Hello, my name is Shane Baker, and my wife Ruby and I are launching a new restaurant venture called Stag & Thistle. We met in a restaurant, and have spent our careers learning, cooking, managing and bartending - all to lead to this point in time. We garden, homestead, cook, drink, eat, sleep, and breath food service. We live in Cabot with our two children.

We have always had a dream of owning a small restaurant and inn here in Cabot. We feel it's important to the community to have a space where we can share food and drink and comradery. Our vision is to have our friends and neighbors sitting by the fire enjoying a whiskey and eating great local and wild food. We want to make this restaurant a place where everyone is welcome, where the food is accessible, and where people have the opportunity to try something new and special. We are local. We are part of this community. And we want to feed this community.

Having worked with many young people in town, we also see this as an opportunity to cultivate a team of food service experts that range from students on up - offering employment as a teaching and learning experience, as well as a place for seasoned professionals to stay local and practice their craft. We’ve seen and worked with the best that Cabot has to offer, and hope to continue building and expanding that cohort. We offer a fun, energetic and caring environment for our staff, no matter the size or shape of the venture.

One of our strongest values as restaurateurs is keeping it local. Local food, local staff, community involvement, and helping farmers and foragers preserve their heritage. Our heritage. Within 10 miles of main street there are dozens of local food producers.

We’re doing this for the love of our craft and for the love of the local food community. We need your support to get started. By donating, you are supporting a much broader community of farmers, foragers, kids, and families. We are asking you to donate to Stag & Thistle so we can open a restaurant and inn here in Cabot.

Our initial fundraising goal is $75,000, which will help secure the infrastructure necessary to start Stag & Thistle. We are currently exploring locations and hoping to outfit a commissary kitchen so we can bring you food while we renovate the final space. Please donate to bring Stag & Thistle to life. We can’t wait to cook for you!

Sincerely,

Shane and Ruby