blend of French and German influence, and regional pride blossomed. Because of this, it has become a culinary mecha. 

The history of Alsace’s struggle and their cultural evolution is what inspired Nous.

“You ask any French person what defines French cuisine, it’s not sauces, it’s not techniques or any of that,” Charlie said. “They will always come back to respect for product, and respect for produce.” 

Charlie cited this tradition of care as another key aspect of what they want to bring to Nous. When Molly visited Alsace, she noted how many parallels there were to Ashland. Alsace lies in a valley with similar elevation levels, fertile land for wine and produce, as well as livestock.

“We’re this tiny city in between these bigger cities that are far off,” she said. “It’s the same with Alsace. It’s not Paris, it’s not Leon, it’s not Champagne, it’s a small community with a lot of culture.” 

Julie, Charlie, and Molly told me about a few Alsatian dishes that they are particularly excited to bring to the valley, using local produce, of course. Lunch service will feature a tart flambe—a flat bread initially invented to test the heat of wood fired ovens—that will be topped with creme fresh and other organic ingredients, easily customizable. For dinner they spoke about choucroute, essentially Alsatian sauerkraut and cabbage, topped with cured meats and potatoes. And a heartwarming dish served in a little casserole dish called “a Cocotte,” accompanied by a plethora of Alsatian wines. 

Along with a unique food and atmosphere, the founders of Nous are adamant about creating something that goes beyond the restaurant. Julie mentioned the variety of events that could easily take place at Nous, “Maybe we might have a painting event, a guest speaker, or even a divorce party!” she said. “We want to keep things interesting for people, we want to be more of a community hub.”

The well-being of the restaurant industry is vital to the vision of Nous, and this is why they are also planning on implementing an alternative to the traditional tipping system. Nous will have commission-based pay for their employees. This is a relatively new concept in the food industry meant to alleviate the burden of rising minimum wages, and cities no longer offering tip credit to employers (tip credit allowed restaurants to pay staff who might be making a certain amount in tips around three dollars less an hour). This “old way” has become severely unreliable to the industry as a whole. Many restaurants cannot keep up with total costs, and workers are not compensated appropriately for their commitment and passion.

“All three of us believe that you cannot put out top tier level food and service without investing in your team,” Molly stated.

With commission based pay, servers and bar staff will earn percent on items sold. Instead of tipping, there will be a service charge as part of the bill, usually between 18-20%. This reduces anxiety around receiving appropriate gratuity, and allows them to focus on providing the best service possible. Nous looks to use this system to take care of their employees, providing above minimum wage pay, health care, and more consistent checks year round.

Unapologetically passionate sums up Nous’ dream of providing genuine service and exciting dishes, while establishing a new frontier for restaurant workers to thrive in our ever-changing world.