By JAMES ASKEW

For many years, the diminutive “downtown” of Middlesex, along a curvy stretch of Route 2 between Montpelier and Waterbury, had appeared forgotten — little more than a bypass for interstate tourists traveling south to Waitsfield, Warren and the Sugarbush resort.

The lone gas station in town, a squat, square building, had closed a few years ago, reopened, then soon closed again. Across the street, the Camp Mead Diner shared a similarly repetitious fate, while the camp itself, a one-time war museum and summer vacation spot, had become as much a relic as the warplanes and army trucks that cluttered its center lawn.

Along the Route 2 stretch, two homes and the old train station molder into ruin, unhindered and unassisted. Other than Sticks and Stuff, formerly Gallagher Lumber, and the Middlesex Country Store, no other business had survived.
Now, however, thanks to the committed effort of a few locally minded people, Middlesex is seeing a small but significant renaissance. The center of town bustles with traffic as locals from around the region have a reason to pull in and stop: the renowned Red Hen Bakery was recently joined by Nutty Steph’s Vermont Granola and Chocolate Pleasures, a.k.a. Nutty Steph’s.

Opening in early September, Nutty Steph’s is the second business to take up residence in the old Camp Meade Diner, a sprawling yellow building that hugs the edge of Route 2., smack in the center of town. Back in 2007, Don and Lise Wexler bought the diner from then-owners Gus and Clara Gosselin with the intention of finding Red Hen Bakery a new home. Red Hen Bakery is owned and operated by Randy George and Liza Cain, close friends of the Wexlers.

Since then, the old diner, plus a massive addition on the rear, has flourished into a beautifully appointed bakery and café, with fresh paint and landscaping on the outside and a steady stream of customers passing through its doors.

Stephanie Jaquelyn Rieke, the owner of Nutty Steph’s, expresses nothing but enthusiasm for her new location. Nutty Steph’s occupies the shop immediately to the right of Red Hen.

“It is going really well, super, super; we love it,” says Rieke.

At 28, and in just over five years, Rieke has turned what was literally a favorite recipe into a favorite for thousands of people across the state and the country. She says it was sort of on a whim that she started commercially producing Vermont Granola, a nutty cereal sweetened with Vermont maple syrup. She was without work and needed to make some money.

Through what Rieke described as a relentless marketing campaign, she built her vendor base and subsequently her business. Rieke says she took every opportunity to pitch her product and returned to vendors — again and again — until she received either a “yes” or a clearly stated “no.”

“Until they say ‘no,’ it’s a ‘maybe.’” Rieke points out that for a small business like Nutty Steph’s there is no better salesperson than the owner.

Along with renting her storefront and newly built kitchen at Camp Meade, Rieke also rents a small house behind the old diner, and she says the Wexler’s have been generous and accommodating, even letting Rieke furnish her store with fixtures from around the property.

“That’s the interesting part of this story,” says Rieke, speaking of the Wexlers. She describes their committed effort to reviving the old Camp Meade as akin to a community-service project, giving so much without the immediate promise of gain.

“What I see here,” Reike says of the entire Camp Meade revival, “is the store being a community focal point, a place for coming together. It is a magic little orb; we are constantly beautifying it and making it have a really neat feeling.”

Along with Nutty Steph’s Vermont Granola, she also sells protein-packed trail mix, a granola-packed chocolate called Magic Chunks and a smorgasbord of fabulously delicious chocolates.

Shop hours are Wednesday through Friday, noon to 6 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Nutty Steph’s is located at 961C Route 2, Middlesex, VT 05682. The phone number is 802.229.2090 and orders can be made online at www.nuttystephs.com.