“I’m not a chef. I’m just a guy who loves to cook. And that, for me, is a huge reason why I wanted to do this,” says Kevin Kelly, founder and owner/operator of After Hours. “I really wanted to take on my own venture. I wanted to be able to have fun and cook and learn along the way.”
The 25-year-old Great Barrington, MA, native has been in the restaurant scene for over a decade, starting out in his early teens as a busser for the now-closed Allium Restaurant + Bar in Great Barrington. From there, Kevin worked for many other local restaurants, in a variety of roles from front of house to back of house, until he graduated high school.
He then made the transformational move to Boston, MA, studying business at Babson College and working in some of the city’s kitchens for the next several years. He began at the well-regarded Mediterranean restaurant Chickadee, then took up “staging” – which he aptly describes as the restaurant job equivalent of an athletic tryout – at fifteen to twenty spots around Boston for the next month and a half. Kevin describes that in addition to scoping out the best potential employers, staging allowed him to do some research. He considered: “‘What are restaurants doing? What do they look like? How can I continue to learn?’”
This period led Kevin to take a role at another Mediterranean spot, Sarma, transitioning shortly after to a popular farm-to-table name, Field & Vine. “All that experience was invaluable,” says Kevin. “I look back on it and realize I have learned a ton. It’s really brought me to coming back here and continuing to develop and learn.”
Homecoming & brainstorming
Beyond the array of skills he developed and knowledge he gained, Kevin’s time in Boston afforded him something else vital: a degree of separation from his hometown, and a new perspective of the Berkshires. He explains that growing up in Great Barrington, he was aware of a “how do we get out?” mentality, with everyone eager to move away after high school; but having actually moved away and considering his upbringing and restaurant experiences back home, a more nostalgic narrative struck him. “It wasn’t really until I left that I started to miss that and wanted to come back.”
This feeling was also accentuated by a heartbreaking sense of the past slipping away. “Anytime I came back to visit, there was another restaurant for sale, or else closing or moving. We started to see a lot of these dynasty places disappearing,” Kevin recalls.
It seems like a no-brainer, then, that in transitioning back to the Berkshires, Kevin initially contemplated starting a brick-and-mortar restaurant in Great Barrington. But mapping out the idea suggested a difficult, financially unsustainable endeavor.
After some time away from thinking about a restaurant with a set location, Kevin began devising a plan for a restaurant without one. He elaborates that the conversation quickly “transitioned from ‘Let’s have a brick-and-mortar,’ to, ‘Let’s create something that doesn’t exist!’”
A reimagined approach to dining
As Kevin puts it, the concept revolves around “a restaurant without a home” that focuses on partnering with local businesses, thus eliminating a feeling of competition, emphasizing joint prosperity through financial and marketing channels, and uplifting the community as a whole. With this, After Hours was born.
“The name is a result of how the business functions,” Kevin observes. “What we look to do is operate out of existing spaces during the hours that businesses are closed. It’s a way to share real estate and be able to separate a food business from its physical identity so we can define our business by its brand, its offering, and its values.”
Launched in January of this year, After Hours has remained flexible, trying out various approaches to its mission – “changing the way we think about dining through collaboration of community” – while ensuring financial sustainability and anticipating a scalable model for the future.
Regardless of any necessary pivots or adjustments they’ve made over time, though, Kevin makes clear that this mission has remained at the core of what they do. “It really comes back to: how can we collaborate and work with local businesses to redirect and bring together this small community?”
The awe-inspiring reception thus far
Additionally, with this openness to a variety of concepts, After Hours has taken on many faces, which helps Kevin figure out what will work while forming important connections along the way. “We’re trying to build something that isn’t just one thing, and that’s where we’ve had a lot of flexibility to be able to do different offerings and work with many different, exciting partners,” Kevin emphasizes.
From their very first event, a New Year’s Eve ramen pop-up with cocktail bar Mooncloud, to their first hospitality event in September, a Berkshire Mountains hospitality dinner hosted at North Plain Farm, Kevin highlights the incredible range of dining experiences they’ve been able to organize, and how meaningful each has been.
From dinners, brunches on farms, and collaborations with diners and cafes, to educational work with nonprofits and private birthday parties, After Hours has a multitude of special events, in collaboration with local food purveyors and organizations, under their belt. And the response from the community has been remarkable.
Recognizing everyone who has played a part in the business, especially the staff, family, and friends who have helped make these ideas a reality, Kevin can’t find the words to thank them all enough. He underscores his gratitude for his family’s support, citing his sister as a huge help, from her work on many of the events to her trustworthiness and knowledge about the industry. “We haven’t even been in business a year, and the support’s been overwhelming,” he states. “It’s exciting to be a part of this, but it’s more exciting to see that there’s support for a business that wants to help a community.”
He points out how important it is to stay honest about where the business is at. Kevin elaborates, “You might need help, but as long as you’re open about that, and open to people’s feedback and criticism, you can get the support you need.”
Navigating a unique brand
Alongside this outpouring of support, Kevin admits that with a distinct brand like After Hours, which functions in an unconventional way, it can be difficult at times to continuously and accurately communicate the company’s purpose. He uses a collaboration with a local cafe as an example, noting that customers might walk in and ask for the regular menu without realizing there’s an After Hours dinner service taking place.
To Kevin, though, exploring challenges like these has been worth it. He explains that the most fun part of After Hours has been being able to cook what he wants, while also operating and developing the identity of the business itself. “Every event or every week, you’re doing something totally different,” he illustrates. “How many brick-and-mortar restaurant locations get to play with so many different concepts, menus, food purveyors, and partners? It’s been a lot of fun to be able to be creative with it.”
The importance of evolving & future aspirations
Along with its logistical benefits, this fluidity pairs nicely with Kevin’s affinity for learning, giving him infinite chances to be a student of the world around him. “I just love to learn,” Kevin shares. “I love being able to have it be a process, and not looking to start one thing that’s going to be the same forever.”
But with this adaptability, he wants to ensure the mission remains central, and looking forward, he hopes for After Hours to truly become a “community-centered entity.” To accomplish this, Kevin stresses that investing in local youth and actively combatting local socio-economic struggles, from the housing crisis to food insecurity, is essential.
The business has plans to collaborate with the Railroad Street Youth Project’s culinary apprenticeship program, as well as with Berkshire Bounty and The People’s Pantry, to organize a program that can simultaneously provide culinary opportunities to middle school and high school students and significantly benefit local food pantries. “Whether it’s working with local high schools or local youth development programs, it’s a huge, huge, huge part in being able to see lasting change here.”
To learn more about After Hours, view upcoming events, and reserve your own booking, visit afterhoursgb.com. You can also get in contact via email at afterhoursrestaurantgb@gmail.com or phone at (413) 717-2451. Support them on Instagram at @afterhours.gb!